Sprachwissenschaft als Kulturwissenschaft aus romanistischer Sicht: Das Beispiel der kontrastiven Pragmatik

Abstract

One of the central questions of pragmalinguistics is the distinction between linguistic structures and cultural norms that guide the usage of these structures in verbal interaction. This distinction is especially important for contrastive pragmatics, which analyses the interfaces of different languages and cultures. In order to draw a clear line between linguistic and cultural differences in patterns of interaction, contrastive pragmatics needs a methodological framework that is centred around a precise analytical separation between the idiomatic traditions of language and the cultural traditions of verbal interaction. Based on Eugenio Coseriu’s system of language as a cultural competence, the study introduces a model that distinguishes three perspectives and types of (contrastive) pragmatics. A key-notion of this model is the concept of discourse traditions as a cultural knowledge that guides verbal interactions. Using this model as a blueprint, the study discusses discourse traditions of requesting with a focus on question acts used as polite requests. In the study, the idea of cultural traditions of discourse, which has been widely discussed in Romance linguistics during the last years, proves to be fruitful for a new methodological perspective on illocutionary patterns and communicative routines in contrastive and intercultural pragmatics.