Different cultures – different discourses? Rhetorical patterns of business letters by English and Russian speakers
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Maria Loukianenko Wolfe
Abstract
The chapter presents a cross-cultural analysis of rhetorical patterns in Russian and American business correspondence. The choice of linguistic features to be analyzed was guided by previous research in English as a Second Language, English for Specific Purposes, and Professional Communication studies. A few areas of Hofstede’s (1984) theory of cultural dimensions, such as power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and individualism/collectivism, were adapted for the linguistic and rhetorical analysis of the American and Russian business letters, and the data were tested in terms of these cultural dimensions. The results help illustrate the approach that could be taken while teaching intercultural rhetoric in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) business writing courses as well as Business Communication courses.
Abstract
The chapter presents a cross-cultural analysis of rhetorical patterns in Russian and American business correspondence. The choice of linguistic features to be analyzed was guided by previous research in English as a Second Language, English for Specific Purposes, and Professional Communication studies. A few areas of Hofstede’s (1984) theory of cultural dimensions, such as power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and individualism/collectivism, were adapted for the linguistic and rhetorical analysis of the American and Russian business letters, and the data were tested in terms of these cultural dimensions. The results help illustrate the approach that could be taken while teaching intercultural rhetoric in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) business writing courses as well as Business Communication courses.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Introduction 1
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Section I. Current state of contrastive rhetoric
- From contrastive rhetoric to intercultural rhetoric: A search for collective identity 11
- The importance of comparable corpora in cross-cultural studies 25
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Section II. Contrastive corpus studies in specific genres
- Metadiscourse across three varieties of English: American, British, and advanced learner English 45
- A genre-based study of research grant proposals in China 63
- Different cultures – different discourses? Rhetorical patterns of business letters by English and Russian speakers 87
- Spanish language newspaper editorials from Mexico, Spain, and the U.S. 123
- The rhetorical structure of academic book reviews of literature: An English-Spanish cross-linguistic approach 147
- Newspaper commentaries on terrorism in China and Australia: A contrastive genre study 169
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Section III. Contrastive rhetoric and the teaching of ESL/EFL writing
- "Long sentences and floating commas": Mexican students' rhetorical practices and the sociocultural context 195
- English web page use in an EFL setting: A contrastive rhetoric view of the development of information literacy 219
- From Confucianism to Marxism: A century of theme treatment in Chinese writing instruction 241
- Plagiarism in an intercultural rhetoric context: What we can learn about one from the other 257
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Section IV. Future directions
- A conversation on contrastive rhetoric: Dwight Atkinson and Paul Kei Matsuda talk about issues, conceptualizations, and the future of contrastive rhetoric 277
- Mapping multidimensional aspects of research: Reaching to intercultural rhetoric 299
- Notes on contributors 317
- Index 321
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Introduction 1
-
Section I. Current state of contrastive rhetoric
- From contrastive rhetoric to intercultural rhetoric: A search for collective identity 11
- The importance of comparable corpora in cross-cultural studies 25
-
Section II. Contrastive corpus studies in specific genres
- Metadiscourse across three varieties of English: American, British, and advanced learner English 45
- A genre-based study of research grant proposals in China 63
- Different cultures – different discourses? Rhetorical patterns of business letters by English and Russian speakers 87
- Spanish language newspaper editorials from Mexico, Spain, and the U.S. 123
- The rhetorical structure of academic book reviews of literature: An English-Spanish cross-linguistic approach 147
- Newspaper commentaries on terrorism in China and Australia: A contrastive genre study 169
-
Section III. Contrastive rhetoric and the teaching of ESL/EFL writing
- "Long sentences and floating commas": Mexican students' rhetorical practices and the sociocultural context 195
- English web page use in an EFL setting: A contrastive rhetoric view of the development of information literacy 219
- From Confucianism to Marxism: A century of theme treatment in Chinese writing instruction 241
- Plagiarism in an intercultural rhetoric context: What we can learn about one from the other 257
-
Section IV. Future directions
- A conversation on contrastive rhetoric: Dwight Atkinson and Paul Kei Matsuda talk about issues, conceptualizations, and the future of contrastive rhetoric 277
- Mapping multidimensional aspects of research: Reaching to intercultural rhetoric 299
- Notes on contributors 317
- Index 321
