Intercultural Communication

Unit 1 / Week 6
Academic/Work – cultural values in
discourse and behaviour
Formality: Politeness, respect, power
 Honorifics and Polite Forms

• Japanese
– Ki-masi-ta ‘come-POLITE-PAST’
– Ki-ta ‘come-PAST’ (‘came’) unmarked
• French
– Vous venez ‘you are coming’ unmarked
– Tu viens ‘you are coming’ marked singular-
familiar
 Discussion

1. How many English forms of address can you

think of?
Formal: Mr, Mrs, Ms, Miss, ….
Informal: mate, ….
2. When are these different forms used and by
whom?
 Discussion
In a language other than English, what are the
different ways of addressing people.
1. Does the language have different words for
‘you’?
2. What titles would you use to address
different people?
3. When are these different forms of address
used and by whom?
 Formality scale
Very formal, ← FORMAL Neutral INFORMAL Very
Frozen, → informal,
Rigid Casual,
Familiar

• Quirk et al. (1985), who use the term attitude rather

than style or register.
Martin Joos (1961) The Five Clocks
Martin Joos (1961) The Five Clocks

• Intimate
• Casual
• Consultative
• Formal
• Frozen
 Frozen

• Printed unchanging language

– such as bible quotations
– often contains archaisms
 Formal
• One-way participation
– no interruption
• Technical vocabulary
– "Fussy semantics" or exact definitions are
important
• Includes introductions between strangers.
 Consultative
• Two-way participation.
• Background information is provided
– prior knowledge is not assumed.
• "Backchannel behaviour"
– such as "uh huh", "I see", etc. is common.
• Interruptions allowed.
 Casual

• In-group friends and acquaintances.

• No background information provided.
• Ellipsis and slang common.
• Interruptions common.
 Intimate

• Non-public.
• Intonation more important than wording or
grammar.
• Private vocabulary.
Tenor: Register as formality scale
Frozen Silence is observed in the library at
all times.

Formal Kindly keep quiet, Miss Fidditch!

Consultative You’re not allowed to talk in the

library.
Casual Hush, Jane!

Intimate Shh, darling!

(After Martin Joos 1961)

 Personal and Functional Tenor
• Functional tenor
• Personal tenor
– Social function of an
– Social roles of
participants utterance
• Status relationship – Identifying the purpose
• Personalities of the utterance
– Formality • description
– Familiarity • directions
– Technicality • request
• etc.

Gregory (1967: 184 ff.); Gregory & Carroll (1978: 53 ff.)

 Functional Tenor
• Purpose of discourse
– Transactional visit to a bank

A: Next, please. (offer of service)

B: Can I take out £50, (request)
please?
A: How would you like it? (question)
B: Four tens and two (response)
fives, please.
B: Thank you. (thanks)
Cate Poynton (1985)

Power

TENOR

Affective
Contact
involvement
 Power

equal unequal
 Contact

frequent occasional
 Affective Involvement

high low
Formal vs. Informal Situations
Informal Formal

equal power unequal, hierarchic

power

frequent contact infrequent, or one-off

contact

high affective low affective

involvement involvement
 Attitudinal Lexis

• Used in informal situations

– fantastic, shitty, unbelievable
• Expresses positive / negative evaluation
– “Purr” and “snarl” words
• Formal situations
– Keep our attitudes to ourselves
– Or express them in apparently objective language:
unfortunate, surprising
 Attitudinal Lexis

• Informal situation • Formal situation

– Slang and – Complete lexical
abbreviated forms: items: chocolates
chockies – Politeness
– Few politeness expressions: please,
expressions thank you, you’re
– Swearing common welcome
place
– Swearing is taboo
 Attitudinal Lexis

• Vocatives
– Sir John!
– Mr. Smith!
– John!
– Johnno!
– Darl!
– Idiot Features!
 Vocatives

POWER
equal unequal
Vocative use is reciprocal Vocative use is non-reciprocal
 Vocatives

