Language is key to understanding culture, and culture is an essential part of studying language. This reader focuses on the interplay between Language and Intercultural Communication.

Reflecting the international nature of the field, this reader covers a wide range of language and cultural contexts: Arabic, Chinese, English (British, American, Australian and South African), Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Samoan and Spanish. Divided into six parts, it covers: Culture, language and thought; Cultural approaches to discourse and pragmatics; Communication patterns across cultures; Teaching and learning cultural variations of language use; Interculturality and Intercultural Communication in professional contexts. With twenty two readings by eminent authorities in the field as well as cutting-edge materials representing current developments, the book explores the breadth and depth of the subject as well as providing an essential overview for both students and researchers.

Each part begins with a clear and comprehensive introduction, and is enhanced by discussion questions, study activities and further reading sections. Alongside a comprehensive Resource List, detailing important reference books, journals, organisations and websites and an annotated Glossary of key terms, the final section offers advice on how to carry out research in Language and Intercultural Communication.

Contents

Acknowledgements How to use the Reader Introduction: Themes and issues in the study of Language and Intercultural Communication - Zhu Hua Notes for students and instructors Part I: Culture, Language And Thought Introduction to Part One 1. The relation of habitual thought and behaviour to Language - Benjamin Whorf 2. Is the world made up of nouns or verbs? - Richard Nisbett 3. Hofstede’s value dimensions and Hall’s high context/low context - Larry A. Samovar, Richard Porter & Lisa A. Stefani Notes for students and instructors Part II: Cultural Approaches To Discourse And Pragmaeoretical Considerations Introduction to Part Two 4. Interpersonal politeness and power - Ron Scollon & Suzanne Wong Scollon 5. Politeness phenomena in Modern Chinese - Yueguo Gu 6. How and why honorifics can signify dignity and elegance: The indexicality and reflexivity of linguistic rituals - Sachiko Ide 7. Managing rapport in talk: Using rapport sensitive incidents to explore the motivational concerns underlying the management of relations - Helen Spencer-Oatey 8. Cultural scripts: what are they and what are they good for? - Cliff Goddard & Anna Wierzbicka Notes for students and instructors. Part III: Communication Patterns Across Cultures: Empirical Examples Introduction to Part Three 9. Requests and Apologies: A Cross-Cultural Study of Speech Act realisation patterns - Shoshana Blum-Kulka and Elite Olshtain 10. The dugri ritual - Tamar Katriel 11. The pragmatic functions of the recitation of Qur’anic verses by Muslims in their oral genre: The case of Insha’ allah, ‘G...