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The Social and Cognitive Aspects of the Business Discourse
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1.2 The Social and Cognitive Aspects of the Business DiscourseStudying of a business discourse in terms of its cognitive aspects drew attention of researchers rather recently. By means of the analysis of written and oral forms of a business discourse modern linguists seek to resolve issues of a ratio and interdependence of internal and external factors of activity of the person, life and thinking, social and individual [43]. Considering conditions of success of speech acts, the western scientists T. van Dijk and W. Kintsch some of the first noted importance of the concrete national, social, cultural, educational differences between communicants, background speaking and listening. They claimed that "at each culture the significant events and actions: we and residents of any African village speak and we write on different subjects; Depending on where we are – at breakfast, in restaurant, in the tram, we, as a rule, speak on different subjects" [44, p. 42]. From this it follows that variously and pragmatic value of the speech act in the context of these subjects. Becomes obvious that the analysis of illocutive force of the speech act goes far beyond its limited framework. In this regard there is a need of attraction of a wide social and situational context in which speech influence was made. It served as one of the main reasons for strengthening of a cognitive component in research concepts of a number of scientists (T.A. van Dijk, W. Kintsch, R. Wodak, P. Meyer). It is noted research "boom" in scientific works of the last years studying various aspects a discourse analysis, cognitive characteristics (O.A. Beznayeva, T.A. Van Dijk, T.A. Shiryaeva, etc.). So, the Russian linguist T.A. Shiryaeva highlights need of the careful and detailed analysis cognitive discursive mechanisms of representatives of social spheres, in particular participants of business communities and also points to relevance of new interpretation of a role of language in processes of a categorization and conceptualization of the professional world, in particular, the world of business [36]. According to most of scientists, the interrelation between discursive and social structures is not just correlation or causative interaction. Here takes place to be very difficult socio-cognitive process including the mental models and other cognitive representations arising in consciousness of participants [45]. Therefore, such cognitive components as the general knowledge, ideology, norms, values, unique mental models of different persons, are important components of the social theory of a discourse. As R. Wodak, "despite confidence of the person in what cannot be "glanced" in consciousness of another (in "a black box") notes, (practically) each of us is convinced that there are certain mental processes which connect production and understanding of the text as with a statement, the text and communication, and with the social phenomena" [46, p. 125]. In this regard the aspiration to integrate social and cognitive approaches in the uniform theory predetermined emergence of the new concept by T. van Dijk – socio-cognitive a discourse analysis. According to modern scientists (T.A. van Dijk, R. Wodak, D. Atkinson, N. Fairclough, P.M. Dayneko, E.V. Budayev, etc.), insufficient attention to a cognitive component of the analysis of a discourse significantly slows down development of some sciences, including a critical discourse, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics. Really, use of socio-cognitive approach to studying of a business discourse is, in our opinion, a step forward in the course of judgment of communicative pragmatic aspect of the language sign, deeper understanding of national and cultural specifics of the business communication analyzed in our work. Use of results of cognitive researches at the description of pragmatic and social parameters of a discourse became a significant stage in researches of the founder of socio-cognitive approach of T. van Dijk. According to the scientist, the cognitive model of a discourse has to reflect the fact that the coherent text is carried out in a social context which includes [47, p. 55]: 1) common cultural knowledge (types of activity and purposes, characteristic events, circumstances, usual for this group); 2) socio-cultural situation: - participants of communication; - functions, social roles of participants of a situation; - social characteristics (sex, age); - individual characteristics (character, interests, purposes); - conventions (laws, rules, habits); 3) communicative situation: - overall objectives of communicative interaction; - global reference context (presence of people, objects). For understanding of the socio-cognitive concept it is necessary to distinguish the concepts "context", "contextual model", "situation" first of all accurately. According to T. van Dijk's interpretation, it is necessary to understand as a context not just such "objective" social variables as characteristics gender, age, etc., and special mental models called contextual models. According to the scientist, contextual models are that "missing link" between a communicative situation, a discourse and public processes from the point of view of socio-linguistic and cognitive aspects. Contextual models include categories, characteristic of this or that culture, and universal data (participants, space-time model, the purposes, actions) without which difficult social interaction between participants of communication would be impossible [48]. Thus, the speech behavior of communicants depends on a concrete situation: "Possible actions and consequently, and texts are limited to certain parameters of a situation" [44, p. 160]. In other words, the communicant can make successfully the speech act only under a condition if the socio-cultural context meets requirements of this speech act. In some modern Russian and domestic scientific developments attempts of consideration of a business discourse in terms of a certain context are made. So, the Russian linguist Y.V. Danyushina defines communication in general as complex process of exchange of information, emotions, influences and considers corporate communication as communication in the business sphere as communication in a corporate context, i.e. in the conditions of conducting business activity [37]. The Kazakhstan scientist G.G. Burkitbayeva also notes importance and prospects of consideration of a context when studying a business discourse and real business communication: "Though the analysis of a genre of a business discourse comprehensively is also deeply connected with the linguistic theory, its main further objective is not so much development of a certain linguistic model or creation of the original linguistic theory, how many development of an optimum method of a research of real communication in a specific social context and exact definition of typical forms of communication and also a full explanation of the relations between typical forms of communication in connection with a context" [40, p. 210]. In the conditions of modern development of the science about language including cognitive character and reflecting the relations between the person and the world through its language the cognitive pragmatics appeared [49; 50]. A main goal of the cognitive theory of pragmatics is the aspiration to explain conditions of success of the speech act, based on studying of interrelation between a situational context of speech communication and