Startseite Intercultural and interpersonal communication failures: analyzing hostile interactions among British and Spanish university students on WhatsApp
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Intercultural and interpersonal communication failures: analyzing hostile interactions among British and Spanish university students on WhatsApp

  • Antonio García-Gómez

    Antonio García-Gómez is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain, where he teaches discourse analysis and functional linguistics. Professor García-Gómez’s first and most developed research interest is conflict talk. A main strand of his research has focused on the pragma-discursive strategies employed in conflictual episodes in talk show interaction. Other current research interests include gender, identity and language use in new media. He presents regularly at conferences across Spain and Europe.

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Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 25. Februar 2020
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Abstract

Although the use of the mobile application communication technology for interpersonal communication seems to be less physically threatening, building successful relationships has become more complex. Using both quantitative and qualitative analyses of the way(s) British and Spanish university students manage a hostile situation when disputing among each other on WhatsApp, the present study aims to shed light on conflict management by investigating the differentiated topic management strategies the participants in the study deploy. This, in turn, will add new empirical evidence to the expanding field of intercultural pragmatics. Through a detailed analysis of the hostile interactions, the results show a differentiated linguistic process by means of which participants initiate, maintain and escalate conflict talk that also relates to the speaker’s failed attempts to understand and negotiate each other’s intended meaning in interaction.

About the author

Antonio García-Gómez

Antonio García-Gómez is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain, where he teaches discourse analysis and functional linguistics. Professor García-Gómez’s first and most developed research interest is conflict talk. A main strand of his research has focused on the pragma-discursive strategies employed in conflictual episodes in talk show interaction. Other current research interests include gender, identity and language use in new media. He presents regularly at conferences across Spain and Europe.

Acknowledgements

The present study was financially supported by a grant from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. This article is part of the long-term research: Persuasion in Promotional Discourse: Linguistic resources and communication strategies.

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Published Online: 2020-02-25
Published in Print: 2020-02-25

© 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Heruntergeladen am 13.10.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/ip-2020-0002/html?lang=de
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