It is acknowledged universally that linguistic communication is the basic system for human communicating. In workplaces, in order to pass on successfully, people tend to utilize linguistic communication with peculiar features which besides vary harmonizing to different professions and fortunes. In this thesis, the writer will depict how linguistic communication in the workplace is analyzed and critically analyze the typical characteristics of two illustration written texts from three positions, including lexical, syntactical and matter-of-fact characteristics.
Chapter One Background cognition on the subject
1.1 Spoken genres at work
The linguistic communication of work dramas an of import function in most people ‘s lives, because people spend a great sum of clip covering with other people at work. The subjects of conversation at work vary due to different state of affairss. Language at work may be categorized into professional talk and societal talk. However, sometimes it is difficult to separate them from each other. For illustration, when a physician speaks to a patient, “ How are you today? ” this can be interpreted both as a professional enquiry and a portion of common salutations.
Spoken genres refer to unwritten activity types taking topographic point in working interaction. Some spoken workplace genres, such as meetings and dialogues, are planned in progress and really structured. However, other genres like societal talk and directives happen irregularly and may develop into rather different consequences from what the talker has presumed.
1.1.1 Instruction manuals and Directives
This genre may include a great trade of workplace talk, and involve stating other people what to make or explicating something. In this type of conversation, one talker, frequently the superior, may lend more to the conversation than the other, particularly in state of affairss where an employee is trained. The directives are largely imperative in construction, expressed and clear. For illustration, give it to peter ; look into it with Gordon ; seal off the corners.
1.1.2 Problem Solving
In fact, a great trade of workplace talk involves problem-solving of some sort. Harmonizing to Koester ( ) , problem-solving conversations frequently follow a certain form. A job is identified within a peculiar state of affairs, so a response or solution is proposed, and eventually this solution is evaluated positively or negatively. Negotiation can be considered a sub-genre of this type of talk.
1.1.3 Meeting
Meetings play an of import function in about every organisation. As meetings tend to affect more than two or more people, it is normally necessary to hold a individual who organizes the meeting and leads the conversation. Features of meetings in workplace include formal, well-structured, goal-oriented, etc.
1.1.4 Small talk
Small talk, or little confab refers to speak that is non concerned with serious information and which is non task oriented. Although societal talk is officially banished in work clip, it is about ineluctable in workplace as its characteristic of multifunction. Peoples like to dish the dirt during work to update information every bit good as develop their relationship with colleagues.
1.2 Culture in New Zealand workplace
It is known by the universe that New Zealand society is multicultural, which draws even more migrators to the green peaceable island to get down a trade name new life. The cultural background in New Zealand is complex: it is preponderantly European but besides contains elements from many other people. The concern civilization is influenced by the general surroundings in every possible manner but when it comes to the unwritten linguistic communication at work, there are sertain characteristic that must be mentioned and related.
1.2.1 Ethnicity
Immigrant groups to New Zealand are consist of European, Asiatic, Pacific Islander, and Maori, which illustrates the characteristic of cultural diverseness in New Zealand sociey. They have by and large tended to absorb into the European life style, although traditional imposts are still remained. It creates a great trade of chances to the society, every bit good as cultural struggles and miscommunication that seems ineluctable in workplace. The Maori, nevertheless, found themselves torn between the force per unit area to absorb and the desire to continue their ain civilization. Maori, the linguistic communication, is an alternate official linguistic communication to New Zealand, so it is politically necessary to set up any official papers in the workplace in both English and Maori. In other words, cognizing some Maori linguistic communication and maestro pass oning expeditiously with colleagues from another cultural group is indispensable to employers and employees in a New Zealand company.
1.2.2 Female place in workplace
New Zealand citizens like to depict their society as a “ feminist society ” , which means the place of adult females is higher than most states in the universe. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor ( GEM ) study on adult females ‘s entrepreneurial activity provides an in-depth planetary expression at adult females ‘s entrepreneurship and New Zealand has the highest adult females ‘s entrepreneurship rate in developed universe, although the entrepreneurial gender spread is still terrible despite betterments ( Cruickshank 1 ) . The fact may be originated from 1890s when adult females were acknowledged as equal to and independent from work forces and accorded the right to vote. New Zealand was the first state in the universe to make this, which in add-on, helped to heighten New Zeanlanders ‘ open-minded attitude to homosexualism. As a consequence, nowadays adult females in workplace has equal or even better chances than male. An illustration can be illustrated absolutely – Helen Clark, the former New Zealand Prime Minister, is the first female PM who is homosexual and is still having regard and recognition after retirement for the devotedness to the state.
