How to check understanding across languages. An introduction into the Pragmatic Index of Language Distance (PILaD) usable to measure mutual understanding in receptive multilingualism, illustrated by conversations in Russian, Ukrainian and Polish
-
Jochen Rehbein
Jochen Rehbein Akdeniz University (AU), Antalya since 2013; Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, 2006–2013; in 1999, co-founder of the Hamburg Research Centre on Multingualism. Publications and projects on: Functional Pragmatics, discourse analysis; grammar and mental processes, multilingualism; intercultural communication; Turkic linguistics; politeness; Turkish in contact, TOOLKIT, multilingual schooling in Turkey (AMuSE)
und
Olena Romaniuk
Olena Romaniuk born in 1987 in Ukraine, Kryvyi Rih, obtained her bachelor degree in the Japanese Language and Literature in Dnepropetrovsk National University, Ukraine. She graduated in 2008 and then took up her master studies at the Department of the English Language Teaching of the Middle East Technical University, Ankara. In 2010 she obtained her master's degree.
Abstract
The paper proposes, under the roof-concept of a method abbreviated PILaD, a combination of quantitative and qualitative procedures aiming to clarify the relationship of ``closely related languages'' (Voegelin and Harris 1951). The method is based on the functional-pragmatic theory of `Communicative Apparatus', a cross-linguistically operating interactive structure, which is modified by Lingua Receptiva communication. The data consist of 4 Russian-Ukrainian, 4 Polish-Ukrainian and 4 Polish-Russian conversations which were recorded with a digital camera and transcribed in a HIAT transcription format under the multiparty data program EXMARaLDA. Cases of `problematic understanding' defined in terms of problematic utterances are related to the total number of utterances in a discourse. The communicative success is compared across the three language constellations and refined down to every participant. Statistical analysis gives an overall picture of how receptive multilingualism works in the three language constellations. The findings reveal that receptive multilingual communication between Polish, Russian and Ukrainian interactants is generally successful, yet, not symmetric, but depends itself on the direction of intelligibility. A summary of the PILaD method and the data base are attached.
About the authors
Jochen Rehbein Akdeniz University (AU), Antalya since 2013; Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, 2006–2013; in 1999, co-founder of the Hamburg Research Centre on Multingualism. Publications and projects on: Functional Pragmatics, discourse analysis; grammar and mental processes, multilingualism; intercultural communication; Turkic linguistics; politeness; Turkish in contact, TOOLKIT, multilingual schooling in Turkey (AMuSE)
Olena Romaniuk born in 1987 in Ukraine, Kryvyi Rih, obtained her bachelor degree in the Japanese Language and Literature in Dnepropetrovsk National University, Ukraine. She graduated in 2008 and then took up her master studies at the Department of the English Language Teaching of the Middle East Technical University, Ankara. In 2010 she obtained her master's degree.
©2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Writing systems and language contact in the Euro- and Sinocentric worlds
- Globalization in the margins: toward a re-evalution of language and mobility
- Co-construction of ``doctorable'' conditions in multilingual medical encounters: Cases from urban Japan
- EFL motivation development in an increasingly globalized local context: A longitudinal study of Chinese undergraduates
- Mentor invitations for reflection in post-observation conferences: Some preliminary considerations
- Special Thematic Section
- The effectiveness of Lingua Receptiva (LaRa) in multilingual communication – Editorial
- How to check understanding across languages. An introduction into the Pragmatic Index of Language Distance (PILaD) usable to measure mutual understanding in receptive multilingualism, illustrated by conversations in Russian, Ukrainian and Polish
- English as a lingua franca versus lingua receptiva in problem-solving conversations between Dutch and German students
- Receptive multilingualism in Turkish-Turkmen academic counseling sessions
- Facilitating mutual understanding in everyday interaction between Finns and Estonians
- The role of dialect exposure in receptive multilingualism
- A matter of reception: ELF and LaRa compared
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Writing systems and language contact in the Euro- and Sinocentric worlds
- Globalization in the margins: toward a re-evalution of language and mobility
- Co-construction of ``doctorable'' conditions in multilingual medical encounters: Cases from urban Japan
- EFL motivation development in an increasingly globalized local context: A longitudinal study of Chinese undergraduates
- Mentor invitations for reflection in post-observation conferences: Some preliminary considerations
- Special Thematic Section
- The effectiveness of Lingua Receptiva (LaRa) in multilingual communication – Editorial
- How to check understanding across languages. An introduction into the Pragmatic Index of Language Distance (PILaD) usable to measure mutual understanding in receptive multilingualism, illustrated by conversations in Russian, Ukrainian and Polish
- English as a lingua franca versus lingua receptiva in problem-solving conversations between Dutch and German students
- Receptive multilingualism in Turkish-Turkmen academic counseling sessions
- Facilitating mutual understanding in everyday interaction between Finns and Estonians
- The role of dialect exposure in receptive multilingualism
- A matter of reception: ELF and LaRa compared
