Business Discourse across ‘cultures’: data selection, collection and analysis

1. Business Discourse across ‘cultures’: data selection, collection and analysis Francesca Bargiela

2. (What I said in the) Abstract • personal chronology of business discourse research • changes in methodological approaches that have characterised the evolution of business discourse research. • issues of data selection, collection and analysis (in research across ‘cultures’) Centre for Applied Linguistics - April 29th, 2010

3. Applied linguistics, LSP, ESP, and …………………… • Applied linguistics • Language(s) for Specific Purposes • English for Specific Purposes Centre for Applied Linguistics - April 29th, 2010

4. ……. Business Discourse A definition… • ‘the interaction which takes place between individuals whose main activities are located within business and whose contact is motivated by matters relating to their respective businesses’ (Bargiela-Chiappini and Nickerson 1999: 2). Centre for Applied Linguistics - April 29th, 2010

5. The relationship between reality and teaching materials • Marian Williams (1988) • EFL: The gap between ‘theory’ and practice Centre for Applied Linguistics - April 29th, 2010

6. The analysis of Business Discourse is….. • …….contextual and intertextual, self-reflexive and self-critical, although not necessarily political, and is founded on the twin notions of discourse as situated action and language as work. • Linguistics ‘applied’? Centre for Applied Linguistics - April 29th, 2010

7. Business Discourse: a personal chronology • ‘Prehistory’ : 1970s-80s • History: 1990s • Recent developments: 2000s Centre for Applied Linguistics - April 29th, 2010

8. Business Discourse: a personal chronology1. ‘Prehistory’ • (Before my time….)The Seventies: language audits, language needs analysis (text analysis) (LSP) • The Eighties: negotiation studies (quantitative methods/simulated data); business correspondence and documentation (genre analysis) • Lampi (1986) real-life negotiations + linguistic analysis; Europe: LSP/ESP → text analysis (grammar, vocabulary, text structure) US: business communication → ‘how-to’ approaches Centre for Applied Linguistics - April 29th, 2010

9. The Seventies: language needs analysis; genre analysis (LSP/ESP) GENRE ANALYSIS: John Swales and his generic model of the ‘research article’ - MOVES & STEPS - Move 1: Establishing a Territory • Step 1: Claiming Centrality • and/or • Step 2: Making Topic Generalisations • and/or • Step 3: Reviewing Items of Previous Research Move 2: Establishing a Niche • Step 1A: Counter-claiming • or • Step 1B: Indicating a Gap • or • Step 1C: Question Raising • or • Step 1D: Continuing a Tradition Move 3: Occupying the Niche • Step 1A: Outlining Purposes • or • Step 1B: Announcing Present Research • Step 2: Announcing Principal Findings • Step 3: Indicating Research Article Structure (from: GENRE A NA LYS I S : A KEY TO A THEORY OF ESP? By T Dudley-Evans – 2000) Centre for Applied Linguistics - April 29th, 2010

10. FIELDS/APP-ROACHES negotiation studies → genre studies → Lampi (1986) My experience ….. (needs analysis, ISP, simulated negotiations….) → METHODS/DATA TYPE quantitative methods (simulated data) 2. qualitative methods: genre analysis, text analysis, contents analysis (business correspondence/business documentation) First linguistic analysis of business negotiations DATA (access, selection, analysis) + METHODS (survey, genre analysis, speech acts analysis ) The Eighties… Centre for Applied Linguistics - April 29th, 2010

11. Lampi (1986) Linguistic components of strategy in business negotiations. Centre for Applied Linguistics - April 29th, 2010

12. Business Discourse: a personal chronology2. History • Nineties: • Boden (1994) meetings + CA; • Bargiela and Harris (1997) meetings +pragmatics and DA+ comparative analysis 3 important developments: • from written to spoken language • ethnographic approaches to BD • multi-disciplinarity Centre for Applied Linguistics - April 29th, 2010

13. FIELDS/APPROACHES business discourse (+inter and cross-cultural+multi-method) → genre studies /discursive approaches (+multimodal)→ politeness studies Boden (1994) My experience…. written correspondence and authentic negotiations (BC projects) ; organisational ethnography; meeting analysis → METHODS/DATA TYPE qualitative methods: pragmatics, social psychology, DA, CA,CDA/ real-life negotiations, meetings, presentations etc. 2&3 qualitative methods: genre analysis/ multimodal analysis/emails, websites, new corporate documents→ CSR) CA + social theory (meetings) DATA (access, selection, analysis) METHODS (speech act analysis, pragmatics, ethnography, interviews, observation, sense-making) (Organisation studies + management studies) The Nineties….. Centre for Applied Linguistics - April 29th, 2010

14. Boden (1994) The business of talk. Centre for Applied Linguistics - April 29th, 2010

15. Business Discourse: a personal chronology3. Recent developments • Multidisciplinarity → + dialogue with the US • Multi-method research • Business Discourse goes East (ELAB) • Intercultural communication and the ‘cultural other’: Centre for Applied Linguistics - April 29th, 2010

16. The 2000s: Business Discourse → Asian Business Discourse(s) (1) • Cross-field dialogue → US (management communication, organisational communication, business communication, rhetorical analysis ….→ UK+Australia (organisational discourse) • Interculturality → collaboration with Asian countries (China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand….= ELAB network) Centre for Applied Linguistics - April 29th, 2010

17. Future developments: Business Discourse as a metaphor for dialogue • Multi-disciplinary…. • socio-pragmatics, intercultural pragmatics, critical anthropology, critical cultural studies, cultural sociology, cultural psychology, hermeneutics, …. • Multi-method… • DA, CA, ethnomethodology, rhetorical analysis, ethnography, multi-modal analysis, visual analysis… Centre for Applied Linguistics - April 29th, 2010

18. Business Discourse research: some trends • From written to spoken data • From quantitative to qualitative approaches • From mono-method to multi-method • From intra-cultural to cross- and inter-cultural • From Euro- (and US-) centred to ‘international’ • From mono- to multi-disciplinary Centre for Applied Linguistics - April 29th, 2010