María Elena Placencia

Pragmatic Variation in Corner Store Interactions in Quito and Madrid

This paper studies pragmatic variation in comer store interactions in Quito and Madrid, based on audio recordings in both cities. It focuses on variation in expressing interpersonal concerns in both contexts through the analysis of utterances of requests (for a product) and the sequences in which such requests are embedded. Concerning request realization and with reference to Blum-Kulka et al.s (1989) framework, direct forms were most commonly employed by both Quiteflos and Madrilenos. Quitefios use much more internal modification. Regarding the sequences in which requests are embedded, Quitenos produce longer preambles, engaging in more person-oriented activities than Madrilenos. Overall Quitenos display more and a wider range of interpersonal concerns. The differences identified are interpreted as reflecting different perceptions of the service encounter by the two groups, with Quitenos preferring more personalized service.

Opening up closings—The Ecuadorian way

In the conversation analytic tradition, this paper examines the procedures Ecuadorian Spanish (ES) speakers employ to close telephone conversations. Conversation analysts (cf. Schegloff, 1979) examined telephone talk in American English and that found that conversations are opened and brought to a close by the joint work of participants. Concerning closings, they observed, for example, that participants employ certain procedures to signal their desire to bring the conversation to an end and others to actually close the interaction. They also suggested that the conversational procedures they describe are of a universal character (cf. Schegloff and Sacks, 1974 [1973]). The examination of telephone closings in the present study reveals that similar procedures are employed in Ecuadorian Spanish. Nevertheless, it also highlights some of the features that appear to be characteristic of Ecuadorian Spanish only, that is, that seem to be culture-bound, and thus contests Schegloff and Sackss unversality claims. The need for a culturally contexted conversation analysis, along the lines proposed by Moerman (1988) is supported here.

Your kids are so stinkin' cute! :-): Complimenting behavior on Facebook among family and friends

Abstract This paper examines complimenting behavior directed at members of one Facebook network of family and friends in the United States. It proposes a way of selecting a corpus for analysis within the online environment under scrutiny and offers a preliminary characterization of Facebook compliments in American English in relation to the form compliments take, common objects of complimenting and the key function(s) that they perform. As part of a multimodal system of communication, compliments on Facebook are described as a kind of second-pair part of photo-initiated communication online that can be employed to reaffirm the relationship and strengthen the bonds between the interactants. The paper also explores the extent to which complimenting behavior on Facebook resembles usage that has been described for American English in face-to-face interaction. It shows that complimenting behavior on Facebook is the same in some ways but also different. The differences identified appear to be mainly related to the medium of interaction and the affordances (and restrictions) of the technology that can give rise to variations of talk and perhaps even new social practices.

Vaya, ¡qué chungo! Rapport-Building Talk in Service Encounters: the Case of Bars in Seville at Breakfast Time

Drawing on the literature on small talk (cf. e.g. collections of papers in Coupland 2000a, Placencia and Garcia 2008) and politeness (cf. e.g. Aston 1988a, Spencer-Oatey 2000, 2008), this chapter examines rapport-building talk in service encounter interactions in bars in Seville. By rapport-building talk, we mean conversational activities that go beyond the service transaction and participants’ roles as service providers or customers. These are activities seemingly aimed at reducing interpersonal distance and reaffirming friendly relations between, in our study, bartenders and customers.2 We aim to show that rapport-building talk for bartenders is in fact ‘an intrinsic part’ of talk at work (Coupland 2000b: 6).

Nominal address and rapport management in informal interactions among university students in Quito (Ecuador), Santiago (Chile) and Seville (Spain)

Abstract Nominal and pronominal address forms, which play a central role in the construction of interpersonal relations (cf. Bargiela et al. 2002; Clyne et al. 2009), have been the focus of attention in different linguistics subfields for several decades now. Less attention, however, has been paid to these forms from a variational pragmatics (Schneider and Barron 2008) perspective, particularly in Spanish. Using a corpus of role play interactions, we examine the impact of region and gender on nominal address usage among male and female university students from Quito (Ecuador), Santiago (Chile) and Seville (Spain). We look at how these forms are employed in rapport management (Spencer-Oatey 2008 [2000]) in two situations: giving advice and making a direct complaint (Boxer 1993). Building on work on nominal forms (cf. Leech 1999; McCarthy and O’Keeffe 2003), we examine similarities and differences in their use across the three varieties of Spanish. Among the findings recorded was a larger repertoire of nominal forms in the Santiago and Quito data sets relative to the Seville corpus, with the highest frequency of use in Santiago. We suggest that address usage in the dyadic contexts examined is connected to the expression of affect and involvement, with Chileans (Santiago) and Ecuadorians (Quito) displaying more affect than Spaniards (Seville). Contrary to early research suggesting that women employ more affiliative language than men (cf. Lakoff 1975), overall, males in the present study were found to use address forms more frequently than females across the three locations.

