Understatement in English Discourse

21/02
Linguistic relativity and intercultural Communication
- intercultural interactions Bring together speakers with di erent linguistic and cultural
backgrounds and are characterised by various contextual variables.
- If every language is tied to a set of language and culture speci c norms, values and
assumptions, how can speakers of di erent languages communicate successfully in
intercultural interactions? Is there a culturally neutral language that can be used to do things
with words interculturally? —> There’s no neutral languagae (none is devoid of history and
culture) - even if there were languages used by the mojority like latin (lingua franca) or Greek
(koine)

There are words that are untraslatable - the concept are particular of that culture/s (it can be
borrowed, but will it be understood completely?)

The Notion of linguaculture:

Risager (2006): "Language is to be conceived as an integral part of culture and society, and of the
psyche, and the study of language should have this understanding as its point of departure. [.….]
Linguistic practice is always cultural, in the sense that it is in itself a form of cultural (meaningful)
practice, and because it is embedded in a larger cultural (meaningful) context on which it leaves
its own mark. [….] Human culture always includes language, and human language cannot be
conceived without culture [.….] In every language (every form of linguistic practice) there are items
that are speci c to precisely this language, other items that it shares with certain other languages,
and some that must assumed to be universal and which the language in question shares with all
other known languages"
- Based on the idea that language and culture are inseparable at the generic level. A language is
always the expression of the culture of its community of speakers; it re ects their norms,
values, assumptions and ways of thinking.
Concept of “I” (1st singular person) universally usable [other words: someone, something]
But a concept of “there” it’s not

English - cannot talk in singular —> linguaculturers [a lot of crosscultural variaties]

Nowadays English is spoken more by non-native speakers than native ones
English is not a culturally-neutral language. It carries its own historical and cultural baggage (like
any other language), and this can create problems in intercultural interactions.
ANGLO CULTURES
The set of norms, values and ways of thinking shared by speakers of English and speci c to the
English language. Fair, reasonable, privacy, evidence, sense, nice are all untranslatable, English-
speci c words which do not have exact semantic equivalents in other languages (e.g. Italian). Yet,
these words are used in everyday interactions around the world.

Global status of English - risk to linguistic relativity

Every language is a byproduct of their own cultures
Crosscultural awareness (Imprisoned in English)
English can be used e ectively as a global vehicular language provided it is used critically and
consciously. It is necessary to be aware of its linguistic and cultural relativism.
On various occasions English is used as the language of intercultural mediation (business,
international relations, science, etc.). Speakers resort to English to avoid incommunicability.
Code (code of Communication - langauge)
- Code-switching: immediately switch from one code to another
- Code-mixing: mix the two (common in USA, with latin-american Spanish)
> What kind of English is that? It may present characteristics of other languages which speakers
transfer from their native languages. A hybrid English, simultaneously di erent from the English of
native speakers and more inclusive of cross-linguistic variation.

Intercultural Communicative Competence

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 In the case of English, the Notion of communicative competence becomes double-sided.
Intercultural speakers need to be competent speakers of both Anglo English and English as a
global vehicular language [video - They’re a weird mob -1966]
Intercultural comunicative competence includes the following skills (Farese and
Pacchioni2022:94):
- being linguistically and culturally pro cient in more than one language;
- focusing on successful communication in interactional contexts (getting the message across)
rather than on linguistic accuracy and strict adherence to grammatical norms;
- being careful not to o end anyone during a conversation, showing cross-cultural sensitivity and
awareness;
- being language inclusive rather than exclusive (i.e, favouring the mixing of languages in the
same interaction);
- not imposing the cultural values and (interactional) norms of a single national community;
- translating or paraphrasing if necessary;
- seeking veri cation and mutual understanding;
- repeating some content for the sake of clarity, maximizing participation and engagement;
- showing interest in the interlocutor's discourse through a series of backchanneling cues* and
body language and using simple and clear words;
- using di erent linguistic registers as required by the situation and shifting from a formal to an
informal style or vice versa (e.g when negotiating address modes with one's conversational
partner).
*Backchanneling cues - de nition (without, sign of disinterest)

Pragmatic and cultural competence in English [slide]

How spekers of English do things with words porperly and in a culturally-appropriate fashion.
It necessary to analyse the relationship between English language and Anglocultures. By doing
this, it will be possible to understand not only how English speakers express themselves in
di erent interactional contexts, but also why they speak as they do. Di erent varieties of English
have di erent speech practices informed by di erent cultural values and assumptions
(intralinguistic variation).

CULTURAL SCRIPTS - semantic representation of the culture-speci c norms, values, ways of

thinking and speech practices of a community of speakers. They are formulated in the simple and
cross-translatable terms of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) theorized by Anna
Wierzbicka. (Not every speakers but the majority, common)

Cultural scripts have di erent levels of generality: high-

level or “master" scripts capture the main value or way
of thinking of a community of speakers, whereas low-
level scripts capture the interactional consequences of
that value.

Es. of cultural script

“Is it good not to put pressure on the adresee” - (lower level): do not exaggerate
“It is good to show your Emotions” - use exaggeration
Japanese - even if it’s a Scienti c truth you have to sat circa/about
Useful to train people like me for crosslinguistical

Cultural scripts are not intended as prescriptions of linguistic behaviour, but as attempts at
interpreting and articulating tacit rules of linguistic performance. The assumption is that "even
those who do not personally identify with the content of a script are familiar with it, ie. that it forms
part of the interpretive backdrop to discourse and social behaviour in a particular cultural context"
(Goddard and Wierzbicka2004:157).
The native speakers of a language are usually unaware of their own scripts, they simply take them
for granted. Language use is mostly automatic and unconscious, and people do not re ect on
how they speak. Foreign learners, by contrast, are more aware of them because they need to
re ect consciously on any striking di erence between the target linguaculture and their own.
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 A peculiar phenomenon of English discourse is that often speakers do not say exactly when they
mean, but say more or less. It is the interlocutor who has to arrive to the correct interpretation of
the speaker's statement relying on contextual clues and on shared information.
The linguistic practice of saying more or less than what one wants to say is called implicature,
from the verb imply. Implied meaning. —> Understanding the implied meaning of a statement
correctly is undoubtedly one of the main skills that English language learners need to develop to
become pro cient and to communicate e ectively in English.
Implicature: say more/less than what you mean - cause of miscommunication

(need not as necessity but as an obligation, but sounding less imposing)

Well - preparing smone for a

response that it’s not liked
Perhaps you could consider a
di erent solution.
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(Fox, 2004:173)
"There is rarely anything straightforward or direct or transparent about English social interaction.
We seem to be congenitally incapable of being frank, clear or assertive. We are always oblique,
always playing some complex, convoluted game. […] Why, as one American visitor plaintively
asked me, can't the English just be a bit more direct, you know, or a bit more upfront?”

Reading materials: F&P, ch. 1-2-6; article by Goddard and Wierzbicka 2004;
Kecskes, ch. 3