Managing transitions through discourse at work
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.31843Keywords:
discourse, intercultural communication, sociopragmatics, transitions, workplaceAbstract
Workplace transitions provide rich material for understanding intercultural interaction. Research on transitions has typically focussed on the sociocultural effects of moving between nations and/or on examples of career change. Boundary crossing at this macro level has provided insight into how newcomers negotiate novel cultural expectations. As workplace discourse analysts our particular interest is the interactional negotiation that occurs as these newcomers move from one environment to the next. In this paper, using the reflections of those who have experienced such transitions, along with an analysis of recordings of professional migrants in new workplace contexts, we demonstrate how micro-level instantiations of these transitions offer a lens on the contrasting and sometimes conflicting societal norms and sociocultural practices which must be managed in these contexts. The analysis makes use of our social realist model for understanding workplace talk (Holmes, Marra and Vine 2011) and our interpretations are supported by ethnographic observations and discussion with those who have observed or experienced these transitions. We conclude by outlining ways in which this approach to understanding interaction can be used to help prepare newcomers to navigate new workplace contexts.
References
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Candlin, C. N. and Gotti, M. (eds) (2004) Intercultural Aspects of Specialized Communication. Bern: Peter Lang.
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Cook-Gumperz, J. (2001) Cooperation, collaboration and pleasure in work. In A. D. Luzio, S. Gunthner and F. Orletti (eds) Culture in Communication: Analyses of Intercultural Situations, 117–139. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.81.09coo
Coupland, N. (2001) Dialect stylization in radio talk. Language in Society 30 (3): 345–375.
Duchene, A. and Del Percio, A. (2014) Economic capitalization of linguistic diversity: Swiss multilingualism as a national profit? In U. Johann, M. Krzyzanowski and R. Wodak (eds) Multilingual Encounters in Europe’s Institutional Spaces, 75–102: London: Bloomsbury.
Eckert, P. (2008) Variation and the indexical field. Journal of Sociolinguistics 12 (4): 453–476. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9841.2008.00374.x
Ehrlich, S. (2008) Sexual assault trials, discursive identities and institutional change. In R. Dolón and J. Todolí (eds) Analysing Identities in Discourse, 159–177. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.28.11ehr
Fung, L. and Carter, R. (2007) Discourse markers and spoken English: Native and learner use in pedagogic settings. Applied Linguistics 28 (3): 410–439. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amm030
George, L. (1993) Sociological perspectives on life transitions. Annual Review of Sociology 19: 353–373. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.19.080193.002033
Grainger, K. (2011) ‘First order’ and ‘second order’ politeness: Institutional and intercultural contexts. In Linguistic Politeness Research Group (eds) Discursive Approaches to Politeness, 167–188. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
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Heritage, J. (1998) Oh-prefaced responses to inquiry. Language in Society 27 (3): 291–334. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500019990
Holmes, J. (2006) Gendered Talk at Work: Constructing Gender Identity Through Workplace Discourse. Malden, MA: Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470754863
Holmes, J. (2015a) Joining a new community of workplace practice: Inferring attitudes from discourse. In E. Stracke (ed.) Intersections: Applied Linguistics as a Meeting Place, 2–21. Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars.
Holmes, J. (2015b) Making transitions: The role of interaction in joining a workplace community of practice. Novitas Royal: Research on Youth and Language 9 (2): 77–92.
Holmes, J. (2018) Intercultural communication in the workplace. In B. Vine (ed.) Routledge Handbook of Language in the Workplace, 335–347. London: Routledge.
Holmes, J., Joe, A., Marra, M., Newton, J., Riddiford, N. and Vine, B. (2009) Designing research to track socio-pragmatic skills among professionally qualified workers. New Zealand Studies in Applied Linguistics 15 (1): 38–46.
Holmes, J. and Marra, M. (2011) Leadership discourse in a Maori workplace: Negotiating gender, ethnicity and leadership at work. Gender and Language 5 (2): 317–342. https://doi.org/10.1558/genl.v5i2.317
Holmes, J., Marra, M. and Vine, B. (2011) Leadership, Discourse, and Ethnicity (1st edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199730759.001.0001
Holmes, J., Marra, M. and Vine, B. (2012) Politeness and impoliteness in ethnic varieties of New Zealand English. Journal of Pragmatics 44 (9): 1063–1076. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2011.11.006
Holmes, J. and Riddiford, N. (2009) Talk at work: Interactional challenges for immigrants. In V. K. Bahtia, W. Cheng, B. Du-Babcock and J. Lung (eds) Language for Professional Communication: Research, Practice and Training, 217–234. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Holmes, J. and Riddiford, N. (2010) Professional and personal identity at work: Achieving a synthesis through intercultural workplace talk. Journal of Intercultural Communication 22. Available online: https://www.immi.se/intercultural/nr22/holmes.htm
Holmes, J. and Schnurr, S. (2005) Politeness, humor and gender in the workplace: Negotiating norms and identifying contestation. Journal of Politeness Research 1 (1): 121–149. https://doi.org/10.1515/jplr.2005.1.1.121
Holmes, J. and Stubbe, M. (2015 [2003]) Power and Politeness in the Workplace (2nd edition). London: Routledge.
