Discourse Style Research Articles

Exploring Doctor–Patient Communication in Immigrant Australians with Type 2 Diabetes: A Qualitative Study

OBJECTIVEThe study explored the perceptions of Australian immigrants about their interactions with doctors regarding the diagnosis, treatment, and management of type 2 diabetes mellitus.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSIn-depth interviews were conducted with 30 men and women from Greek, Indian, Chinese, and Pacific Island backgrounds living in Melbourne, Australia, to elicit their perceptions of the management of diabetes and its impact. Participants were recruited through a convenience sample of general practitioners and community organizations providing support to people living with diabetes. Topics discussed included initial reaction to diagnosis, patient—health care provider communication, and the influence of message framing on the perception of the quality of the doctor–patient relationship. Transcripts were coded and analyzed by both authors.RESULTSNumerous issues facilitate or inhibit constructive and positive relationships between doctors and patients with type 2 diabetes. Patients reported difficulty in absorbing all the information provided to them at early consultations, and experienced difficulty comprehending the practical aspects of management. Styles of communication and discourses of normalization and catastrophe influenced participants’ responses.CONCLUSIONDoctors face a complex task in encouraging behavioral change and adherence and establishing and maintaining a supportive relationship with patients. The timing and technical complexity of communication about diabetes, its management, and the prevention of complications require further attention.

Producing culturally appropriate narratives in English as a foreign language

Cross-cultural and second/foreign language (L2) studies on oral narratives have suggested that one’s native language and culture affect discourse production in an L2 and have detected areas of difficulty for L2 learners in producing extended discourse. However, written narrative has received less attention, although it can provide rich data on cross-cultural differences and hold important implications for L2 literacy acquisition and pedagogy. This study was designed to investigate culturally preferred written discourse styles and their effects on L2 writing of personal narratives. It explored cross-cultural differences in the use of narrative structural features including evaluation between first language written narratives produced by native speakers of American English and first- and second-language narratives written by Koreans learning English. Differences in first language narrative styles were used to explain how Korean EFL learners’ narrative discourse in English could vary from native English speakers’ discourse norms. Participants were Korean adult EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners and American native-English speakers in the U.S. The findings show that specifically Korean cultural strategies were evident in the Korean English learners’ English narrative discourse rather than the preferred discourse style of the target language and culture. The findings hold implications for L2 writing pedagogy and L2 training in discourse production.

Investigative Interviewers' Perceptions of Their Difficulty in Adhering to Open-Ended Questions with Child Witnesses

Best practice guidelines for conducting investigative interviews of children emphasise the importance of obtaining free narrative accounts with the use of open-ended questions. However, research indicates that most investigative interviewers underutilise open-ended questions, even following intensive training in their use. The aim of the current study was to explore investigative interviewers' perceptions of their difficulty in asking open-ended questions. During a training course on how to use open-ended questions, eight child abuse investigators were individually interviewed about why they had asked specific questions in a 10-minute mock interview conducted immediately earlier with a school child. Overall, three reasons were identified. These related to: 1. the specificity of the information required from children; 2. the unfamiliar nature of the open-ended discourse style; and 3. the complex distinction between open-ended versus specific questions. Each of these themes is discussed, along with the implications for trainers and researchers in child investigative interviewing.

Facilitating narrative medical discussions of type 1 diabetes with computer visualizations and photography

Objective Patient-centered approaches to medicine suggest the need for physicians to become more aware of concerns and needs expressed in patient narratives. However, patients and physicians have different goals and discourse styles during consultations. We attempt to bridge these differences by providing patients with ways to collect, visualize, and describe behavioral and biomedical data. Methods We describe an intervention where individuals with type 1 diabetes photograph health-related behaviors. These images and blood glucose records are displayed in computer visualizations and used during patient–physician interviews. Results Qualitative analyses of interview data with patients who photographed their lives suggest the range of difficulties associated with diabetes self-management. The visualizations helped them articulate concerns about stress, peer relations, and unhealthy routines. Conclusion Interventions that combine biomedical and biopsychosocial data during patient–physician consultations may be beneficial for patients, helping them reflect on correlations between behaviors and health. Physicians are provided with contextual evidence to better understand patient issues around diabetes management. Practice implications We suggest that this and similar interventions could be used as an occasional diagnostic to help patients articulate stories of their health-related practices. Annotated archives of photographs and glucose data may also be useful tools for sharing diabetes experiences with newly diagnosed patients.