CONTACT
frequent occasional
Nicknames Often no vocatives at all
Johnno, Pete, Shirl the clerk at the post-office,
the bus driver
 Vocatives

AFFECTIVE INVOLVEMENT

high low

Diminutive forms Given names

Terms of endearment Peter,
Georgie-Porgie, Suzanne
Petie-Pie,
Honey Bunch,
Darl
 Discussion
• Read the article, “Bus drivers told to cut
'babe' greeting”
• Discuss:
– Why might some passengers take offence at
being called “love”, “darling” or “babe”?
– Why do you think that a bus driver would
choose to address a passenger as “love”,
“darling” or “babe”?
 Compare
• Hey, Freddie! Get off your butt and give me a hand
here. Shove that chair over closer to the desk.
• Oh, Dr Smith. I’m just trying to tidy my office up a
bit and I wondered if you’d mind maybe giving me a
quick hand with moving some furniture? If you’ve
got time, I mean. It won’t take a moment. Now if
we could just move this chair over a bit nearer to
the desk there. Thanks very much.
 Vocatives

• Hey, Freddie! Get off your butt and give me a hand

here. Shove that chair over closer to the desk.
• Oh, Dr Smith. I’m just trying to tidy my office up a
bit and I wondered if you’d mind maybe giving me a
quick hand with moving some furniture? If you’ve
got time, I mean. It won’t take a moment. Now if
we could just move this chair over a bit nearer to
the desk there. Thanks very much.
 Use/Avoidance of Slang
1. Hey, Freddie! Get off your butt and give me a
hand here. Shove that chair over closer to the
desk.
2. Oh, Dr Smith. I’m just trying to tidy my office
up a bit and I wondered if you’d mind maybe
giving me a quick hand with moving some
furniture? If you’ve got time, I mean. It won’t
take a moment. Now if we could just move
this chair over a bit nearer to the desk there.
Thanks very much.
 Use of Politeness Phenomena

1. Hey, Freddie! Get off your butt and give me a

hand here. Shove that chair over closer to the
desk.
2. Oh, Dr Smith. I’m just trying to tidy my office
up a bit and I wondered if you’d mind maybe
giving me a quick hand with moving some
furniture? If you’ve got time, I mean. It won’t
take a moment. Now if we could just move
this chair over a bit nearer to the desk there.
Thanks very much.
 Imperative Mood
1. Hey, Freddie! Get off your butt and give me a
hand here. Shove that chair over closer to the
desk.
2. Oh, Dr Smith. I’m just trying to tidy my office up a
bit and I wondered if you’d mind maybe giving
me a quick hand with moving some furniture? If
you’ve got time, I mean. It won’t take a moment.
Now if we could just move this chair over a bit
nearer to the desk there. Thanks very much.
 Modulation/Attenuation of the
Request
1. Hey, Freddie! Get off your butt and give me a
hand here. Shove that chair over closer to the
desk.
2. Oh, Dr Smith. I’m just trying to tidy my office up a
bit and I wondered if you’d mind maybe giving
me a quick hand with moving some furniture? If
you’ve got time, I mean. It won’t take a
moment. Now if we could just move this chair
over a bit nearer to the desk there. Thanks very
much.
 Grammatical Metaphor
Get off your butt and I wondered if you’d
give me a hand mind maybe giving
here. me a quick hand

Shove that chair Now if we could just

over closer to the move this chair over
desk. a bit nearer to the
desk there.
 References
Eggins, Suzanne (1994) An Introduction to Systemic
Functional Linguistics London : Pinter.
Gregory, M. (1967) “Aspects of varieties
Differentiation” Journal of Linguistics III 177-98)
Gregory, M. & S. Carroll (1978) Language and
Situation: Language Varieties and their Social
Contexts Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Joos, Martin (1961) The Five Clocks New York:
Harcourt, Brace & World.
Poynton, Cate (1985) Language and Gender: Making
the Difference Geelong: Vic.: Deakin University
Press.