Speech styles and functions of speech from a cross-cultural perspective

Abstract

This article analyses cross-cultural differences in speech styles found in 40 interviews conducted on two groups composed of 20 German and 20 Brazilian respondents. After illustrating the preponderant differences in language use, we relate the speech styles characteristic of each group to the particular functions of speech they serve. Results of the analysis show the phatic, poetic and expressive functions to be the most dominant in the Brazilian group, whereas the use of the referential and the metalinguistic functions seem to be more common in the German responses. Finally, the article shows that these findings can be partially explained by their embedding in distinct cultural and historical backgrounds and through an interrelationship with other studies in the field of cross-cultural pragmatics.