1.2.3 Equality and Egalitarianism
New Zealand is frequently labeled as “ an equal and classless society ” where every member of the society seems to be at the same category and the spread between the rich and the hapless is non every bit seeable as other developed states. A characteristic of New Zealand society noticed by the sociologist is Tall Poppy Syndrome which has become a national societal attitude and is leveling the wealth of citizens. To merely set, the rich in the society may confront more authorities policies that would cut down their wealth and the hapless may have a fat cheque from the comparatively perfect societal public assistance system of New Zealand. Interestingly, some rich work forces consider the attitude as a bitterness at other people ‘s success. In any manner, the attitude has shaped the society and made it into a classless 1 that has another attractive force to immigrants.
However, Bob Consedine writes, in Culture and Identity in New Zealand: A important factor in keeping the classless myth is that the rich have managed to mask their wealth and go on to place with the battle of the ordinary working individual. Until late, affluent people in New Zealand merely did non admit they were affluent, hapless people donaAˆA™t easy admit to being hapless.
1.3 Discourse analysis theories
Brian Paltridge, in Making Sense of Discourse Analysis ( 2000:4 ) describe discourse analysis as:
Discourse analysts might, for illustration, analyze paragraph construction, the organisation of whole texts, and typical forms in colloquial interactions, such as, the ways talkers open, near, and take bends in a conversation. They might besides look at vocabulary forms across texts words that link subdivisions of texts together, and the ways points such as “ it ” and “ they ” point backward or forward in a text.
1.3.1 Discourse
Discourse, or the usage of linguistic communication, and text, or pieces of spoken or written discourse, concentrating on how stretches of linguistic communication become meaningful and unified for their users ( Cook 1989 ) , concentrating on the coherency and specific links between beds of linguistic communication of which differs from pragmatics looking at the relevancy.
Discourse analysis can take us into the societal and cultural scenes of linguistic communication usage to assist us understand peculiar linguistic communication picks. That is, it can take us beyond description to account and assist us understand the regulations of the game that are portion of the cognition users of a linguistic communication draw on in their mundane communications.
1.3.2 Lexicology, Syntax, and Pragmaticss
To analyse the lexical, syntactical, and matter-of-fact characteristics of a written text at work, one should understand what they are and how they influence the communicating.
Harmonizing to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Online ( 2011 ) , lexical characteristics refer to characteristics that are related to words or covering with words. To assist place the registry and the genre of the conversation, the hints may be specific vocabulary and grammar relating to the registry and genre. For illustration words such as ‘applying ‘ , ‘vacancies ‘ , ‘application ‘ in the missive of refusal to the applier, or the sole usage of nouns in the docket of the meeting ( Koester 10 ) .
Syntax is a subdivision of linguistics that surveies how words are combined to organize sentences and the regulations that govern the formation of sentences ( Dai & A ; He 42 ) . Therefore, the syntactical characteristic refers to the characteristics that are related to sentence constructions. For case, one of the syntactical characteristics of mundane spoken linguistic communication is ill-formed and uncomplete sentence constructions.
Harmonizing to Dai and He ( 2002 ) , a general definition of pragmatics is that it is the survey of how talkers of a linguistic communication usage sentences effects successful communicating. Pragmaticss surveies such subjects as linguistic communication communicating, including address Acts of the Apostless, indirect linguistic communication, niceness, cross-cultural communicating, and presupposition ( Dai & A ; He, 2002, p84 ) . It is normally combined with sociolinguistics which surveies the relation between linguistic communication and society. Therefore in this article, matter-of-fact analysis will concentrate on the sociolinguistic factors such as age, gender, position, location and type of workplace.