“Drawing the Line of Equality”: Hannah Mather Crocker on Women's Rights

Hannah Mather Crocker was the leading American political theorist between 1800 and 1820 to engage the controversial question of sex equality. In the wake of the postrevolutionary backlash against political radicalism, she became a subtle rhetorician of women's rights. She accepted how her cultural context placed limits on the realization of women's rights, yet she did not analytically conflate these temporal limits with women's capacities to contribute to their polity. She sought to normatively defend and gently extend American women's ongoing informal political participation in the postrevolutionary era and challenged the separate spheres discourse that aimed to restrict it. Through the first comprehensive study of Crocker'soeuvre, this article provides new insight into the political role and rhetorical style of women's rights discourse and women's activism in the early republic and uncovers Crocker's philosophical legacies for scholars who seek to reconcile the standpoints of equality and difference feminism.

In and on their own terms: the “habitat factor” in English as a lingua franca interactions

English as a lingua franca (ELF) typically involves the reconciliation of two factors: the intercultural intelligibility among its users and the cultural identity of its individual speakers. It is argued in this paper that the local context, referred to as the “habitat factor,” is of particular relevance with regard to the self-regulation of ELF. Investigating the habitat-specific realizations of pragmatic fluency, and drawing on the work of House (1999), we seek to show how ELF users integrate their mother tongue (L1) communicative norms efficiently into their second language English conversation. We consider the particular case of the use by L1 Arabic speakers of multifunctional discourse markers and strategies to achieve a culturally appropriate ethos of musayara in their interaction, and more generally how the high-involvement style characterized by cooperative overlaps displays a strong tendency toward an L1 discourse style. What our study illustrates is how the global phenomenon of ELF varies in its local realizations.

Shifting Speech Styles and Perspectives in Japanese Interview Discourse

Shifting Speech Styles and Perspectives in Japanese Interview Discourse

Written narratives as an index of L2 competence in Korean EFL learners

This study investigated how linguistically determined Korean discourse strategies for establishing textual cohesion and marking written register in the Korean language may help explain the differences between the native English speakers’ and the Korean English learners’ written narratives in English. It employed quantitative methods of analysis to explore the use of specific linguistic features of written narratives. Participants were Korean adult EFL (English as a Foreign language) learners and American native English speakers in the U.S. The findings show that specifically Korean linguistic strategies were evident in the Korean English learners’ English narrative discourse rather than the preferred discourse style of the target language. For example, Koreans’ writing in English relied on some specifically Korean linguistic strategies, such as highly frequent use of demonstrative references and repetition. However, it is also observed that the Korean English learners’ English stories tended to diverge from their Korean stories in the direction of the target language norms. In other words, Koreans writing in English did show relative success in approaching English native speaker norms on the narrative and discourse dimensions such as reference, including pronominal reference. The findings hold important implications for L2 writing pedagogy and L2 training in discourse production.

Teacher–pupil dialogue with pupils with special educational needs in the National Literacy Strategy

This paper reports on an investigation into the interactive and discourse styles of a nationally representative sample of primary teachers (n = 70) as they work with pupils who experience difficulties in literacy development during whole class and group‐based sections of the literacy hour. Using a computerized observation schedule and discourse analysis system, the paper explores the impact of the official endorsement of ‘interactive whole‐class teaching’ on the teaching of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in the literacy hour to see whether the National Literacy Strategy (NLS) is promoting their active involvement. The findings suggest that while the NLS is encouraging teachers to involve pupils with SEN in the literacy hour, the discourse is dominated by teacher explanation and question/answer sequences that provide little opportunity for pupils of all abilities to initiate, explore and elaborate on their ideas. The implications of the findings are considered in the light of their impact on classroom pedagogy and the professional development of teachers who are charged with implementing the national policy‐led initiatives like the NLS.

