Keywords, semantic domains and intercultural competence in the British and Taiwanese Teenage Intercultural Communication Corpus

Abstract

This paper reports on a corpus analysis of samples of intercultural discourse among a group of British and Taiwanese adolescents, exploring the statistically salient lexical features in online and spoken communication based on the British and Taiwanese Teenage Intercultural Communication Corpus (batticc). I employ a frequency-driven approach throughout the study to obtain insights into how language is used in these two different communicative settings. By the analysis of a keyword method and an extension to a semantic level using the Wmatrix corpus analysis tool, this study highlights the linguistic domains which deserve particular attention. Specifically, the key semantic domain analysis revealed the themes adolescent participants are mainly concerned with, and it revealed particular lexical choices with a great number of cultural and social differences between different groups of participants in the two modes of intercultural communication. The examination of the concordances within the key semantic categories further showed intercultural competence exhibited in batticc, including attitudes of curiosity and openness, relational knowledge, skills of discovery and interaction, and critical culture awareness. This study demonstrates the merit of key domain analysis in the understanding of intercultural competence and intercultural discourse in online and face-to-face settings.