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Irish English, while having been the focus of investigations on a variety of linguistic levels, reveals a dearth of research on the pragmatic level. In the present volume, this imbalance is addressed by providing much-needed empirical data on language use in Ireland in the private, official and public spheres and also by examining the use of Irish English as a reflection of socio-cultural norms of interaction. The contributions cover a wide range of pragmatic phenomena and draw on a number of frameworks of analysis. Despite the wide scope of topics and methodologies, a relatively coherent picture of conventions of language use in Ireland emerges. Indirectness and heterogeneity on the formal level are, for instance, shown to be features of Irish English.
This volume is the first book-length treatment of the pragmatics of a national variety of English, or any other language. Indeed, it could be considered a first step towards a new discipline, variational pragmatics, at the interface of pragmatics and dialectology.
This book is of primary interest to researchers and students in pragmatics, variational linguistics, Irish English, English as Foreign Language (EFL), cross-cultural communication and discourse analysis. Furthermore, the pragmatic descriptions provided will be of practical use in the increasingly important English as Second Language (ESL) context in Ireland. Finally, it is also of relevance to professionals dealing with Ireland and, indeed, to anyone interested in a deeper understanding of Irish culture.
List of contents
INTRODUCTION
Anne Barron and Klaus P. Schneider Irish English: A focus on language in action
Raymond Hickey Irish English in the context of previous research
IRISH ENGLISH IN THE PRIVATE SPHERE
Jeff Kallen Silence and mitigation in Irish English discourse
Carolina P. Amador Moreno Discourse markers in Irish English: An example from literature
Klaus P. Schneider " No problem, you're welcome, anytime": Responding to thanks in Ireland, England, and the USA.
Anne Barron Offering in Ireland and England
Brian Clancy "You're fat. You'll eat them all": Politeness strategies in family discourse
IRISH ENGLISH IN THE OFFICIAL SPHERE
Fiona Farr Relational strategies in the discourse of professional performance review in an Irish academic environment: The case of language teacher education
Gillian Martin Indirectness in Irish English business negotiation: A legacy of colonialism?
Sophie Cacciaguidi-Fahy and Martin Fahy"Whatcha mean?": The pragmatics of intercultural business communication in financial shared service centres
James Binchy "Three forty two so please": Politeness for sale in Southern-Irish service encounters
IRISH ENGLISH IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE
Anne O'Keeffe "You've a daughter yourself?": A corpus-based look at question forms in an Irish radio phone-in
Helen Kelly-Holmes A relevance approach to Irish-English advertising: The case of Brennan's bread
About the author
Anne Barron is AssistantProfessor at the English Department at Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität, Bonn, Germany. Klaus P. Schneider is Professor at the English Department at Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität, Bonn, Germany.
Report
"This is in many ways a very praiseworthy attempt to redress a gap in descriptions of Irish English."Goodith White in: Multilingua 1/2007
