A cross-cultural investigation of email communication in Peninsular Spanish and British English

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuria Lorenzo-Dus ◽  
Patricia Bou-Franch
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Email Communication ◽  
British English ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Peninsular Spanish ◽  
University Lecturers

This paper examines the email discursive practices of particular speakers of two different languages, namely Peninsular Spanish and British English. More specifically, our study focuses on (in)formality and (in)directness therein, for these lie at the heart of considerable scholarly debate regarding, respectively (i) the general stylistic drift towards orality and informality in technology-mediated communication, and (ii) the degree of communicative (in)directness – within broader politeness orientations – of speakers of different languages, specifically an orientation towards directness in Peninsular Spanish vis-à-vis indirectness in British English. The aim of this paper is thus to investigate the role of (in)formality and (in)directness in email messages sent by members of two groups of undergraduate students to their university lecturers. To this end, a corpus of 100 impromptu emails was compiled and analysed. Results revealed complex, fluctuating patterns regarding levels of (in)formality and (in)directness that underlined cross-cultural variation in the way that different sociopragmatic principles found expression in a specific computer-mediated communicative situation.

scholarly journals Jocular mockery in computer-mediated communication: A contrastive study of a Spanish and English Facebook community

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Maíz-Arévalo
Keyword(s):  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
British English ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Contrastive Study ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Framing Strategies ◽  
Peninsular Spanish

AbstractUnderstood as an umbrella term covering different phenomena (e.g., banter, teasing, jocular insults, etc.), mock impoliteness has long attracted the attention of scholars. However, most of this research has concentrated on English while other languages have been neglected. In addition, previous research has mostly analyzed face-to-face interaction, generally ignoring computer-mediated communication. This paper aims to redress this imbalance by analyzing a particular case of mock impoliteness – i.e., jocular mockery – in two Facebook communities (Spanish and English). More specifically, and following Haugh’s (2010) and Haugh and Bousfield’s (2012) three inter-related dimensions, this paper intends to answer three questions: (i) what triggers jocular mockery in each corpus? (ii) How is it “framed”? And (iii) how do interlocutors respond to it? To this end, two balanced datasets were gathered: one in (British) English and one in (Peninsular) Spanish, consisting of 6,215 and 6,193 words respectively. Results show that jocular mockery is pervasive in both datasets and both British and Spanish users resort to it when confronted with bragging. Likewise, both groups borrow framing strategies from face-to-face communication but also employ other means afforded by Facebook itself. They also opt for accepting it good- naturedly as a way to boost group rapport.

scholarly journals It Is Hard to Read Minds without Words: Cues to Use to Achieve Empathic Accuracy

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Sara D. Hodges ◽  
Murat Kezer
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Empathic Accuracy ◽  
Past Work ◽  
White American ◽  
Middle Easterners

When faced with the task of trying to “read” a stranger’s thoughts, what cues can perceivers use? We explore two predictors of empathic accuracy (the ability to accurately infer another person’s thoughts): use of stereotypes about the target’s group, and use of the target’s own words. A sample of 326 White American undergraduate students were asked to infer the dynamic thoughts of Middle Eastern male targets, using Ickes’ (Ickes et al. 1990) empathic accuracy paradigm. We predicted use of stereotypes would reduce empathic accuracy because the stereotypes would be negative and inaccurate. However, more stereotypical inferences about the target’s thoughts actually predicted greater empathic accuracy, a pattern in line with past work on the role of stereotypes in empathic accuracy (Lewis et al. 2012), perhaps because the stereotypes of Middle Easterners (collected from a sample of 60 participants drawn from the same population) were less negative than expected. In addition, perceivers who inferred that the targets were thinking thoughts that more closely matched what the target was saying out loud were more empathically accurate. Despite the fact that words can be used intentionally to obscure what a target is thinking, they appear to be a useful cue to empathic accuracy, even in tricky contexts that cross cultural lines.

scholarly journals Small-scale societies exhibit fundamental variation in the role of intentions in moral judgment

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (17) ◽  
pp. 4688-4693 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Clark Barrett ◽  
Alexander Bolyanatz ◽  
Alyssa N. Crittenden ◽  
Daniel M. T. Fessler ◽  
Simon Fitzpatrick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Narrow Range ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Moral Assessment ◽  
Mitigating Circumstances