Holmes, J. and Woodhams, J. (2013) Building interaction: The role of talk in joining a community of practice. Discourse & Communication 7 (3): 275–298. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481313494500
House, J. (2005) Politeness in Germany: Politeness in Germany? In L. Hickey and M. Stewart (eds) Politeness in Europe, 13–29. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Hua, Z. (2014) Exploring Intercultural Communication: Language in Action. London: Routledge.
Ibarra, H. and Barbulescu, R. (2010) Identity as narrative: Prevalence, effectiveness, and consequences of narrative identity work in macro work role transitions. Academy of Management Review 35 (1): 135–154.
Jackson, B. and Parry, K. (2001) The Hero Manager: Learning from New Zealand’s Top Chief Executives. Auckland: Penguin NZ.
Joe, A. and Riddiford, N. (2017) Applying research to real world challenges and issues: Developing research-based resources to help migrants enter the workforce. In M. Marra and P. Warren (eds) Linguist at Work: Festschrift for Janet Holmes, 257–273. Wellington: Victoria University Press.
Koester, A. (2010) Workplace Discourse. London: Continuum.
Leech, G. (1983) Principles of Pragmatics. London: Longman.
Leech, G. (2014) The Pragmatics of Politeness. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195341386.001.0001
Lipson, L. (1948) The Politics of Equality: New Zealand’s Adventures in Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Lüdi, G. (2014) Language management measures and their impact in companies operating in a context of linguistic diversity. In U. Johann, M. Krzyzanowski and R. Wodak (eds) Multilingual Encounters in Europe’s Institutional Spaces, 15–42: London: Bloomsbury.
Marra, M. (2008) Recording and analyzing talk across cultures. In H. Spencer-Oatey (ed.) Culturally Speaking: Managing Rapport through Talk Across Cultures (2nd edition), 304–321. London: Continuum.
Markaki, V., Merlino, S., Mondada, L., Oloff, F. and Traverso, V. (2014) Language choice and participation management in international work meetings. In U. Johann, M. Krzyzanowski and R. Wodak (eds) Multilingual Encounters in Europe’s Institutional Spaces, 43–74: London: Bloomsbury.
Nicholson, N. (1984) A theory of work role transitions. Administrative Science Quarterly 29 (2): 172–191. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393172
Paulston, C. B., Kiesling, S. F. and Rangel, E. S. (eds) (2012) The Handbook of Intercultural Discourse and Communication. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118247273
Piller, I. (2011) Intercultural Communication: A Critical Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Riddiford, N. (2007) Making requests appropriately in a second language: Does instruction help to develop pragmatic proficiency? The TESOLANZ Journal 15: 88–102.
Riddiford, N. and Joe, A. (2010) Tracking the development of sociopragmatic skills. TESOL Quarterly 44 (1): 195–205. https://doi.org/10.5054/tq.2010.215252
Roberts, C., Campbell, S. and Robinson, Y. (2008) Talking Like a Manager: Promotion Interviews, Language and Ethnicity. Research Report 510. London: UK Department for Work and Pensions.
Schiffrin, D. (1987) Discourse Markers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511611841
Scott, J. (2013) Final report for summer scholarship. Unpublished manuscript, Victoria University of Wellington.
Spencer-Oatey, H. and Franklin, P. (2009) Intercultural Interaction: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Intercultural Communication. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230244511
Spencer-Oatey, H. and Xing, J. (2008) Issues of face in a Chinese business visit to Britain. In H. Spencer-Oatey (ed.) Culturally Speaking: Culture, Communication and Politeness Theory, 258–273. London: Continuum.
