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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 341 271 FL 020 041 AUTHOR Sajavaara, Kari; And Others TITLE Communication and Discourse across Cultures and Languages. AFinLA Yearbook 1991. Publications de l'Association Finlandaise de LinguisticAppliquee (AFinLa). No. 49. INSTITUTION Finnish Association for Applied Linguistics, Jyvaskyla. REPORT NO ISBN-951-9388-36-2; ISSN-0761-0316 PUB DATE 91 NOTE 275p.; Papers presented at the Seminar of Cross-Cultural Communication (Jyvaskyla,Finland, Narch 23, 1991) and the Finnish Seminaron Discourse Analysis (3rd, )yvaskyla, Finland, November15-16, 1991). For individual papers,see FL 020 042-063. PUB TYPE Collected Works - Conference Proceedings (021) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC11 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Applied Linguistics; *Discourse Analysis;Elementary Secondary Education; *Finnish; ForeignCountries; *Intercatural Communication; *International Communication; Proschool Education; *Sc.xio:inguistics; Uncommonly Taught Languages ABSTRACT The papers collected in this volume, althoughtaken from two separate seminars, represent forthe most part various facets of the same problem area, that ofcross-cultural discourse. Papers dre: "Symbolic Internationalization:Beyond the Practical Use of Foreign Languages in InterculturalEducation"; "How to Avoid Ethnocentricity and Stereotypes in AnalyzingAnother Cultnre: Methodological Considerations"; "AnalyzingService Encounters Cross-Culturally"; "The Problem of Norm in theStudy of Cross-Cultural Discourse"; "Running againstTime and Technology: Problems in Empirical Research into WrittenBusiness Communication"; "Innocents Abroad: The Politics of Cross-CulturalCommunication"; "Linguistics and the Transnationalisationof Literature"; "Pitfalls of Cross-Cultural CommunicationTraining: The Art of the Appropriate"; "Spoken Discourse of FinnishSpeakers of English"; "Teaching Cultural Competence in theEnglish Language Classroom in Finnish Schools"; "A ContrastiveAnalysis of the Spoken Discourse of Bilingual Swedish Finnish and NativeSwedish School Children"; "Comprehension in Ng-NNS Conversation";"The Handling of Impositions of Native-Non-native Conversation";"L2 Learner Repairs in Cross-Cultural Communication"; "SeekingClarification in Oral Tests"; "Relevance of Repair for Self ExplicatingArtifacts"; "Special Features in Children's Conversations"; "SomeThoughts on the Study of Sign Language Talk"; "InformationStructure in Finnish Live Ice Hockey Reporting"; "Relational Propositionsin Text Comprehension Processes"; "Pragmalinguistic Features ofAcademic-Scientific Discourse"; and "Transaction and Interactionin Writing: The Case of Electronic Mail." (LB) inIA Series P.& DEFARTIOndy 0144cs os Elks OF IDOCAT/OR loom Roseachand 1.44provorkent EDUCATIONAL RES04.0CESitiFORMATICA CENTER (ERig 'PERMISSION TOREPRODUCE THIS BY docum4104 Niacoin rsptoducod BEEN GRANTED I aCINVOES f POM as MATERIAL HAS the potion ororpingsabon ottipnohnptt. 044^4/r chadv90 Nee bowl roo0Ouctton (loamy mono to entomb" PosWao40 f moof do 1104 nee*, g slated fa ftwa detw lkgrItY ralpf OIMPot &kW OERIposthoncm poiecy RESOURCES TO THE EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION CENTER(ERIC)." No. 49 COMMUNICATION AND DISCOURSE ACROSS CULTURES AND LANGUAGES AFinLA Yearbook 1991 AFinLA:n vuosikirja 1991 edited by toimittaneet Kari Sajavaara, David Marsh, and Tellervo Keto Jyväskyla 1991 BEST COPY AVAILABLE SUOMEN SOVELTAVAN KIEL1TIETEEN YHDISTYMEN (AFinLA) JULKAISUJA PUBLICATIONS DE L'ASSOCIATION FINLANDAISE DE LINGUISTIQUE APPLIQUEE (AFinLA) No. 49 COMMUNICATION AND DISCOURSE ACROSS CULTURES AND LANGUAGES MinLA Yearbook 1991 AFInLA:n vuosikirja 1991 edited by tohnittaneet Karl Sajavaara, David Marsh, and Tellervo Keto hviskylä 1991 Suomen sovehavan kielitieteen yhdistys AFinLA 1991 ISBN 951-9388-36-2 ISSN 0781-0318 Kopi-Jyva Oy, Jyvasky15, 1991 PREFACE The present volume is a collection of thepapers which were presented at two seminars organized at the University of jyviskylA in 1990. TheSeminar on Cross-Cultural Communication was held on 23 March, andthe 3rd Finnish Seminar on Discourse Analysis was organizedon 15-16 November, in connection with the 20th Anniversary Symposium of the FinnishAssociation of Applied Linpistks AFinLA. The original idea was to publish the seminarpapers in two separate volumes in the jyvSskyli English Department series. After itwas clear that the anniversary symposium of the AFinLA did not produce enoughpapers to constitute a full volume for the AFinLA Yearbook 7997,a decision was made to combine the papers of the two seminars for the yearbook volume. Inmany ways they represent various facets of one and the same problemarea. KS, DM & TK CONTENIS Harald Haarmann Symbolic internationalization: beyond the practicaluse of foreign languages in intercultural