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Presenter
Zohreh Eslami, PhD
Associate Professor
Texas A&M University
Joint Appointment
English Faculty, Liberal Arts
Texas A&M University-Qatar

Title
Online Communication and students pragmatic choices  in  English as an international language  

Abstract
The rise of English as an international language (EIL) and the advancements in information and communication technology has lead to increasing online communication, including emails from students to professors written in EIL.  With its high transmission speed, e-mail has been widely used for both personal communication and institutional communication (Baron, 2000; Crystal, 2001). The wide use of the e-mail medium, however, does not necessarily mean that it is used without difficulty. When writing emails, students have to make pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic choices concerning forms of address, suggesting new ideas, making requests, expressing disagreement, and closing the email with respect to the level of formality and relationship between the interlocutors (Baron, 1998, 2000; Kling, 1996).

This study investigates level of formality in email openings and closings in international students’  emails sent to faculty members. Hofstede’s (1980) cultural dimension of power distance (PD) is used to distinguish between relatively high and relatively low PD cultures. The students’ choice of openings and closings is discussed with respect to PD ranking, rapport management and the sociopragmatic conventions established in business communication literature. The analysis is based on 500 emails written by 89 students. The findings indicate that students from relatively high PD cultures are more likely to opt for formal alternatives, concluding that national culture is an aspect to take into account when analyzing lingua franca English communication. 

References

Baron, N. S. (1998). Letters by phone or speech by other means: The linguistics of email. Language and Communication, 18, 133-170.

Baron, N. S. (2000). Alphabet to email: How written English evolved and where it’s heading. New York: Routledge.

Crystal, D. (2001). Language and the Internet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hofstede, G. (2001) Culture’s consequences. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Kling, R. (1996). Social relationships in electronic forums: Hangouts, salons, workplaces and communities. In R. Kling (Ed.), Computerization and controversy: Value conflicts and social choices (2nd ed.) (pp. 426-454). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.