Managing Interaction: Negotiation and Accommodation strategies in ELF

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K13476
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: English linguistics
• Research Institution: Meijo University (2020-2022); Sugiyama Jogakuen University (2017-2019)
• Principal Investigator: IKE Saya 名城大学, 外国語学部, 准教授 (10738214)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: multimodal analysis / smile / stance-taking / social relation work / interactional space

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The major achievement of this research project is identifying multiple meanings and functions of linguistic resources such as smile and nodding in interaction through detailed transcription and multimodal analysis. The research revealed cultural differences of backchanneling behaviour, and that shared linguistic resources do not necessarily contribute to shared understanding of their functions. Based on these findings, a four-layer interaction analysis framework "Interactional Space Model" was proposed. Treating the interaction as a three-dimensional space, this model helps us analyse linguistic meaning (e.g., humour, emotion), structural meaning (e.g., turn opening, alignment), interactional meaning (affliation, stance-taking), and/or social meaning (e.g., rapport establishment, rapport enhancement) all at once. The framework enabled the researcher to visualise the rapport building process in ELF interactions.

Free Research Field

Sociolinguistics

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、異なる文化と言語背景をもつ会話参与者同士が、どのように相槌やそれに準ずる言語的リソースを駆使してインタラクションを成り立たせるのか、そして、異なる期待を持つ者同士がどのように互いの言語使用の文化的差異を理解し、会話内でのラポールを構築するのかを明らかにすることができた。これは現代のELF研究におおいに貢献すると考える。また、分析結果から言語的特徴の意味理解だけでなく、それらの持つ社会的意味がELFにおいては交渉されており、それが共有されればお互いに使用できる言語的リソースの幅が増える可能性も示唆された。この点は今後の研究の方向性を決める有意義な成果である。