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This book offers a critical reflection on interpersonal positioning across both large- and small-scale contexts and highlights the multi-faceted nature of intercultural communication in today's global world. The volume establishes positioning primarily as the negotiation of interpersonal relationships, and draws on concepts from across disciplines by way of reappraisal before applying them to two specific domains: MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) and private ELF couple interaction. While acknowledging and showcasing the unique features of positioning in these two contexts, Klötzl and Swoboda point to their commonalities by looking at how language and specifically English is used as a communicative resource in lingua franca situations. The book also identifies new directions for future methodological innovations in that it demonstrates how the same interaction can be looked at in methodologically-different ways and how the authors' own positions projected on to such interaction create an integrated tri-partite perspective on the two domains. Shedding light on interpersonal positioning in different contexts and in turn on global communication more generally, this book will be of particular interest to students and researchers in discourse analysis, pragmatics, computer-mediated communication, sociolinguistics, and applied linguistics.
About the author
Svitlana Klötzl received her PhD from the University of Vienna. Her research interests include discourse analysis, English as a lingua franca, applied linguistics, and private couple interaction. Her publications include articles in Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, Discourse and interaction, and a chapter in Globalisation: Myth or Reality?
Birgit Swoboda is a freelance researcher publishing and presenting on language use in computer-games. She studied English Linguistics and History at the University of Vienna and holds a PhD degree (thesis title: L2P n00b - The pragmatics of positioning in MMORPGs). Her research focus is CMC, politeness and positioning theory.
Summary
This book offers a critical reflection on interpersonal positioning across both large- and small-scale contexts and highlights the multi-faceted nature of intercultural communication in today’s global world.