communication Hartmut Schroder How to avoid ethnocentricity and stereotypes in analyzinganother culture 1 Paula Kat* Analyzing service encounters cross-culturally: methodological considerations 37 Elise KaAkdinen The problem of norm in the study of cross-cultural discoure 45 Hilkka Yli-fokipii Running against time and technology problems in empirical research into written business communication 59 Hannele Duftla Innocents abroad: the politics of cross-cultural communication 73 Sirpa Lepponen Linguistics and the transnationalisation of literature 91 David Marsh Pitfalls of cross-cultural communication training: theart of the appropriate 97 Arrni Aalionen, Laura-Marta HakokOngits, Pekka lsowursu, Hell Kaarre, Riitta Kalaja and Tuija Rapakko Spoken discourse of Finnish speakers of English 111 Taru-Maija Heilala-Rasimor, and lama Vesanen Teaching cultural competence in the English language classroom in Finnish schools n9 f; Riiita Kat* A contrastive analysis of the spoken discourse of bilingual Swedish Finnich and native Swedish school children 125 Tuija Nikko Comprehension in NS-NNS conversation 131 Aria Piirainen-Marsh The handling of impositions in native - non-native conversations 139 Liisa Salo-Lee L2 learner repairs in cross-cultural communication 155 David Marsh Seeking clarification in oral tests PirkkoRaudat:wski The relevance of repair for self explicating artifacts 173 Merja Karjalainen Special features in children's conversations 181 Paul Mellvenny Some thoughts on the study of sign language talk 187 luhani Information structure in Finnish live ice hockey reporting: an answer to Tomlin (1983) 203 Sonja Tirkkonen-Condil Relational propositions in text comprehension processes 239 Ellen Valle Pragmalinguistic features of academic-scientific discourse: a model for analysis and a diachronic application 247 Paula Ka laja and Sirpa Leppfinen Transaction and interaction in writing: the case of electronic mail 267 SYMBOLIC INTERNATIONALIZATION: BEYOND THE PRACTICAL USE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION Harald Haarmann Helsinki Internationalization as a factor in intercultural communication Intercultural communication is a phenomenon withmany facets, and an essential element of our modern age is the degree to which its importance has increased. This phenomenon must be seen as havingmany facets because its effectiveness is displayed on at least three basic levels: a) Face-to-face interaction When people who belong to different speech communitieswant to interact, they have to agree on the means of communication theyare going to use. If none of the participants in the interaction has a command of the other's mothertongue, they have to choose a language of wider communication whichmay be a second or a foreign language (eg. English usedamong Hindi-speaking people and Tamils in India), a lingua franca, or a world language. (A lingua francais not necessarily identical with a world language. For example, Swahili, usedas a lingua franca among people in South-East Africa, is nota world language.) In a world-wide comparison, Englishis undoubtedly the language of widest communication, followed by French, a language which ismore regionally limited, b) Interaction on the institutional level Intercultural communication is an elementary component ofinternational relations (ie. political contacts, trade relations, business negotiations).On the institutional level the choice and the use of a language of wider communication are both more strongly formalized than they are on the level of face-to-face interaction. Recall that the number of languages in international organizations is fairly limited (eg English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, andChinese as 2 official or working languages in the UN). As for the latter organization, German has enjoyed a special status since 1975. All proceedings of the UN General Assembly are translated into German, although German is not a working language. In most international organizations English plays a dominant part as an official or working language. c) Interaction between languages as cultural vehicles As a consequence of intercultural communication functioning on levels (a) and (b), the vocabulary of major and minor languages of the world has steadily internationalized (Akulenko 1972). English plays an ever increasing rote as a promoting factor of the international neologisms which penetrate the lexical structures of local languages in the fields such as technology, industrial economy, commerce, and public relations, to name but a few. For example, about 80 percent of the Japanese vocabulary used in the automotive industry and in computer technology are of English origin (see Arakawa 1982 foran inventory of foreign terms in Japanese). English thus dominates the Japanese language in this ,ard, even though the Japanese have produced
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