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Prosody influence on (im)politeness perception in Chinese-German intercultural communication

  • Jiazhen Cao

    Jiazhen Cao has been a lecturer in the German department of Xiangtan University in China since 2008. She completed her master’s degree in German as a foreign language and general linguistics at the University of Leipzig. She did her doctorate in DaF/DaZ at Saarland University. Her research interests include second and foreign language acquisition.

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Published/Copyright: September 15, 2023

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the influences of prosody on (im)politeness perception in intercultural communication. Based on empirical data collected in perceptual experiments, the paper compares the perception of the (im)politeness prosodic properties of L1 German speakers and L2 German speakers of Chinese origin. It was found that the two subject groups show clear distinctions in their (im)politeness perceptions and that prosodic features exert different impacts on (im)politeness perception: L2 German speakers of Chinese origin perceive lower acoustic intensity, more pauses, and lower muscle tension as indicators of higher level of politeness, whereas the opposite holds true for L1 German speakers. In addition, the former demonstrate higher sensitivity to speech rate and modal particle stress than the latter. The study’s findings indicate that (im)politeness and prosody perception are influenced by people’s first language and home-grown culture, and a prosodic mitigation strategy may not be fully applicable in intercultural communication.


Corresponding author: Jiazhen Cao, Foreign Language Institute, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, Hunan, China, E-mail:

Funding source: The Provincial Social Science Foundation of Hunan Province, China

Award Identifier / Grant number: 19YBA325

About the author

Jiazhen Cao

Jiazhen Cao has been a lecturer in the German department of Xiangtan University in China since 2008. She completed her master’s degree in German as a foreign language and general linguistics at the University of Leipzig. She did her doctorate in DaF/DaZ at Saarland University. Her research interests include second and foreign language acquisition.

Appendix

1 Könnten Sie bitte das Fenster zumachen?
‘Could you please close the window?’
2 Könnten Sie mir bitte mal Platz machen?
‘Could you please make room for me?’
3 Hättest du morgen mal ein’n Moment Zeit für mich?
‘Would you have a moment for me tomorrow?’
4 Könnten Sie mich bitte in einer Stunde noch einmal anrufen?
‘Could you please call me again in an hour?’
5 Hätten Sie vielleicht auch einen Kaffee für mich?
‘Would you also have a coffee for me, please?’

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Received: 2022-09-11
Accepted: 2023-07-12
Published Online: 2023-09-15
Published in Print: 2024-07-26

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