Intent and mitigating circumstances play a central role in moral and legal assessments in large-scale industrialized societies. Although these features of moral assessment are widely assumed to be universal, to date, they have only been studied in a narrow range of societies. We show that there is substantial cross-cultural variation among eight traditional small-scale societies (ranging from hunter-gatherer to pastoralist to horticulturalist) and two Western societies (one urban, one rural) in the extent to which intent and mitigating circumstances influence moral judgments. Although participants in all societies took such factors into account to some degree, they did so to very different extents, varying in both the types of considerations taken into account and the types of violations to which such considerations were applied. The particular patterns of assessment characteristic of large-scale industrialized societies may thus reflect relatively recently culturally evolved norms rather than inherent features of human moral judgment.

scholarly journals The Role of Figurative Complexity in the Comprehension and Appreciation of Advertisements

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 957-991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Pérez-Sobrino ◽  
Jeannette Littlemore ◽  
David Houghton
Keyword(s):  
Significant Variation ◽  
Processing Time ◽  
Consumer Response ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Perceived Effectiveness ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Linguistic Backgrounds ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract To date, research in advertising has focussed almost exclusively on metaphor, with linguists and marketing scholars paying very little attention to alternative types of figurative expression. Beyond the finding that metaphor leads to an increased appreciation of advertisements, there has been surprisingly little research into how consumer response is affected by metonymy, or by metaphor–metonymy interactions. In this article, we present findings from a study that investigated the depth to which participants (n = 90) from a range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds (the UK, Spain, and China) were found to process 30 real-world adverts featuring creative metaphor and metonymy in multimodal format. We focus on the cross-cultural variation in terms of time taken to process, appreciation and perceived effectiveness of adverts, and on individual differences explained by different levels of need for cognition. We found significant variation in the understanding of advertisements containing metaphor, metonymy, and combinations of the two, between subjects and across nationalities in terms of (i) processing time, (ii) overall appeal, and (iii) the way in which participants interpreted the advertisements.

scholarly journals “Just Chatting”: Research Ethics and Cyberspace

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Whiteman
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Research Ethics ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Internet Research ◽  
Research Ethic ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Changing Role

Research conducted through computer-mediated communication is challenging traditional definitions of what is ethical research. In this article the author examines the changing role of assent/consent, confidentiality, and participant observation in qualitative research conducted in cyberspace. She concludes that REBs (research ethic boards) might be becoming more conservative in their decisions at the very moment that Internet research requires more flexibility and broader ethical definitions.

scholarly journals The role of sex differences in detecting deception in computer-mediated communication in English

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Anna Kuzio
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Communication ◽  
Deception Detection ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Significant Variable ◽  
Detection Capability ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Detection Probabilities

<p>While  deception  seems  to  be  a  common  approach  in  interpersonal  communication,  most examination on interpersonal deception sees the sex of the interlocutor as unconnected with the capability to notice deceptive messages. This research studies the truth and deception detection capability  of  both  male  and  female  receivers  when  replying  to  both  true  and  deceptive messages  from  both  male  and  female  speakers.  The  outcomes  indicate  that  sex  may  be  a significant variable in comprehending the interpersonal detection probabilities of truth and of lies. An interaction of variables including the speakers’ sex, receivers’ sex, and whether the message appears to be truthful or deceptive is created to relate to detection capability.</p>

Agency and impoliteness in Korean online interactions

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-259
Author(s):  
Ariel Kim ◽  
Lucien Brown
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Social Meanings

Abstract (Im)politeness research has often focused either on the importance of social norms or on the intentions of the speaker, with the active role of the listener in assigning social meanings overlooked. This limitation particularly applies to so-called “discernment languages” such as Korean and Japanese. The current paper addresses this gap by offering a small-scale qualitative study of recipient agency in Korean naturally occurring computer-mediated communication (CMC). The data analyzed includes 14 text messages between the recipient (the proprietor of an online food business) and his customer, which were posted on a blog that he owned and operated. We focus on how the recipient agentively evaluates the language usage of the customer, including inconsistent evaluations of her use of non-honorific language, or panmal. The results suggest that the instability of (im)politeness interpretations cannot be explained solely by social norms or intentions but should also include the socially-mediated agency of the recipient.

The Role of Computer-Mediated Communication

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 61-73
Author(s):  
Bolanle A. Olaniran ◽  
Natasha Rodriguez
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Corporate Training ◽  
Future Trends ◽  
Organizational Training ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Computer Mediated

The use of information technology to enhance classroom learning and deliver corporate training is the latest trend and focus of much research in the computer-mediated communication (CMC) and development industry. Technological advances continue to alter the various ways in which academic and organizational training is facilitated and conducted. This paper presents a review of the available literature and trends in CMC, specifically, CMC’s theoretical approaches, types/roles, benefits/disadvantages, and contributions to academic institutions and corporate organizations. The authors also provide a discussion of future trends and implications in this subject.

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