Cognitive and Discoursive Features of Speech Etiquette in Corporate Communication

Abstract

Today, the cultural, community-driven and individual-specific facets of speech etiquette are discussed in terms of the functional aspects manifested in various types of communication, including corporate interaction. This article analyzes the main cognitive and discoursive characteristics of the British and American speech etiquette from the perspective of cultural, social and role stereotypes, gives a characteristic of the content structure of speech behavior in corporate communication in three main areas—information, evaluation, motivation—and identifies ways to form these values. In order to achieve this goal, the following tasks are to be solved: (1) to determine the functions of speech formulas and their influence on the speech etiquette of British and American businesspeople, and (2) to identify the most outstanding characteristics in the use of formulas of agreement or disagreement in British and American speech etiquette. The article reveals the conditionality of the choice of speech etiquette formulas in the socio-cultural aspect and argues that speech etiquette in corporate communication is characterized by specialized functions and their clear implementation, which is the key to successful communication. The authors conclude that the change of the communicative setting entails the transformation of the register, therefore, the use of other formulas of speech etiquette. Consequently, the transition from formality to individualization of formulas has appeared in the use of formulas of agreement or disagreement in speech etiquette. So, business partners choose formulas based on the appropriateness and acceptability of use in the current setting with a specific interlocutor.