1.3.3 Authentic texts
The usage of reliable texts is now regarded to be one manner of maintaining or heightening pupils ‘ motive for larning. They give the scholar the feeling that he or she is larning the ‘real ‘ linguistic communication ; that they are in touch with a life community which uses the mark linguistic communication on day-to-day footing. The linguistic communication input in the text edition tends to dwell of lists of ‘useful looks ‘ . Meanwhile, the text editions seem to wrongly presume that scholars know when and how it is appropriate to do speech Acts of the Apostless, and that all they need is to be given the phrases to make so ( Crandall and Basturkmen 2004: 44 ) . It means that the text edition speaking about lingual theories with such unequal real-world instances and illustrations that scholars do non cognize how to use it in an reliable context. If so new migratory workers are to run into talk of this nature ( i.e. face endangering speech Acts of the Apostless such as one finds in reliable spoken texts ) outside the schoolroom, they will profit from chances to run into it in developing stuffs. The end is non linguistic communication production, but awareness-raising and practising the accomplishment of construing discourse in context ‘ ( Newton 2004: in imperativeness )
The two pieces of transcripts analysed in this thesis are contracted from the press releases of Employment in a Globalized World, an undergraduate paper given in 2010, at Unitec Institute of Technology in New Zealand, which are recorded in existent New Zealand mill and a Television interview severally, and so put into proper written text signifier by professional linguistics research workers. In other words, the stuffs used and mentioned in this paper would be reliable therefore have the value to reflect the reliable characteristics of unwritten duologues in workplace and to show the diverseness and complexness of existent interactions.
Chapter Two Analysis of Authentic Conversation
2.1 Transcription Analysis I: ‘Only Done Three Samples ‘
‘Only done three samples ‘ is a written text of a conversation in a mill. Publius terentius afer, a squad leader, who is walking around the mill look intoing on things, has a conversation with Paul, a store floor mechanic, about the samples.
2.1.1 Linguistic characteristics I
Lexical usage of the linguistic communication in the duologue is rather informal, conversational and simple, which besides helps to place the workplace as a mill. Informal looks and mundane words appear rather frequently in the conversation, such as ‘ got Tas ‘ , ‘not good plenty ‘ , ‘lot more than ‘ , ‘put ‘ mutton quad ‘ . There are even swear words, like ‘oh crap ‘ , giving grounds that it is non in a formal professional juncture and the relationship between talkers is to some degree rather insouciant. Technical words such as ‘samples ‘ , ‘weighing ‘ , ‘stacks ‘ , and ‘scale ‘ indicate that the conversation takes topographic point in a mill.
When it comes to the characteristics associating to sentences, non-standard constructions occur often and a measure of weakening and strengthening devices are used by both talkers. An illustration of ill-formed construction can be illustrated – by stating the vocalization ‘if you ‘re running on this line most of the forenoon, we ‘ve merely done three samples ‘ , Terence really wants to state that Paul has been working for most of the forenoon, but has done merely three samples, which is non good plenty for him. Publius terentius afer ‘s frequent usage of if clauses and ‘we ‘ as topics weakens the consequence of unfavorable judgment on Paul. However, Terence manages to do his point clearly to Paul by lifting his address volume on peculiar words like ‘EVERY ‘ , ‘NOT ‘ , and ‘ASK ‘ and by utilizing average verbs such as ‘you ‘ve got Tas… ‘ , ‘we should hold… ‘ . Another illustration is in the 2nd half of the duologue, where Publius terentius afer ‘s repeat of ‘continuously look intoing ‘ strengthens his directives.
As to the matter-of-fact characteristics, it can be deduced that the relationship between the two talkers is a squad leader to a subsidiary, and that both of them are comparatively direct but polite to each other. In the first line of Terence, the sentence ‘it ‘s non good plenty ‘ Tells us he is non satisfied with what Paul has done, which gives us the first feeling that Terence is superior to Paul. Then, planing the whole conversation, we can see that Terence tends to talk more, the dissymmetry of which besides shows the relationship between talkers. The repeat of the filler ‘right? ‘ , every bit good as tag inquiries such as ‘eh ‘ , shows that though there occurs dissatisfaction, both talkers are seeking to be polite to each other. However, as a leader, Terence speaks more heterosexual in some peculiar directives such as ‘this is your cogent evidence ‘ , ‘if they ‘re scraggy tally that line out instantly ‘ and ‘we should hold batch more than this [ high voice ] ‘ .
