Margot van Mulken

Politeness markers in French and Dutch Requests

Abstract This paper describes a difference in social norms which results in a differing distribution of politeness markers in the Dutch and French speech communities. The use of politeness strategies is compared on the basis of a corpus of parallel Dutch and French requests. The differences in use can be explained by a different conception of the need for repair strategies.

Finding the tipping point: Visual metaphor and conceptual complexity in advertising

The effect of visual metaphor in advertising is claimed to follow a curvilinear pattern: visual metaphors that constitute a moderate challenge are said to have a bigger impact on appreciation than simpler or more complex metaphors. Until now, empirical evidence has been scarce. This study verifies whether the tipping point can indeed be identified. In an experiment, 485 participants judged 16 different metaphors (in advertisements for 16 different product categories) varying in conceptual complexity. Mediation analyses showed that metaphors of moderate complexity, although comprehended less well than simpler metaphors, are appreciated more than simpler and more complex metaphors.

Your language or mine? or English as a lingua franca? Comparing effectiveness in English as a lingua franca and L1–L2 interactions: implications for corporate language policies

For multinational corporations, the need for efficiency and control has motivated the choice for a corporate language. However, increasing internationalisation has forced corporations to rethink their language policies to cater to the changing demands of the multicultural and multilingual workplace. This paper explores two related issues. First, it addresses the influence of mode of communication (English as a Lingua Franca [ELF] vs. L1–L2 interactions) on task efficiency. Second, it investigates the use of communication strategies in the different types of interactions (ELF vs. L1–L2). In a within-subject experimental design, the present study explores the effectiveness of language use in dyadic, computer-mediated communication between non-native speakers of English (ELF) and native and non-native speakers of German and Dutch (L1–L2). In three consecutive chat sessions, 60 participants performed a problem-solving task in English, German or Dutch. Findings indicate that in L1–L2 interactions, the participants were more effective in realising communicative goals than in ELF interactions, and that participants made use of different communication strategies in L1–L2 interactions than in ELF interactions. Consequently, international organisations which implement a corporate language may benefit from condoning multilingual practices on the work floor.

Register variation by Spanish users of English: The Nijmegen Corpus of Spanish English

Abstract English serves as a lingua franca in situations with varying degrees of formality. How formality affects non-native speech has rarely been studied. We investigated register variation by Spanish users of English by comparing formal and informal speech from the Nijmegen Corpus of Spanish English that we created. This corpus comprises speech from 34 Spanish speakers of English in interaction with Dutch confederates in two speech situations. Formality affected the amount of laughter and overlapping speech and the number of Spanish words. Moreover, formal speech had a more informational character than informal speech. We discuss how our findings relate to register variation in Spanish.

The direct and indirect effects of the phonotactic constraints in the listener’s native language on the comprehension of reduced and unreduced word pronunciation variants in a foreign language

Abstract This study investigates how the comprehension of casual speech in foreign languages is affected by the phonotactic constraints in the listener’s native language. Non-native listeners of English with different native languages heard short English phrases produced by native speakers of English or Spanish and they indicated whether these phrases included can or can’t. Native Mandarin listeners especially tended to interpret can’t as can. We interpret this result as a direct effect of the ban on word-final /nt/ in Mandarin. Both the native Mandarin and the native Spanish listeners did not take full advantage of the subsegmental information in the speech signal cueing reduced can’t. This finding is probably an indirect effect of the phonotactic constraints in their native languages: these listeners have difficulties interpreting the subsegmental cues because these cues do not occur or have different functions in their native languages. Dutch resembles English in the phonotactic constraints relevant to the comprehension of can’t, and native Dutch listeners showed similar patterns in their comprehension of native and non-native English to native English listeners. This result supports our conclusion that the major patterns in the comprehension results are driven by the phonotactic constraints in the listeners’ native languages.

The language of power. An analysis of a corpus of CEO letters

One of the many competences (among which developing vision and strategy, incorporating ethics and integrity, building alliances, possessing maturity and judgement – to cite only a few) an effective CEO is supposed to display is communicator competence. Madlock (2008) rightfully points out that leadership is a behaviour enacted through communication. Due to globalization, corporate communication executives are increasingly faced with the challenges of effectively addressing their diverse and dispersed internal and external audiences, which has prompted a heightened interest in research investigating (cross-cultural) variability in style conventions in corporate communication genres such as, for example, annual reports (de Groot, 2008; Hooghiemstra, 2003) or CEO letters (Hyland, 1998).

Rhetoric in advertising: attitudes towards schemes and tropes in text and image

Rhetorical figures can be effective means in the persuasion process. Traditionally, rhetorical figures are subdivided into schemes (i.e., superficial deviations such as rhyme) and tropes (i.e., meaningful deviations such as metaphors and puns). This paper reports of an experiment and interviews on the effects of verbal and visual schemes and tropes (versus non-rhetorical figures) in magazine advertisements on the attitude towards the ad. A taxonomy consisting of 9 categories (verbal versus visual non-rhetorical figures, schemes, and tropes) was used, and 4 ads per category (36 in total) were each presented to 79 participants (non-students). The results showed, amongst others, that the attitude towards ads with visual tropes was higher than towards ads without rhetorical figures. If and how the attitude towards ads with tropes differs from the attitude towards ads with schemes remains to be investigated.

Two dimensions of language intensity in evaluative discourse: Contextuality and semantic richness

Language intensity has been investigated within several disciplines, such as linguistics, stylistics and social psychology, and from several approaches. As a result, a wide range of intensifying elements and effects have been identified. In this chapter, we demonstrate on the basis of a qualitative corpus-analytical study that two dimensions play a decisive role in the discrimination of intensified language: contextuality and semantic richness. Contextuality reflects the degree to which the intensifying meaning of an element depends on its context. Semantic richness describes the amount of meaningful information that an intensifying element contains on top of its intensification function. This chapter is a starting point for further research concerning the characteristics of language intensity. Our insights contribute to established approaches in corpus-analytical and stylistic research.

Communication strategy used by Spanish speakers of English in formal and informal speech

Research questions: Are emergent bilinguals sensitive to register variation in their use of communication strategies? What strategies do LX speakers, in casu Spanish speakers of English, use as a function of situational context? What role do individual differences play? Methodology: This within-speaker study compares Spanish second-language English speakers’ communication strategy use in an informal, peer-to-peer conversation and a formal interview. Data and analysis: The 15 hours of informal and 9.5 hours of formal speech from the Nijmegen Corpus of Spanish English were coded for 19 different communication strategies. Findings/conclusions: Overall, speakers prefer self-reliant strategies, which allow them to continue communication without their interlocutor’s help. Of the self-reliant strategies, least effort strategies such as code-switching are used more often in informal speech, whereas relatively more effortful strategies (e.g. reformulations) are used more in informal speech, when the need to be unambiguously understood is felt as more important. Individual differences played a role: some speakers were more affected by a change in formality than others. Originality: Sensitivity to register variation has not yet been studied within communicative strategy use. Implications: General principles of communication govern speakers’ strategy selection, notably the protection of positive face and the least effort and cooperative principles.