Page 146 - Handbooks of Applied Linguistics Communication Competence Language and Communication Problems Practical Solutions

124 Editors’ introduction

interaction, the main focus of ritual theories lies in the symbolization processes
that transcend the realm of interpersonal relations. The latter is the topic of
chapter 9 by Helga Kotthoff. Many communicative practices are at the same
time generic in their structure and ritualized insofar as they communicate vari-
ous symbolic aims. In using a communicative genre, speakers construct an in-
tertextual relation between the situative text and a canonical pattern.
Similarly, it could be asked how genre and activity type relate to each other.
In chapter 2 John Gumperz and Jenny Cook-Gumperz draw on the concept of
activity type. A genre normally has a higher degree of internal organization than
an activity type, but the main difference is that the two concepts focus on dif-
ferent sides of a communicative practice: within a genre concept the dimension
of patterning is highlighted, while in the concept of activity type the focus is on
the communication of an intention and how this is interpreted.
Let us now consider each of the chapters in turn.
In chapter 7 Susanne Günthner explores a wide range of oral and written
communicative genres, from complaints to academic articles. She sees the no-
tion of genre as a linkage between communicative contexts and cultural speak-
ing practices, and builds on the traditions of Anthropological linguistics and
Sociology of Knowledge. Genres are treated as historically and culturally spe-
cific conventions, pre-patterned, not only to relieve the speaker, but also to as-
sist the recipients in limiting interpretative possibilities. In using a communi-
cative genre, speakers construct an intertextual relation between the situative
‘communicative text’ and a canonized pattern. Internal, interactional and exter-
nal features constitute the patterning of a communicative genre.
Chapter 8 presents findings from the Wellington Language in the Workplace
project about cultural underpinnings of humour. Meredith Marra and Janet
Holmes explore the shared cultural knowledge, values and beliefs which under-
lie humorous activities in New Zealand, carried out by Ma ¯ori people and New
Zealanders of British origin (Pa ¯keha ¯). Humour often serves as a relational prac-
tice building social cohesion, but it also reinforces boundaries between them
and us in an acceptable way. One example shows how a Ma ¯ori speaker gives a
witty performance about a magic box (which is in reality the micro-wave) and
very indirectly makes it clear that the micro-wave should be cleaned after usage.
The authors discuss many generic features which make the performance a typi-
cal Ma ¯ori activity, including the speaker’s concern for protecting individual
face, his teaching strategies, and the implicit respect for superiors. Humour is
often overlooked in intercultural research and trainings. The article fills a gap
and presents some implications for intercultural education.
In Chapter 9 Helga Kotthoff discusses the relations between ritual and style,
from simple rituals such as gift presentation to complex genres such as toasting.
Following Goffman, Kotthoff extends the concept of ritual to everyday activ-
ities because activities like greetings, dinner conversations, dress or culinary