Narrative in ‘societies of intimates’

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley Stirling ◽  
Jennifer Green
Keyword(s):  
Common Ground ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
Linguistic Typology ◽  
Narrative Style ◽  
Rich Diversity ◽  
Social Features ◽  
High Degree

When the Australian writer Richard Flanagan accepted the 2014 Man Booker Prize for fiction, he said that “As a species it is story that distinguishes us”. While the prize was given for a literary work written in English, Australia and the surrounding regions are replete with a rich diversity of oral traditions, and with stories remembered and told over countless generations and in many languages. In this article we consider both the universality and the cross-cultural and cross-linguistic diversity of various forms of narrative. We explore the question of what a linguistic typology of narrative might look like, and survey some of the literature relevant to this issue. Most specifically, we ask whether some observed differences in narrative style, structure, or delivery could derive from social features of the communities which produce them: their social density, informational homogeneity, and the high degree of common ground they share.

TRANSLATION AS MENTAL INTERPRETATION ACTIVITY IN LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (28) ◽  
pp. 43-53
Author(s):  
Svitlana Gruschko
Keyword(s):  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Literary Translation ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
Cultural Communication ◽  
Original Text ◽  
Cross Cultural Communication ◽  
Cross Language

In the article the phenomenon of translation is regarded as mental interpretation activity not only in linguistics, but also in literary criticism. The literary work and its translation are most vivid guides to mental and cultural life of people, an example of intercultural communication. An adequate perception of non-native culture depends on communicators’ general fund of knowledge. The essential part of such fund of knowledge is native language, and translation, being a mediator, is a means of cross-language and cross-cultural communication. Mastering another language through literature, a person is mastering new world and its culture. The process of literary texts’ translation requires language creativity of the translator, who becomes so-called “co-author” of the work. Translation activity is a result of the interpreter’s creativity and a sort of language activity: language units are being selected according to language units of the original text. This kind of approach actualizes linguistic researching of real translation facts: balance between language and speech units of the translated work (i.e. translationinterpretation, author’s made-up words, or revised language peculiarities of the characters). The process of literary translation by itself should be considered within the dimension of a dialogue between cultures. Such a dialogue takes place in the frame of different national stereotypes of thinking and communicational behavior, which influences mutual understanding between the communicators with the help of literary work being a mediator. So, modern linguistics actualizes the research of language activities during the process of literary work’s creating. This problem has to be studied furthermore, it can be considered as one of the central ones to be under consideration while dealing with cultural dimension of the translation process, including the process of solving the problems of cross-cultural communication.

scholarly journals Relational values provide common ground and expose multi‐level constraints to cross‐cultural wetland management

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinne Y. Bataille ◽  
Sanna K. Malinen ◽  
Johanna Yletyinen ◽  
Nigel Scott ◽  
Philip O'B. Lyver
Keyword(s):  
Common Ground ◽  
Wetland Management ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Relational Values ◽  
Multi Level

scholarly journals Developing shared communication practices: A study of BELF in multinational team meetings

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-153
Author(s):  
Tone Holt Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Cultural And Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Team Meetings ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Language Research ◽  
Communication Practices

AbstractA growing number of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) adopt English as their official corporate language. Research on English used as a business lingua franca (BELF) in such contexts shows how its use is negotiated, context dependent, and influenced by cultural and linguistic diversity. Multinational teams (MNTs) are legion within MNCs, and need to find efficient ways of communicating across their diversity, in particular in demanding and complex interactions such as meetings. This case study uses non-participant observation and interviews to study how one MNT has developed shared BELF communication practices for meetings. It examines the BELF communication practices in both the MNC context and at the team level. The analysis of the data shows that team members were highly aware of the challenges posed by cultural and linguistic diversity, and how they developed their local communication practices by processes of developing common ground, building trust, and good leadership.