Diversity in Online Teaching: When Culture and Online Education Conflict

Developing and implementing communication strategies to counterbalance the obstacles to social interaction created by the separation of learners from one another present a challenge for Internet-based instructors. Sensitivity is required to accommodate ethnically diverse variations in communicative practices so that learners are neither penalized for their cultural differences nor impeded in their learning processes by those differences. The literate discourse style imbedded in the online threaded discussion may be a new way of communicating for learners with a culturally based oral discourse style. Ill-structured problems, facilitation, and explicit criteria for evaluation that is distinctly different from the directions for participating in the discussion help students make a successful transition from speaking in the classroom to writing in the online threaded discussion.

Feminine style in presidential debate discourse, 1960–2000

Dow and Tonn's feminine rhetorical style is used to evaluate the argument structures used in presidential debate discourse. Results suggest that the feminine style element of references to personal experience is prevalent in debate discourse but that inductive structure and use of anecdotes and examples are less prevalent than one might expect. Further, feminine style elements, including references to personal experience and use of inductive structure, have decreased over time since the 1960 debate. Differences were also found in use of specific feminine style elements by political party, incumbency status and election outcome.

Gendered Discourse about Family Business

Abstract: Language patterns of family business owners were explored by identifying discourse styles and emphasized ideas in four presenting contexts: business, family, intersection of family and business, and business success. The content analysis supports the existence of a general discourse style within family businesses and of similarities and differences between men and women in emphasized ideas as they frame their family businesses. The emotional discourse style (words of personal involvement, concern, and preference) was prominent across contexts for both genders, and there was a distinct absence of analytical language. Women had a higher emotional discourse style score for managing the business than did men, and balanced their emotional language with the practicality of planning tasks and creating efficiencies.

Rethinking Democratic Procedures: Democracy and Deliberative Experiences in Turkey's LA21 Process

This paper attempts to describe the conditions necessary for the furthering of democracy in Turkey by focusing on a certain conception of democratic legitimacy that goes beyond formal arrangements. It argues that the effective participation of citizens in democratic procedures is necessary for the consolidation of democracy in public life. To defend this argument, the theoretical background developed in deliberative models of democracy is followed. The quality of ‘talk’, as a constitutive feature of democracy, is explored by following the critical perspectives in deliberative theory that focus on the discursive mechanisms of exclusion and on power relations intrinsic to deliberative procedures. For this purpose, the deliberative processes in a series of ‘working group meetings’, carried out as a part of the Local Agenda 21 project, are analysed. The democratic capacity of deliberative experiences and public dialogue is analysed by examining the inclusion/exclusion of opposing ideas, different identities and discourse styles during these working groups meetings.

The effect of literacy, text type, and modality on the use of grammatical means for agency alternation in Spanish

Abstract The paper explores developmental patterns in a set of grammatical constructions that Spanish speaker-writers can use for agency alternation. Although all these constructions downgrade agency, they differ in the way they do so, and in the formal devices they use for this purpose. Some promote a patient perspective ( ser -marked passives and se -passives), others promote a generic interpretation of agents ( se -impersonals and 2nd person singular), while still others impute a degree of autonomy to the situation denoted by the predicate ( se -middles). All these constructions appear more frequently in expository texts than in narrative texts and, except for 2nd person singular pronouns, more appear in the written modality than in the spoken modality. However, only passives showed a clear developmental pattern. The study shows that, given the options of a particular language, the distribution of grammatical constructions is an outcome of communicative purposes – that is, a function of the type of text as perceived by the speaker-writer – in relation to thematic content and perceptions of written language as a discourse style.

