Investigating impoliteness in workplace emails by Chinese users of English

Authors

  • Lan Li The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5278/ojs.globe.v3i0.1222

Keywords:

workplace email, email acts, impoliteness devices, non-politeness, face

Abstract

This paper presents a number of findings concerning impoliteness within the workplace email of Chinese users of English.  Particular interest was given to the exploration of the relationship between specific speech acts and the occurrence of impoliteness and non-politeness; what impolite devices were used in frontline business communication; what are the circumstances, patterns and functions of impoliteness in workplace email?  Findings illustrate that message enforcers were the most common impoliteness device used,  generally being utilized to make a demand, emphasize a position and place blame.  In terms of giving rise to potential impoliteness the assertive speech act was the most hazardous.  In order to maintain authenticity the examples used are reproduced exactly as they occurred in the data set, in places substantial deviations from the conventions of English grammar and spelling are to be found. Pedagogical implications are discussed in the conclusion.

Author Biography

Lan Li, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Dr Lan LI is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Linguists, U. K. with M.Phil and PhD degrees in Applied Linguistics from the University of Exeter in the UK. She works as an Associate Professor at the Department of English, Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She has been teaching and conducting research in semantics, lexicology and bilingual lexicography. Her research interest and publications cover lexicology, lexicography, metaphor studies, computer mediated professional communication, sociolinguistics and corpus linguistics.

 

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Published

28-06-2016

Issue

Section

Thematic Section: Discourse and Communication in Professional Contexts