2.1.2 Remarks and Comparison I
In the writer ‘s point of position, the conversation is rather successful for three grounds. First, by and large Terence expresses his dissatisfaction and gives directives clearly without aching Paul ‘s feelings. He uses more debilitative devises than beef uping devices to compromise the straightness of his vocalizations, such as ‘oh well that ‘s all right so ‘ , while he manages to province really clearly about his instructions to Paul. Second, Paul makes his ailment about the graduated tables decently, which enables Publius terentius afer to flux instead than battle and hence accomplish a win-win state of affairs. By stating ‘I think um + I ‘m non doing alibis ( it ‘s merely ) what can go on ‘ , Paul expresses his concern in an indirect and cagey manner to the superior. As a consequence, after several accounts, Terence really admits his carelessness by stating ‘I should hold made it clearer… ‘ The 3rd ground is that Paul, as a hearer, contributes to the conversation and balances the turn-taking by offering back-channels often. When listening to Terence, Paul ever gives feedbacks like ‘yeah ‘ , ‘yep ‘ , and ‘oh yeah I know I know ‘ . Such backchanneling helps he demo his understanding to the talker so that the conversation flows good. In the terminal of the conversation, he promises the squad leader by stating ‘do n’t allow it happened once more ‘ to reassure him.
Another interesting characteristic worth adverting about Terence is that he be given to utilize ‘we ‘ as topic in a sentence rather frequently, which seems to be a distinguishable colloquial rite of female manner in spoken linguistic communication. However, he achieves the fulfilling consequence of understating his position and non being excessively bossy, which can be seen from Paul ‘s responses afterwards.
2.2 Transcription Analysis II: ‘The Prime Minister of New Zealand ‘
The written text is derived from a picture interview in which the Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key, is interviewed by Guyon Espiner on subjects of economical recession. The plan is called Q+A, which is a New Zealand current event and political talk show ( Wikipedia, 2010 ) .
2.2.1 Linguistic characteristics II
The lexical usage of the linguistic communication is more formal than the old duologue in the mill, and words associating to economic sciences and international concern are used normally in the interview. As an interview host, Espiner starts the conversation with widening gratitude to the Prime Minister by stating ‘Thank you Prime Minister for coming in ‘ and ‘we truly appreciate that ‘ . From the word ‘appreciate ‘ , we can see the words are more formal and less conversational. In the 2nd line of John Key, phrases such as ‘under a nimbler more than thin environment ‘ , ‘perceive their future demand ‘ and ‘unprecedented degree ‘ besides show us the formality of the conversation. The talkers use economical and concern slangs in most of vocalizations such as ‘unemployment slowdown ‘ , ‘the mill recession ‘ , and ‘international recognition market ‘ , which reveals the chief subjects of the conversation.
Most of the sentences in the duologue are comparatively standard linguistic communication and correct in grammar and both the talkers use weakening and beef uping devices really frequently. In the 4th inquiry, the host says ‘I merely conjecture I ‘m inquiring you though ‘ before the existent inquiry, which is a weakening device used to soften the straightness and sensitivity of the inquiry. John Key besides uses discourse markers like ‘well ‘ , ‘actually ‘ , ‘well once more ‘ in the beginning of most replies, non merely to derive himself some clip to believe about what to state, but besides to weaken the negative effects which his words afterwards may bring forth. However, in order to do the show more interesting to the audience, both the talkers use rhetorical inquiries to indurate the tone and do it like a argument. Examples are ‘do n’t we desire companies to put in instead than merely lodging? ‘ and ‘have n’t you ruled out a capital additions revenue enhancement ‘ .
Another clever speech production scheme worth detecting is Epiner ‘s usage of ticket inquiries which can be interpreted into either weakening or strengthening. For case, in the sentence ‘you ‘re taking those people ‘s livehoods and their mana, their self-respect, off from them are n’t you? ‘ , the host seems to soften his tone, nevertheless, to some grade, he makes the inquiry aggressive and more challenging, which on the other manus, may pull audience ‘s full attending successfully.
Speaking of the sociolinguistic facets of this interview, compared to the former written text, a much higher formality, every bit good as several humourous looks can be found in the text. That is because the genre of the conversation is a telecasting interview naming for the populace ‘s attending and involvements, particularly when the participants are well-known and have great influences on the society. Additionally, John Key ‘s usage of the about perfect sentence grammar, strict pick of vocabulary and talking scheme such as signposting stand for his societal position as the Prime Minister of the state. For illustration, there are guideposts such as ‘well foremost… ‘ , ‘actually I ‘d reason… ‘ , ‘well there ‘s ever been a batch of grounds for that ‘ , and discourse markers like ‘I tend to believe… ‘ , ‘I personally think… ‘ . Wits appear in the metaphorical signifiers several times, such as ‘one individual Ag slug ‘ and ‘thick tegument ‘ , which contribute to the flowing of conversation.