Anti‐globalization movements and the European agenda

This article examines the relationship between the Europeanization process and the anti‐globalization agenda in Europe. Relying on the results of fieldwork research conducted since 2001 on the anti‐globalization demonstrations surrounding the European summits, it argues that these transnational protest movements are of a dual and, in part, contradictory nature. On the one hand, they have an agenda‐setting character, contributing to the formation of European public opinion. On the other hand, their influence in terms of agenda setting of European policy is constrained by their discourse style which bypasses or circumvents official discourse about European integration.

The internet rhetoric of the Ku Klux Klan: A case study in web site community building run amok

Many scholars have praised the Internet as a locale where positive community building takes place. Conversely, this study examines 23 KKK web sites as an exemplar of how groups may engage in community building of a most egregious sort. Through appeals to white masculinity and, on some web sites, segmented appeals to women and to youth and children, Klan web sites attempt to create community that is unified by its opposition to minority groups, particularly Jews. The angry style of Klan discourse, which is compatible with the rhetorical conventions of the Web, discourages dissenting points of view while inflaming potential supporters. Moreover, Klan rhetoric on the Web encourages odious political activity, including acts of violence, at the same time that Klan web sites disavow responsibility for the consequences of their messages.

Reporting Discourse, Tense, and Cognition (review)

Reviewed by: Reporting discourse tense and cognition by Tomoko I. Sakita Chaoqun Xie Reporting discourse, tense, and cognition. By Tomoko I. Sakita. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2002. Pp. xiv, 290. ISBN 008044041X. $88 (Hb). In this impressive book, Tomoko I. Sakita argues for a dynamic and interdisciplinary analysis of reporting discourse. In this text, an updated version of the author’s doctoral dissertation completed at Kyoto University in 1998, S aims ‘to provide systematic accounts of reporting discourse behaviors in naturally spoken English’ (227). Indeed, S’s presentation makes some contributions to clarifying some previous misunderstandings concerning reporting discourse. This book contains eight chapters. In Ch. 1 (1–18), the introduction, S begins with a call for understanding reporting discourse in relation to narrative. S then discusses discourse perspectives on reporting discourse before presenting an overview of the rest of the chapters. I agree with S when she points out that [End Page 355] ‘Traditional linguistics has mostly been based on the analysis of unnatural language, and has put aside empirically available details of talk’ (12). Ch. 2 (19–42) reviews relevant literature in tense-alternation theories and identifies existing problems. In Ch. 3 (43–80), the author presents cognitive backgrounds of ‘dialogue-introducer tense-switching in conversational narratives’ (78). By means of the cognitive recollection model, the key factors of which are proximity, psychological involvement, and self-identity, S shows that the narrator’s self-identity has some influence on the narrator’s choice of tense form. In Ch. 4, ‘Tense and attitudinal contrast’ (81–118), S argues for dialogue-introducer tenses as attitudinal markers, pointing out that utterances introduced with the past tense signal a stronger attitude than utterances introduced with the present tense. In Ch. 5, ‘Consciousness flow, discourse acts, and tense’ (119–58), the dialogue-introducer tenses are explored as conscious stream markers. Utilizing the consciousness stream model, S demonstrates that such forms as ‘I says’, ‘he say’, ‘I saying’, and ‘he saying’, previously regarded as ungrammatical, actually ‘work toward making a narrative a coherent whole with a natural consciousness flow’ (229). In Ch. 6, ‘Tense in indirect reporting discourse’ (159–82), the author challenges traditional standard treatments of tense in indirect reporting discourse, pointing out that ‘the reported clause is not subordinated to the reporting clause as has long been assumed’ (160). For the author, a pragmatic and discourse-oriented approach to the subject matter in question reveals that the reporter’s point of view determines the tenses of reported verbs. In this chapter, the author also discusses the absolute tense as a preferred device for contextual clarity and for discourse coherence. Ch. 7, ‘Reporting discourse style and function’ (183–226), focuses on structural factors affecting the choice of reporting style. Here, S also deals with some interactional functions of reporting discourse, with a concluding discussion of how function and style are linked to each other. In Ch. 8 (227–34), S sums up the major arguments made in previous chapters and suggests issues for future research. The book ends with notes to each chapter, transcription conventions, references, and author and subject indices. Well-researched and clearly presented, this book represents a step forward in our understanding of direct and indirect reporting discourse, showing that tense-alternation in reporting discourse is not only a topic of syntax but also one of pragmatics, cognition, and consciousness, and that an interdisciplinary approach to reporting discourse should be adopted. The book’s dynamic analysis of reporting discourse also contributes to our understanding of how we human beings perceive and interpret the world and (re)construct our social identity and self-identity. Chaoqun Xie Fujian Normal University Copyright © 2004 Linguistic Society of America

