Abstract
This paper highlights the results of an intercultural study within the theoretical frame of (im)politeness about the way in which Spanish and English speakers manage situations of disagreement. However, in order not to ignore the internal variation that in each culture exists, cultural contrasts are analysed while simultaneously taking into account situational variation. This study is based upon a questionnaire carried out among 240 informants. Using open questions, both qualitative and quantitative methodology is employed. As regards (im)politeness, the rapport management theory by Spencer-Oatey (2002, 2008) is the model employed for reference. The replies of the informants are analysed regarding their possible reaction to a situation of disagreement in different contextual frames. It is observed whether the speaker does or does not express disagreement, as well as the way it is expressed (mitigated, open or boosted) and the kind of strategies that are employed.
Highlights
Studies on politeness have come a long way since the very first pioneering offerings of the seventies and eighties of the previous century (Lakoff, 1973; Brown y Levinson, 1978, 1987; Leech, 1983)
If cultural behaviour patterns are perceived, these must necessarily be interpreted as having a dynamic nature and should be regarded as the sum of internal varieties. Starting with these premises and focusing on the way in which cultural variation and situational variation interact, the following specific objectives in this study are proposed: a) to contextualise the research carried out, starting from traditional approaches of intercultural pragmatics and presenting the basic guidelines of the research project of which this study forms a part; b) to check whether one can distinguish different cultural patterns between Spanish and English speakers regarding how they deal with disagreement in conversation; c) to analyse whether such patterns, if they exist, are lineal and stable within each culture or whether, on the contrary, they are subject to significant change depending on situational factors of internal variation
This paper began by insisting on the inappropriateness of approaching intercultural pragmatic analyses through a comparison between monolithic and homogeneous cultural blocks, considering that social variation and situational variation could significantly modulate behavioural patterns within a society
Summary
Studies on politeness have come a long way since the very first pioneering offerings of the seventies and eighties of the previous century (Lakoff, 1973; Brown y Levinson, 1978, 1987; Leech, 1983). Such research has often ignored the issue of intracultural pragmatic variation (with exceptions such as that of Schneider, 2012; or Staley, 2018) For this reason, one must believe that any description of communicative behavioural patterns of a culture as a homogeneous whole —in general, and regarding (im)politeness in particular— can inevitably only be partial and reductionist, offering a biased vision of reality. Starting with these premises and focusing on the way in which cultural variation and situational variation interact, the following specific objectives in this study are proposed: a) to contextualise the research carried out, starting from traditional approaches of intercultural pragmatics and presenting the basic guidelines of the research project of which this study forms a part; b) to check whether one can distinguish different cultural patterns between Spanish and English speakers regarding how they deal with disagreement in conversation; c) to analyse whether such patterns, if they exist, are lineal and stable within each culture or whether, on the contrary, they are subject to significant change depending on situational factors of internal variation.
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