(Non)Compliance with directives among family and friends: Responding to social pressure and individual wants

Abstract This study explores how middle-class Quiteños respond to certain convivial directives among family and friends that they are unable or unwilling to comply with. It examines some of the strategies which Quiteños employ to deal with the tensions that can arise from two conflicting forces: social pressure and individual wants. Close ties among family members and intimate friends often make refusals to certain directives difficult, so that people feel obliged to comply because of el compromiso (social) (i.e., the obligation that relations of kin or friendship impose). On the other hand, when there is less closeness, token acceptances and avoidance strategies may be employed for face-saving purposes. Both sets of behavior (compliance and non-compliance) are interpreted in terms of the underlying interpersonal ideology of connectedness (Fitch 1998) that seems to operate in Quiteño society. Within this ideology, relationships can take precedence over the individuals own desires; if however, the bonds are less strong, people find ways of responding to social pressure without actually acting contrary to their own wishes.

Im)politeness and Regional Variation

This chapter examines how notions of (Im)politeness and appropriate behaviour may differ between regions in which the same language is spoken. Region is conceptualised as a macro-social factor interacting with other factors such as gender and age and impacting language use. Regional pragmatic variation has been found to occur at the national, subnational and local levels. The authors present two case studies illustrating differences between national varieties of English and of Spanish. Manifestations of appropriateness are compared across American, Canadian, English and Irish small talk, and rapport management is contrasted in service encounters in Ecuador and Spain. Both studies demonstrate how geographically distributed patterns of language use reflect diverging views of polite and appropriate verbal behaviour.

Address forms and relational work in e-commerce: the case of service encounter interactions in Mercado Libre Ecuador

The role played by address forms in the management of interpersonal relations has been widely recognized (cf. Bargiela et al. 2002; Clyne, Norrby, and Warren 2009; Formentelli 2007). In relation to service encounters, studies available on face-to-face interactions have shown how address forms contribute to constructing the interaction as friendly and egalitarian, for example, or perhaps hierarchical and even discriminatory. E-commerce, however, is a context in which address usage has received little attention. The growth of internet retailing over recent years makes examining address usage in e-service encounters a timely and revealing exercise. From a politeness perspective (cf. Locher and Watts, 2005; Spencer-Oatey 2008[2000]), this paper examines how address forms are used in 230 anonymous interactions between shoppers and sellers in Mercado-Libre Ecuador, an online market place. The focus of this paper is on both pronominal and nominal address. Reference is made to results from previous studies in face-to-face service encounters in Ecuadorian Spanish (Quito) which have displayed an overall preference for formal/respectful address. The results of the present study show that the online environment, with its anonymity, is allowing for the development of more informal and more egalitarian, and in some ways, less personalized service relationships.

Cumplidos de mujeres universitarias en Quito y Sevilla: un estudio de variación pragmática regional

Resumen Si bien los cumplidos han sido examinados extensamente en diferentes idiomas, incluido el español, se ha prestado escasa atención al estudio de variación interdialectal en la realización de cumplidos. Es esto lo que nos interesa analizar en este trabajo al examinar cumplidos en dos variedades del español: español andino (Quito) y español de Andalucía (Sevilla). Así, el estudio se enmarca en el área de pragmática variacionista (Schneider y Barron, 2008). Más específicamente, con base en una muestra de 410 cumplidos que se obtuvieron empleando un cuestionario de construcción de diálogos (Schneider, 2005), analizamos similitudes y diferencias en la percepción de comportamiento apropiado al formular un cumplido entre mujeres universitarias en Quito y Sevilla. Como veremos, en cuanto a estrategias globales, en los dos contextos hay una preferencia clara por formulaciones directas, corroborando los resultados de estudios anteriores. Sin embargo, encontramos algunas diferencias tanto situacionales como socioculturales con respecto a las sub-estrategias empleadas en la realización del acto central. Identificamos también algunas diferencias en el empleo de mecanismos de modificación interna y actos de apoyo encaminados a realzar el cumplido. Abstract While compliments have been extensively examined in different languages, including Spanish, comparatively little attention has been paid to interlinguistic variation among varieties of the same language. This is what we aim to explore in this paper by looking at compliments in two varieties of Spanish: Andean Spanish (Quito) and Andalusian Spanish (Seville). As such, our study is to be classified under the heading of variational pragmatics (Schneider & Barron, 2008). More specifically, on the basis of a sample of 410 compliments that were obtained by means of a dialogue construction questionnaire (cf. Schneider, 2005), we examine similarities and differences in female university students’ perception of appropriate behaviour in Quito and Seville when it comes to formulating compliments in a number of everyday situations. In terms of overall strategies, as we will illustrate, there is a clear preference for direct forms in both contexts, thus corroborating results from previous studies. However, there are some differences in terms of the sub-strategies employed across situations and across sociocultural contexts. There are also some differences in the use of internal modification mechanisms, in addition to supportive moves designed to strengthen the force of the compliments.