Intercultural Communication Studies XII-1 2003 Yeh- Intercultural Interactions Exploring Intercultural Interactions in Multicultural Contexts: Proposal and Research Suggestions

This proposal consists of three parts: 1) a discussion of the importance of non-native/non-native (NNS/NNS) communication; 2) a review of relevant theories and issues in intercultural interactions and NNS/NNS interactions; 3) a discussion of methodological issues when interpreting linguistic and interactional data. The present study attempts to explore features of communication between non-native speakers from different linguistic backgrounds by reviewing theories, literature, and investigations dealing with intercultural encounters and NS/NNS interactions. Gumperz ’ inferencing theory (Gumperz and Cook-Gumperz, 1982; Gumperz, 1982; Gumperz, 1992) and Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) are reviewed and examined for their descriptions and generalization of interactive processes from sociolinguistic and pragmatic-discoursive perspectives. Though the two theories differ in nature, CAT is better applied in predicting psychological/linguistic conditions and intergroup environment during interactions, whereas inferencing theory identifies factors in communication problems in intercultural/interethnic interactions and explains why communication problems happen. In this paper, the author generalizes communication features of intercultural interactions from previous research findings from different social science disciplines to suggest research questions and hypotheses for future studies. In addition, this paper also advances methodological problems of interpreting intercultural interaction data. Investigators must interpret linguistic and interaction data from the perspective of interaction participants, rather than from the perspective of a linguistically competent observer