Native and nonnative speakers’ pragmatic interpretation of English texts

Cultural differences in writing conventions complicate the process of learning to write in an L2. This study highlights some o f th e di fferences between wri ting conve n tions accepted in di scou rse tradi tion s influenced by Confucia n and T aoist precepts and those accepted in th e U.S. academic en viro nment. The study compares nativ e spea ker (NS) and nonnative-speak er (NNS) evaluati on s of four sho rt essays, two writte n by NSs a nd two by adva nce d ESL lea rn e rs. In terms commonly used in th e teaching of L2 academic wr iting (e.g. a text's purpose and audience, specificity, clarity, and adequate support), th ere was littl e simila rity be tween NSand NNSj udgment. T he effects of this disparity on L2 learn ers ' p ragma tic interpret ations and p rac ti ca l applications of L2 writing conventions ar e examined and ped a gogical implications are d iscussed. L2 studen ts and teach ers have long acknowled ged tha t learning to wr ite in an L2 is a complex and sometimes tedious process. In ad d ition to linguistic concerns, th ere are diffi culties assoc iated with wri tte n d iscourse fr am ework s and rhetorical conve n tions.Written texts re p resen t a convergence of d ifferent stylistic, cu ltural, re ligio us, eth.i cal, and social notions, all of which comprise wr itte n d iscou rse noti ons and fra meworks. Kachru (1988) asse rts that "d ifferent langu age speak ing communities have developed different conventions " (p. 112) of wr itin g. Cushman and Kincaid (J 987) have established th at th e di fferences be twee n written discourse fram eworks and conventions acce p ted in lan gu age communities in fluen ced by Confucian and T aoist precepts and th ose accepted in th e U.S. academic environ ment ex tend into fundamen tal concepts underlying wr iting.The p redominan ce of asser tion, th e type and ex tent of proofs, and the persuasive value of appeals to history and au thority accepted in Confucian cultures con tras t wit