2.2.2 Remarks and Comparison II
In the writer ‘s sentiment, both the talkers fulfill their functions successfully from two facets. On one manus, they make the interview interesting to listen to by non merely speaking about current economical state of affairss which arouse citizen ‘s concern and attending, but besides by their cagey speech production schemes. As the host, stand foring all the audience in the state, Espiner asks inquiries that most people would wish to cognize the reply to. Meanwhile, stand foring the Government and the people, John Key answers the inquiries rather fluently, reasoning and differing with grounds and uses wit decently. Humour helps him to mend the conversation from miscommunication. On the other manus, as to the transactional talk, they besides have some interactive talk at the terminal to do the terminal more natural and to allow the audience relax after listening to serious subjects.
2.3 Main Features of Oral Dialogues in Workplace
2.3.1 Politeness and Humor
Our analysis indicates that most workplace interactions provide grounds of common regard and concern for the feelings or face demands of others, that is, of niceness ( Holmes and Stubbe 2003 ) . Politeness toward a subsidiary can be interpreted as an indicant that the more powerful supporter is concerned with building good workplace dealingss, and in developing resonance and keeping collegiality ( Spencer-Oatey 2000 ) : that is, the look of collaborative power V coercive power. As the Communication Accommodation theory suggests, niceness may besides be politic, since handling others with consideration is more likely to ensue in the cooperation which will help in accomplishing workplace ends.
By contrast, it is self-evidently in the involvements of a subsidiary to show themselves courteously or with respect to a superior. Although Critical Discourse analysts draw attending to ways in which people may dispute, competition, undermine or subvert power and authorization, in the information Holmes and Stubbe examined, they found that challenges to authorization were typically acceptable or ‘polite ‘ ways, such as through the usage of temper. Humour maps as a peculiar effectual niceness scheme, particularly in a hierarchal context. It is really hard for a superior to respond negatively to a unfavorable judgment or challenge that is expressed as a humourous remark without losing face. Therefore, humour provides a screen for a comment which might otherwise be considered unacceptable in the work context.
2.3.2 Mixed-in Small Talk
Cockcroft ( 1999 ) in Populating Language: Investgating Talk stated that discourse can be either transactional or interactive. Transactional linguistic communication is used when the participants are interchanging goods and services ( e.g. traveling to purchase some staff of life, traveling to see your attorney ) , whereas interactive linguistic communication is used when talkers are socialising. Small talk, or in this instance, interactive conversation frequently assorted in with transactional conversation in workplace, particularly for certain professions like nurses and physicians, gross revenues individual, or other equal employees, even between supervisor and the subsidiary.
A little research survey at Wellington Hospital done by Holmes and Major ( 2003 ) has surprisingly demonstrated the broad scope and big figure of interactions nurses engaged in over comparatively short periods of clip, which indicates a consequence of their socio-pragmatic accomplishments in choosing appropriate ways of finishing undertakings in assorted societal contexts, which they use to set patients at easiness and to guarantee they acquire their work done.
2.3.3 Technical Vocabulary
Harmonizing to Koester ( 2004 ) , the professional or workplace context may be reflected in the lexical pick, that is, in particular lexis or vocabulary used by the talker. For illustration, the professional context of the column office is reflected in a figure of lexical points which are specific to publication: reissue, forepart, cardinal, chief rubric. Other words more by and large reflect the concern context, and would be found in other workplace context: stock, estimation, mortgage. Such usage of professional slang can do a text like this rather hard to understand for non-professionals, particularly for those from another cultural background and non familiar with the native linguistic communication.
Understanding basic nomenclature is indispensable to certain professions like in a medical scene or an academic scene. If one work in a veterinary scene, he use medical nomenclature everyday. In add-on to utilizing medical nomenclature on the occupation, you, as a consumer, are exposed to medical footings and processs on telecasting, in magazines, and on any public information system. Becoming familiar with how medical footings are organized will enable you to understand and utilize the words you may hear at work and will let you to calculate out new words as you are told or exposed to them.