Cross-Cultural Comparison of Personality: New Zealand Children and English Children

1978 ◽  
Vol 42 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1111-1116 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. H. Saklofske ◽  
S. B. G. Eysenck
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Personality Structure ◽  
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Cultural Comparison ◽  
Personality Dimensions ◽  
Cross Cultural Comparison ◽  
Age Trends ◽  
High Degree

The recently published Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire contains scales to measure the personality dimensions of Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Psychoticism, as well as a Lie (dissimulation) factor. In view of the large volume of standardization data cross-cultural studies of personality structure are possible. The questionnaire was accordingly administered to a sample of New Zealand boys ( N = 644) and girls ( N = 672), aged from 7 to 15 yr., and the New Zealand data compared with the results reported in the manual for samples of English children. The pattern of correlations between scales was similar for both samples, the correlations tending to be quite low. The majority of items loaded on their respective factors, and these factors could be clearly identified with Eysenck's personality dimensions. Factor comparisons indicated a high degree of factor similarity for boys and girls. Internal consistency reliabilities were quite satisfactory for both sexes and closely resembled those reported in the manual. Sex and age trends were also consistent with the English results. Of some interest is the fact that New Zealand children obtained higher Psychoticism scores than did English children; they also obtained lower Lie scores.

scholarly journals Coffee or Tea? Examining Cross-Cultural Differences in Personality Nuances Across Former Colonies of the British Empire

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priscilla Achaa-Amankwaa ◽  
Gabriel Olaru ◽  
Ulrich Schroeders
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
British Empire ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Personality Factors ◽  
Personality Differences ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Personality Research ◽  
Item Functioning ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Cross Cultural Studies

Cross-cultural comparisons often focus on differences in broad personality traits across countries. However, many cross-cultural studies report differential item functioning which suggests that considerable group differences are not accounted for by the overarching personality factors. We argue that this may reflect cross-cultural personality differences at a lower level of personality, namely personality nuances. To investigate the degree of cultural similarities and differences between participants of ten countries that formerly belonged to the British Empire, we scrutinized participants’ personality scores on domain, facet, and nuance level of the personality hierarchy. More specifically, we used the responses of 9,110 participants on the IPIP-NEO 300-item personality inventory in cross-validated and regularized logistic regressions. Based on the trait domain and facet scores, we were able to identify the country of residence for 60% and 73% of the participants, respectively. By using the nuance level of personality, we correctly identified the nationality of 89% of the participants. This pattern of results explains the lack of measurement invariance in cross-cultural studies. We discuss implications for cross-cultural personality research and whether the high degree of cross-cultural item-level differences compromises the universality of the personality structure.

Conclusion

2020 ◽  
pp. 125-130
Author(s):  
G. E. R. Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
Common Ground ◽  
Human Experience ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Human Universals

The final chapter takes stock of the limited conclusions of this study of the varieties of intelligence and the possibilities for mutual intelligibility. We can, it is argued, appreciate some cross-cultural human universals (language and sociability), yet we must be continually alert to the diversity of human experience and the dangers of imposing Western categories. But the chief lesson to be learned is that when we encounter beliefs and practices that diverge sharply from what we are used to, we should see this as an opportunity, rather than as a threat. The lack of common ground should not be treated as tantamount to denying the possibility of any understanding whatsoever, though such understanding as we can reach will often involve the revision of our own initial assumptions and categories.

Utilizing the Dynamic Role of Objects to Enhance Cross-Cultural Climate Change Collaborations

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott E. Kalafatis ◽  
Julie C. Libarkin ◽  
Kyle Powys Whyte ◽  
Chris Caldwell
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Native American ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Expert Elicitation ◽  
Boundary Object ◽  
Cultural Climate

Abstract Engagements between climate scientists and communities feature challenges but are also essential for successfully preparing for climate change. This is particularly true for indigenous peoples who are proactively responding to the threats that climate change poses by engaging in collaborations with climate decision-support organizations. The potential for risks and rewards associated with engagements like these makes developing tools for comprehensively, consistently, and equitably assessing cross-cultural climate collaborations a critical challenge. This paper describes a multicultural team’s efforts to develop a survey that can assess collaborations between Native American tribes in the United States and climate science organizations. In the process, the developing survey’s oscillations between acting as a boundary object and acting as an epistemic object in the project revealed common ground as well as existing differences across the cultural, disciplinary, and professional divides involved. Delphi expert elicitation was shown to be an effective approach for negotiating a cross-cultural research effort like this one because of its ability to establish consensus while delineating gaps. This experience highlights that assessing cross-cultural climate collaborations requires that both researchers and the tools that they use have the capacity to identify both common ground and distinctions between climate scientists and the communities with which they collaborate.