Vine, B. (2004) Getting Things Done at Work: The Discourse of Power in Workplace Interaction. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.124
Wodak, R. (2008) Controversial issues in feminist critical discourse analysis. In K. Harrington, L. Litosseliti, H. Sauntson and J. Sunderland (eds) Gender and Language Research Methodologies, 193–210. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Zaidman, N. and Drory, A. (2001) Upward impression management in the work place cross-cultural analysis. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 25 (6): 671–690. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-1767(01)00031-1
Bönisch-Brednich, B. (2008) Watching the Kiwis: New Zealanders’ rules of social interaction – an introduction. Journal of New Zealand Studies 6–7: 3–15. https://doi.org/10.26686/jnzs.v0i6/7.131
Bradley, H. and Devadason, R. (2008) Fractured transitions: Young adults’ pathways into contemporary labour markets. Sociology 42 (1): 119–136. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038507084828
Brown, P. and Levinson, S. (1987) Politeness: Some Universals in Language Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511813085
Cameron, D. (2009) Theoretical issues for the study of gender and spoken interaction. In P. Pichler and E. M. Eppler (eds) Gender and Spoken Interaction, 1–17. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230280748_1
Candlin, C. N. and Gotti, M. (eds) (2004) Intercultural Aspects of Specialized Communication. Bern: Peter Lang.
Clyne, M. (1994) Inter-cultural Communication at Work: Cultural Values in Discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cook-Gumperz, J. (2001) Cooperation, collaboration and pleasure in work. In A. D. Luzio, S. Gunthner and F. Orletti (eds) Culture in Communication: Analyses of Intercultural Situations, 117–139. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.81.09coo
Coupland, N. (2001) Dialect stylization in radio talk. Language in Society 30 (3): 345–375.
Duchene, A. and Del Percio, A. (2014) Economic capitalization of linguistic diversity: Swiss multilingualism as a national profit? In U. Johann, M. Krzyzanowski and R. Wodak (eds) Multilingual Encounters in Europe’s Institutional Spaces, 75–102: London: Bloomsbury.
Eckert, P. (2008) Variation and the indexical field. Journal of Sociolinguistics 12 (4): 453–476. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9841.2008.00374.x
Ehrlich, S. (2008) Sexual assault trials, discursive identities and institutional change. In R. Dolón and J. Todolí (eds) Analysing Identities in Discourse, 159–177. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.28.11ehr
Fung, L. and Carter, R. (2007) Discourse markers and spoken English: Native and learner use in pedagogic settings. Applied Linguistics 28 (3): 410–439. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amm030
George, L. (1993) Sociological perspectives on life transitions. Annual Review of Sociology 19: 353–373. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.19.080193.002033
Grainger, K. (2011) ‘First order’ and ‘second order’ politeness: Institutional and intercultural contexts. In Linguistic Politeness Research Group (eds) Discursive Approaches to Politeness, 167–188. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Hecht, M., Warren, J., Jung, E. and Krieger, J. (2005) Communication theory of identity: Development, theoretical perspective, and future directions. In W. B. Gudykunst (ed.) Theorizing About Intercultural Communication, 257–278. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Heritage, J. (1998) Oh-prefaced responses to inquiry. Language in Society 27 (3): 291–334. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500019990
Holmes, J. (2006) Gendered Talk at Work: Constructing Gender Identity Through Workplace Discourse. Malden, MA: Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470754863
Holmes, J. (2015a) Joining a new community of workplace practice: Inferring attitudes from discourse. In E. Stracke (ed.) Intersections: Applied Linguistics as a Meeting Place, 2–21. Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars.
Holmes, J. (2015b) Making transitions: The role of interaction in joining a workplace community of practice. Novitas Royal: Research on Youth and Language 9 (2): 77–92.
Holmes, J. (2018) Intercultural communication in the workplace. In B. Vine (ed.) Routledge Handbook of Language in the Workplace, 335–347. London: Routledge.
Holmes, J., Joe, A., Marra, M., Newton, J., Riddiford, N. and Vine, B. (2009) Designing research to track socio-pragmatic skills among professionally qualified workers. New Zealand Studies in Applied Linguistics 15 (1): 38–46.
Holmes, J. and Marra, M. (2011) Leadership discourse in a Maori workplace: Negotiating gender, ethnicity and leadership at work. Gender and Language 5 (2): 317–342. https://doi.org/10.1558/genl.v5i2.317
Holmes, J., Marra, M. and Vine, B. (2011) Leadership, Discourse, and Ethnicity (1st edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199730759.001.0001
Holmes, J., Marra, M. and Vine, B. (2012) Politeness and impoliteness in ethnic varieties of New Zealand English. Journal of Pragmatics 44 (9): 1063–1076. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2011.11.006
Holmes, J. and Riddiford, N. (2009) Talk at work: Interactional challenges for immigrants. In V. K. Bahtia, W. Cheng, B. Du-Babcock and J. Lung (eds) Language for Professional Communication: Research, Practice and Training, 217–234. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Holmes, J. and Riddiford, N. (2010) Professional and personal identity at work: Achieving a synthesis through intercultural workplace talk. Journal of Intercultural Communication 22. Available online: https://www.immi.se/intercultural/nr22/holmes.htm
Holmes, J. and Schnurr, S. (2005) Politeness, humor and gender in the workplace: Negotiating norms and identifying contestation. Journal of Politeness Research 1 (1): 121–149. https://doi.org/10.1515/jplr.2005.1.1.121
Holmes, J. and Stubbe, M. (2015 [2003]) Power and Politeness in the Workplace (2nd edition). London: Routledge.