Interactive whole class teaching in the National Literacy and Numercy Strategies

The study set out to investigate the impact of the official endorsement of ‘interactive whole class teaching’ on the interaction and discourse styles of primary teachers while teaching the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. In both strategies, interactive whole class teaching is seen as an ‘active teaching’ model promoting high quality dialogue and discussion between teachers and pupils. Pupils are expected to play an active part in discussion by asking questions, contributing ideas and explaining and demonstrating their thinking to the class. Using computerized systematic classroom observation, discourse analysis of transcripts and a questionnaire, the project looked specifically at the discourse strategies currently used by a national sample of primary teachers when teaching the literacy and numeracy strategies and their perceptions of current practices. The findings suggest that traditional patterns of whole class interaction have not been dramatically transformed by the strategies. The implications of the findings for classroom pedagogy, teachers' professional development and future research priorities are considered.

Revealing Ability Amidst Perceived Disability in Clinical Interactions: A Nice Idea or a Clinical Imperative?

Exposing ability where more usually disability is described in people with communication disorders is by no means a new or groundbreaking idea. Speech and language therapists are ever-cognisant of the need to work through a client’s communication strengths to address weaknesses. But what does revealing competence really mean and are we, as therapists, just paying ‘lip-service’ to the notion, rather than permitting it to positively and realistically influence our practice? This paper shows how the skilled behaviour of conversational sociability can be exposed in conversational interactions with people with chronic schizophrenia – a largely neglected population in terms of communication research – thus revealing ability where traditionally only disability has been discussed. Through discourse analysis, it will be shown that reconsidering the nature of ordinary, everyday talk can provide useful insights about the nature of so-called ‘disordered talk’. Identifying conversational strengths rather than weaknesses offers an opportunity to re construe the communication possibilities of people with schizophrenia and hence of many other communication-disordered populations. Exposing the positive skill of conversational sociability also forces us to contemplate the power of sociable talk (or small talk) in, and the influence of our own discourse style on, clinical interactions.

Discourse of Survival: Building Families Free of Unhealthy Relationships

Victims of familial or interpersonal abuse are often trapped in silence. Issues of the victim's willingness and ability to disclose, contexts of telling, as well as victim-listener interaction, have great significance on the outcome of the victim's storytelling experience. In this study, 12 abuse survivors were interviewed and narrated their experiences of relational abuse and survivorship. Participants included residents of a shelter for victims of domestic violence and abuse as well as self-selected volunteers. The victims' narratives were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded for emergent themes, and reanalyzed for styles of discourse. Results indicate two major themes: disempowerment, which perpetuates silence, and empowerment, which facilitates change in the victims' lives. Narrating their experiences requires victims to confront constraints that prevent empowerment, including conformity to roles, a false hope the abuser will change, and the social construction of victimization. Telling such stories can also represent an important means of achieving healthier family relationships.