CHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTION
This chapter leads this thesis into a starting phase by briefly introducing the researchtopic and the definition of communicative strategies. Then, the research rationale iselaborated and three specific research questions are put forward. Finally, the overallorganization of the thesis is presented.
1.1 Research topic
Communicative strategies (CSs) were first discussed under the Second LanguageAcquisition (SLA) paradigm more than forty years ago, forming a new study area(Bjorkman, 2014). In recent years, as research on English as a lingua franca (ELF) hasbecome a hot topic, more and more studies tend to focus on CSs used in ELF settingsconcerning a large number of international domains. This thesis will examine the CSsemployed by speakers in ELF business interactions. The purpose of the work is to outlinethe CSs used in ELF business settings and then further identify the different functions ofthese CSs in terms of rapport management.
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1.2 Definition of CSs
Studies on definition of CSs started within the SLA paradigm. Under this paradigm, thedefinition of CSs was restricted to the “insistence of problematicity” (Kasper andKellerman, 1997: 2) in some early works. Later, concerns were raised on such insistenceof problematicity in the definition of CSs by some scholars who regarded CSs as a seriesof resources that speakers use to meet their communicative goals (e.g. Bialystok, 1983).These other definitions are broader in that they also involve efforts to increaseexplicitness and effectiveness in CSs (Canale, 1983) rather than focusing on problems ordifficulties speakers face. Nevertheless, the consensus in this paradigm was that problematicity was definitional to CSs (Kasper and Kellerman, 1997).
Within the ELF paradigm, however, in their studies on CSs, scholars have includednot only the cases in which a problem or difficulty has occurred and is clearly marked inthe interaction, but also potential problems that might occur because of the asymmetries(Bjorkman, 2014). That is to say, the definition of CSs under the ELF paradigm includesboth real and potential problems, which allows for carrying out research on pro-activework (Mauranen, 2007). In the present study, the definition of CSs is surely in accordwith the understanding of ELF researchers. Therefore, CSs here refer to all kinds oflinguistic resources (such as repetition and repair) that speakers use intentionally or atleast recurrently to solve both real and potential problems with the purpose of transferringinformation, or managing interpersonal relationship which is the focus of this thesis.
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CHAPTER TWOLITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Previous studies on ELF
2.1.1 Overview of studies on ELF
This part mainly involves the definition of ELF as well as the origin, development andresearch status of ELF studies so as to give a general picture of this study area.Considering the definition of ELF, there hasn’t been a unified version yet. On the websiteof Vienna-Oxford International Corpus of English (http://www.univie.ac.at/voice/help),ELF is described as “an additionally acquired language system which serves as acommon means of communication for speakers of different first languages”.
The research on ELF was initiated by two German scholars in the 1980s: Hullen(1982) and Knapp (1985, 1987). At that time, however, as Knapp himself later pointedout, the interest was “mainly conceptual in nature, stressing the importance of ELF as anobjective for English language teaching and also postulating the necessity of empiricalstudies that could identify formal or functional aspects to be taken account of in teaching”(Knapp, 2002: 218). And outside Germany, not many scholars paid enough attention tothis kind of phenomenon.
The turning point seems to have occurred at the beginning of the 21st century withthe pioneering works of three European female scholars (Jenkins, 2000, 2007; Seidlhofer,2001, 2004; Mauranen, 2003, 2005, 2006a, b). Follo
