Theme, Pragmatics, and Intercultural Communication Analysis

Posted on Apr 1, 2025 in Spanish, Linguistic and Literary Studies

Theme and Thematic Structure

Ordo naturalis: If there’s no clue to the contrary, the first mentioned element happened first, and the second followed it.

Theme: A Thematic Category

Theme is a thematic category related to how we organize sentences. The appropriateness of structures is tested by providing questions:

  • Alternatives do not all function satisfactorily as answers to the same question.
  • Different assumptions about the state of knowledge of the hearer.

Pragmatic Factors Influencing Choice

Pragmatic factors which condition the choice of one alternative rather than another:

  1. Which element of the proposition represents the main topic, what the clause is about.
  2. Most important part of the message.
  3. Which is known (GIVEN) or new to the hearer.
  4. What information, if any, is presupposed at any point in the discourse.
  5. Which element the speaker chooses as the point of departure of the message.

Theme is an element of thematic structure related to what speakers or writers take as their ‘point of departure’ (left-most constituent) in that clause. The rest of the message constitutes the Rheme.

Unmarked Themes

Unmarked Themes are general and typically occur as the expected one (normally). It generally coincides with the first constituent of each mood structure, except for yes-no interrogatives:

  1. Declaratives: subject
  2. Interrogatives: Finite + Subject or wh element.
  3. Imperative: predicator and let + Subject

In general, the constituent which is thematized is what the sentence is about = TOPIC. The first element which is chosen to be in first position, which coincides with the theme, also coincides with the topic.

Functions of Theme

Theme has 2 MAIN FUNCTIONS:

  1. Connecting back and linking in to the previous discourse (coherence).
  2. Serving as a point of departure for the further development of the discourse. It has to push the message forward.

Thematisation as a Discoursal Process

Thematisation = a discoursal process – What the speaker or writer puts first will influence the interpretation of everything that follows:

  • A title will influence the interpretation.
  • The first sentence of a paragraph will constrain the interpretation of the paragraph and the rest of the text.

Staging

Staging: Emphasizes relative prominence given to various segments of prose discourse (linearization + rhetorical devices: lexical selection, rhyme, repetition, use of metaphor, markers of emphasis… etc). It has an effect on:

  • The process of interpretation
  • The process of subsequent recall

The thematised elements provide:

  • A starting point around which what follows in the discourse is structured.
  • A starting point which constrains our interpretation of what follows.

Different assessment of the character and motivation of the act ‘staging’ speaker’s involves the writer’s overall rhetorical strategy of presentation.

Motivation

Motivation:

  • Create suspense
  • Convince the listener of the truth of what he is saying
  • Persuade his listener to a course of action
  • To shock or surprise

The power of language allows us to send different messages.

Gender Differences in Language

Gender difference encoded in the language:

  • Traditional terms of address – Mr, Mrs, Miss – no term for marital status of men.
  • Pronoun ‘he’ is used to identify when sex is unknown; women can lose their surname when getting married.
  • Terms that refer to both sexes are masculine – actor, author can be applied to women but actress/authoress cannot be applied to a man.

Linguistic Differences

Linguistic differences in pronunciation:

There are differences between men and women in:

  • Their use of dialect
  • Use of prestige forms
  • Vocabulary choice and range
  • Pronunciation types
  • Variation of pitch
  • Swearing, e.g., women use more prestige forms than men (e.g., received pronunciation);

Vocabulary

Vocabulary:

  • Women use more precise color terms
  • More affective adjectives
  • More markers of politeness (and euphemisms)
  • More hedges (well, kind of)
  • More tag questions (isn’t it, don’t you)

Intercultural Pragmatics

Intracultural = Interactions between members of an L1 speech community – COMMON GROUND (shared knowledge, norms, beliefs…).

Intercultural = Interactions between speakers who have different L1s – COMMON GROUND needs to be constructed in the interactional context. Individuals have limited access to TL conventions, norms and beliefs and cannot rely so much on TL prefabricated language and pre-existing frames based on common knowledge.

Culture Defined

Culture: “The system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through social learning.”

Intercultural Pragmatics Explained

Intercultural pragmatics is usually related to pragmatic differences between different languages, although those differences may also occur across varieties of the same language (e.g., native speakers of English may use the language in different ways). Intercultural communication is of great relevance today: fast-paced developments in telecommunication and transportation technology mean that a great number of people of diverse language and cultural backgrounds are interacting with each other in new ways. As these international contacts become commonplace, there is a growing interest in increasing intercultural awareness so as to enhance intercultural competence.

Why Intercultural Awareness Matters

Why? Because communication between people of different cultural backgrounds may require added or different communication skills and competences.

Cultural Membership and Pragmatic Norms

Cultural membership: Problematic inferences due to not sharing the speaker’s cultural membership.

Different pragmatic norms can lead to cultural misrepresentations.

Pragmatic norms of the TL and culture may be transferred onto another and lead to pragmatic failure. E.g., Could I have a cup of tea? vs. I want a cup of tea.

Differences occur in social situations manifested in common speech acts: apologizing, refusing, suggesting, expressing gratitude.

Norms exist but are not universally applicable to all languages.

Consequences of Different Pragmatic Norms

Different pragmatic norms can lead to:

  • Cultural misrepresentations – Stereotyping (Mexicans are so lazy, etc.)
  • Misunderstandings

Pragmatic Competence

Pragmatic competence: “The competence in conveying and understanding communicative intent.” There are numerous examples of difficulties related to sociopragmatic competence. Cross-cultural competence is critical in multilingual and multicultural contexts. The study of interlanguage suggests the existence of a universal pragmatic knowledge in the realization of speech acts shared across languages. E.g., Use of the same basic strategies (direct or indirect) to make requests:

  • Direct: Please open the window.
  • Indirect: Can you open the window?
  • Nonconventional indirect or hints: It is cold, isn’t it?

Moreover, different interactional styles and important cross-linguistic differences in the selection and realization of speech acts. For this reason, it is important to learn the elements of the speech and the new social attitudes, which are not transferred from one language to another.

Bidirectional Influence and Intercultural Style

When the relationship between L1 and L2 influences each other, it is called BIDIRECTIONAL. ‘The intercultural style hypothesis’: An intercultural pattern is the result of the contact of individuals with other languages. Miscommunication appears with the lack of assumptions or common experiences of the culture. However, ELF communication is characterized by cooperation, in order to participants can successfully accomplish their communicative tasks. Studies on English as a lingua franca reveal that participants’ (non-native speakers) problems of understanding can be attributed to their lack of linguistic and pragmatic competence. Because of cultural differences, EFL participants are experts at using communication strategies and interactional practices to negotiate meaning and arrive at mutual understanding, e.g., code-switching.