Context-dependency and impoliteness in intercultural communication

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Istvan Kecskes
Keyword(s):  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Cultural Analysis ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Context Dependency ◽  
Shared Knowledge ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Actual Meaning ◽  
Interpretation Process

AbstractThere has been a great deal of research on impoliteness focusing on one particular language or cross-cultural differences between languages (e.g. Bousfield 2008; Bousfield and Locher 2008; Culpeper 2005, 2009; Haugh 2007, 2011; Kienpointner 1997). However, much less attention has been paid to impoliteness in intercultural communication in which all or some speakers communicate in a language other than their native tongue.On the basis of research on L1s and cross-cultural analysis of impoliteness, most of the researchers (e.g. Culpeper 2005, 2009, Haugh 2011; Watts 2003) in the field seem to agree that no act is inherently impolite, and that such an interpretation depends on the context or speech situation that affects interpretation (see Culpeper 2009). The paper will examine this context-dependency in intercultural communication where interlocutors cannot always rely on much existing common ground, shared knowledge and conventionalized context but need to co-construct most of those in the communicative process. It will be argued that limited shared knowledge and common ground may restrict the interpretation process to the propositional content of utterances, which may result in an increase in the actual situational context-creating power of utterances. Recent research (e.g. Abel 2003; Bortfeld 2002, 2003; Cieślicka 2004, 2006; House 2002, 2003; Kecskes 2007) demonstrated that in intercultural communication the most salient interpretation for non-native speakers is usually the propositional meaning of an utterance. So interpretation generally depends on what the utterance says rather than on what it actually communicates. As a consequence of their taking propositional meaning for the actual meaning of an utterance, interlocutors are sometimes unaware of impoliteness conveyed implicitly or through paralinguistic means.

Exploring Linguistic Diversity From the Inside Out: Implications of Self-Reflexive Inquiry for Teacher Education

2018 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 581-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Z. Athanases ◽  
Leslie C. Banes ◽  
Joanna W. Wong ◽  
Danny C. Martinez
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Linguistically Diverse ◽  
Bilingual Students ◽  
Rich Diversity ◽  
Language Knowledge ◽  
Majority Students ◽  
Inside Out ◽  
Reflexive Inquiry

With a burgeoning U.S. population of emergent bilingual learners and others who use nondominant language forms, the need for language knowledge among teachers is acute. Beginning from the inside out by examining one’s own complex language uses may be a first step toward envisioning and later developing classroom cultures that support diverse language forms for diverse purposes. In all, 262 undergraduate education students used self-reflexive inquiry, documenting ways they and others use language, through language inventories, surveys, and essays. Participants were majority students of color, half bilingual. Students reported awareness of rich diversity and nuances of language uses, purposes, and fluidity across contexts. Although students often used a formal/informal contrast to describe language uses, this distinction was complicated. Understandings of language surfaced in writing as students engaged with linguistically diverse peers and situated their linguistic repertoires in sociopolitical context. Drawing on results and students’ reflections on the writings as tools, we offer implications for teacher education.

scholarly journals Integrating Linguistic Diversity in Globalized Spanglish Communities

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 ◽  
pp. 01156
Author(s):  
Marina Yu. Semenova
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
International Communication ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Diverse Society ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Huge Impact ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Language Type

Globalization comprises a complex range of various processes and has a huge impact on many spheres of life, including languages and dialects. The paper analyzes linguistic phenomena caused by globalization which have resulted in a new language type which can be denoted as ‘poststandard languages’. English being a means of international communication has entered many standard language systems causing an extensive use of English loanwords and pseudo-English elements combined with a wordplay. This anglicalization results in two or more languages merging into a new poststandard language, a common means of communication in a multilingual diverse society. One of the most vivid examples is Spanglish, an English-Spanish merge in the USA and Latin America. It is characterized by a high degree of substrata merging and diversity levelling. Thus the article analyzes the identity of Spanglish speakers as well as linguistic features and functions of such ‘Glishes’ which differentiate them from standard English and Spanish.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document