This article examines the relationship between politeness, culture, and speech acts in multilingual corporate communication. It emphasizes the role of second language acquisition (SLA) practices in teaching politeness strategies, with a focus on explicit instruction, immersion programs, and authentic language practice. The article also offers suggestions to enhance communication in such environments, using Luxembourg as an example of a multicultural business environment and highlighting the importance of understanding cultural norms and expectations surrounding politeness. By examining the interplay between these factors, this study aims to contribute to improved communication practices in multilingual corporate settings.
Al-IssaA. (2003). Sociocultural transfer in L2 speech behaviors: evidence and motivating factors. InternationalJournal of Intercultural Relations, 27(5), 581–601. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0147-1767(03)00055-5Auer, P. (1984). Bilingual conversation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
3.
BrownP.LevinsonS. C. (1978). Universals in language usage: Politeness phenomena. In GoodyE. N. (Ed.), Questions and politeness: Strategies in social interaction (pp. 56–310). Cambridge University Press.
4.
BrownP.LevinsonS. C. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge University Press.
ChenL. (2007). Chinese learners’ use of politeness strategies in English. English for Specific Purposes, 26(2), 134–152.
7.
DittmarN.CorbalánF. (2010). Politeness strategies in English, French, and Spanish: A comparative study. Journal of Pragmatics, 42(12), 2891–2912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2010.07.007
8.
FasoldR. (1984). The sociolinguistics of society. Blackwell.
9.
GaoX.LiD. (2014). An analysis of politeness strategies in Chinese EFL learners’ spoken discourse. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 5(5), 1018–1025.
10.
GarcíaA.MarinoS.RousseauP. (2016). Politeness in multilingual corporate meetings: A cross-cultural study of French, Italian, and Spanish. Journal of Business Communication, 53(2), 109–126.
11.
GuY. (2000). Politeness strategies in cross-cultural communication: A study of Chinese learners of English. Journal of Pragmatics, 32(5), 789–817.
12.
HanY.ParkJ. (2013). A cross-cultural study of politeness strategies used in English and Korean: A focus on bald on-record. Journal of Pragmatics, 55, 91–108.
13.
HaughM.RobertsJ. (2015). Gender, politeness and the use of positive politeness strategies in English. Journal of Pragmatics, 78, 66–78.
14.
HouseJ.KasperG. (1981) Polietness markers in Engllish and German. In CoulmasF. (Ed.), Conversational routine. Mouton.
JohanssonM.NielsenJ.SvenssonK. (2017). Politeness in multilingual corporate e-mail communication: A cross-cultural study of Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian. Journal of Business Communication, 54(3), 193–210.
17.
KasperG.RoseK. R. (2002). Pragmatic development in a second language. Language Learning, 52(Suppl 1), 1–352.
18.
KucharczykM. (2014). Politeness strategies in corporate communication. Journal of Language and Cultural Education, 2(2), 107–117.
19.
LarinaT. (2005). Cultural values and negative politeness in English and Russian. Respectus Philologicus, 8(13), 25–39.
20.
LopesP.MartínezJ.PuigR. (2018). Politeness in multilingual corporate telephone calls: A cross-cultural study of Portuguese, Spanish, and Catalan. Journal of Business Communication, 55(4), 281–298.
21.
PlacenciaM. E.Garcia-FernandezC. (Eds.). (2007). Research on politeness in the Spanish-speaking world. Routledge.
22.
SifianouM. (1999). Politeness phenomena in the Greek of Cyprus. Journal of Pragmatics, 31(1), 57–81.
23.
Spencer-OateyH. (2000). Rapport management: A framework for analysis. In culturally speaking: managing rapport through talk across cultures (pp. 11–46). Continuum.
24.
Spencer-OateyH. (2008). Culturally speaking: Culture, communication, and politeness theory (2nd ed.). Continuum.
25.
TrosborgA. (1995). Interlanguage pragmatics: Requests, complaints and apologies. Mouton de Gruyter.
26.
Van der AuweraJ.BauschK.De SwertL. (2015). Politeness in multilingual corporate communication: A cross-cultural study of Dutch, German, and English. Journal of Business Communication, 52(1), 45–62.
27.
WhaleyL. (2012). Intercultural communication: A practical guide (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
