Exploring Identity Work in Chinese Communication

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There is growing acceptance among pragmaticians that identity is often (de)constructed and negotiated in communication in order to impact the outcome of the interaction. Filling an important gap in current research, this book offers the first systematic, pragmatic theory to account for the generative mechanisms of identity in communication. Using data drawn from real-life communicative contexts in China, Xinren Chen examines why identity strategies are adopted, how and why identities are constructed and what factors determine their appropriateness and effectiveness. In answering these questions, this book argues that identity is an essential communicative resource, present across various domains and able to be exploited to facilitate the realization of communicative needs. Demonstrating that communication in Chinese involves the dynamic choice and shift of identity by discursive means, Exploring Identity Work in Chinese Communication suggests that identity is intersubjective in communication in all languages and that it can be accepted, challenged, or even deconstructed.

Reviews

This book significantly takes forward our understanding of identity by analysing not only how interlocutors dynamically construct their identities, but also their motivations for doing so and the range of strategies they use. The notion of pragmatic identity is usefully introduced to support the analyses and provide a conceptual framework. * Helen Spencer-Oatey, Emeritus Professor, University of Warwick, UK *
Written by one of the most prominent scholars of (Chinese) pragmatics, the book adopts an innovative approach to studying identity by seeing it as an essential resource for achieving communicative needs. The use of various data sources and mixed-method approach make this book an ideal reference for researchers of pragmatics. * Dr Victor Ho, Associate Professor, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong *

Author Bio

Xinren Chen is Professor of English Linguistics and Director of the Linguistics Institute at Nanjing University, China.