Holmes, J. and Woodhams, J. (2013) Building interaction: The role of talk in joining a community of practice. Discourse & Communication 7 (3): 275–298. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481313494500
House, J. (2005) Politeness in Germany: Politeness in Germany? In L. Hickey and M. Stewart (eds) Politeness in Europe, 13–29. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Hua, Z. (2014) Exploring Intercultural Communication: Language in Action. London: Routledge.
Ibarra, H. and Barbulescu, R. (2010) Identity as narrative: Prevalence, effectiveness, and consequences of narrative identity work in macro work role transitions. Academy of Management Review 35 (1): 135–154.
Jackson, B. and Parry, K. (2001) The Hero Manager: Learning from New Zealand’s Top Chief Executives. Auckland: Penguin NZ.
Joe, A. and Riddiford, N. (2017) Applying research to real world challenges and issues: Developing research-based resources to help migrants enter the workforce. In M. Marra and P. Warren (eds) Linguist at Work: Festschrift for Janet Holmes, 257–273. Wellington: Victoria University Press.
Koester, A. (2010) Workplace Discourse. London: Continuum.
Leech, G. (1983) Principles of Pragmatics. London: Longman.
Leech, G. (2014) The Pragmatics of Politeness. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195341386.001.0001
Lipson, L. (1948) The Politics of Equality: New Zealand’s Adventures in Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Lüdi, G. (2014) Language management measures and their impact in companies operating in a context of linguistic diversity. In U. Johann, M. Krzyzanowski and R. Wodak (eds) Multilingual Encounters in Europe’s Institutional Spaces, 15–42: London: Bloomsbury.
Marra, M. (2008) Recording and analyzing talk across cultures. In H. Spencer-Oatey (ed.) Culturally Speaking: Managing Rapport through Talk Across Cultures (2nd edition), 304–321. London: Continuum.
Markaki, V., Merlino, S., Mondada, L., Oloff, F. and Traverso, V. (2014) Language choice and participation management in international work meetings. In U. Johann, M. Krzyzanowski and R. Wodak (eds) Multilingual Encounters in Europe’s Institutional Spaces, 43–74: London: Bloomsbury.
Nicholson, N. (1984) A theory of work role transitions. Administrative Science Quarterly 29 (2): 172–191. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393172
Paulston, C. B., Kiesling, S. F. and Rangel, E. S. (eds) (2012) The Handbook of Intercultural Discourse and Communication. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118247273
Piller, I. (2011) Intercultural Communication: A Critical Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Riddiford, N. (2007) Making requests appropriately in a second language: Does instruction help to develop pragmatic proficiency? The TESOLANZ Journal 15: 88–102.
Riddiford, N. and Joe, A. (2010) Tracking the development of sociopragmatic skills. TESOL Quarterly 44 (1): 195–205. https://doi.org/10.5054/tq.2010.215252
Roberts, C., Campbell, S. and Robinson, Y. (2008) Talking Like a Manager: Promotion Interviews, Language and Ethnicity. Research Report 510. London: UK Department for Work and Pensions.
Schiffrin, D. (1987) Discourse Markers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511611841
Scott, J. (2013) Final report for summer scholarship. Unpublished manuscript, Victoria University of Wellington.
Spencer-Oatey, H. and Franklin, P. (2009) Intercultural Interaction: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Intercultural Communication. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230244511
Spencer-Oatey, H. and Xing, J. (2008) Issues of face in a Chinese business visit to Britain. In H. Spencer-Oatey (ed.) Culturally Speaking: Culture, Communication and Politeness Theory, 258–273. London: Continuum.
Vine, B. (2004) Getting Things Done at Work: The Discourse of Power in Workplace Interaction. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.124
Wodak, R. (2008) Controversial issues in feminist critical discourse analysis. In K. Harrington, L. Litosseliti, H. Sauntson and J. Sunderland (eds) Gender and Language Research Methodologies, 193–210. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Zaidman, N. and Drory, A. (2001) Upward impression management in the work place cross-cultural analysis. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 25 (6): 671–690. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-1767(01)00031-1
Published
2018-12-31
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Section
Articles
License
Equinox Publishing Ltd.
How to Cite
Holmes, J., Marra, M., & Kidner, K. (2018). Managing transitions through discourse at work. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice, 13(1-3), 122-144. https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.31843