the cognitive systems of communicants. In this case the concept of situational model allows to understand not only ideas of the stereotypic sequences of events (as in scenarios and frames), and "personal knowledge which people have rather similar situation. This knowledge should be understood as result of the previous experience accumulated in collisions with situations such" [44, p. 67]. Proceeding from the aforesaid, activization of the scheme of the speech act allows to interpret better any text and illocutive force of the speech acts entering it taking into account both situational, and a communicative context. In this regard it is impossible to understand adequately the speech act separately as it is noted in J.L. Austin and J.R. Searle's works but only in a text and extra linguistic context, i.e. in a discourse. It is also necessary to note that essential difference of the discussed concept is understanding of a discourse as main object of pragmatic researches that in earlier works on pragmatics of language and the theory of speech acts was absent. According to the French scientist N. Fairclough, the discourse represents an integral part of the public relations as, on the one hand, forms these relations, and on the other hand, is formed by them [51]. Therefore, the discourse as interaction of social groups and individuals has to be studied in the context of social structures and culture including values and mentality of society [52, p. 5]. Proceeding from it, a discourse, being social action, reflects a condition of society and culture [53, p. 47]. In recent years scientists (T.A. van Dijk, A. Trosborg, Y. Zhu, O.K. Iriskhanova, P.M. Dayneko, I.V. Zhukov, A.V. Rudenko, etc.) show interest in this rather new direction in linguistics more and more, developing fundamentals of socio-cognitive methodology of studying of a discourse. It assumes selection and the analysis of oral, written, electronic texts of professional communication in various languages with attraction of such basic concepts of sociolinguistics, pragmatics and cognitive sciences as a stereotype, the social status, the social power, values, communicative strategy, cognitive model, cultural model, socio-cultural model, mental space, presuppozition, etc. Therefore, raising the question about the socio-cognitive features of a business discourse, we recognize that effective business communication is possible on condition of community of individual cognitive and social spaces of business partners, and semantic building is carried out, by N.F. Alefirenko's definition, for the account to influences of elements of "subjective and variable zones of cognitive spaces" [54, p. 19]. T.A. Shiryaeva considers that the lingual-cognitive (thesaurus) level of the organization of the language "business" personality goes back not so much to semantics, how many to knowledge. Successful implementation of business communication requires mastering along with a language system as well the conceptual system including representations, skills, values and norms of both special, and ordinary socio-cultural areas including knowledge of norms and rules of communication. Such knowledge accumulates in a global frame of an institutional business discourse on the basis of formation of the corresponding main institutional frames and is structured by means of specially selected texts containing frame presuppozition. On the basis of possession of elements of the semiotics code members of business society realize specifics of a conceptual picture of the business world which are implemented in the thesaurus by the language personality participating in professional business communication. Communication in business community is a transfer of necessary information, professional and encyclopedic knowledge in the course of business communication which assumes, first of all, the systemacity based on systemacity of knowledge of the person of the world and intelligence of this knowledge in the course of business communication as is a basis of institutional frames of an institutional business discourse, those internal psychological structures which develop in the course of life and training in the head of the person and to whom the picture of the world of business community which developed at it and itself is presented [36]. Cross-cultural business communication and communicative behavior of its participants deserve close scientific attention of linguists that is in many respects connected with globalization of world economy, strengthening of international communications, deleting of political, economic and cultural distinctions. An integrated approach to studying of business correspondence on material of the Kazakh, Russian and English languages from positions the socio-cognitive and communicative and pragmatic paradigms of a research allowed to reveal inexhaustible discursive (socio-cultural, socio-cognitive, communicative and pragmatic, structural and language) the potential of the analysis of various business texts. In situations of the international business communication possession of the corresponding discursive competences consisting not only of skillful operating by drawing up texts of business correspondence of language skills, but also in assimilation of professional and cross-cultural knowledge in the course of generation and perception of a business discourse is of great importance for participants of business societies. While the business discourse represents the difficult communicative phenomenon which includes, on the one hand, set of all speech acts representing purposeful mental and speech activity of business communicants, and with another – all sum of knowledge of surrounding reality necessary for understanding of the specified speech acts taking into account a socio-cultural context of business communication. For implementation of the complex linguistic analysis of texts of business correspondence in the real dissertation work the model of the descriptive analysis of business texts considering a socio-cultural context of the Kazakhstan business discourse was developed. This generalized model considers the text of business correspondence in composite and structural, communicative and pragmatic and socio-cognitive parameters, allowing to describe consistently both certain similar signs, and essential distinctions of the considered business cultures. In the communicative and pragmatic parameter of the analysis of texts of business correspondence on material of the studied languages the most widespread discursive strategy and tactics providing designing of steady impact of the addressee on the business partner were revealed: 1) strategy of forming of the relations with the business partner (depersonalization tactics, personalisation tactics, tactics of expression of solidarity and respect); 2) the strategy of creation of a positive image of the company and the advanced products (tactics of institutional accessory, tactics of demonstration of knowledge, tactics of representation of products/goods/services); 3) the strategy of motivation to action (pressure tactics, tactics of the offer of bonuses and favorable sentences). At this level of the analysis the brightest differences in implementation of business correspondence of a communicative pragmatic plan by authors are found in special use of tactics of expression of solidarity and politeness, pressure tactics and the offer of bonuses. So, if in business correspondence the emphasis on receiving instant profit is generally placed on English, then in the course of the analysis of business correspondence of Russian-speaking originators and, more, the Kazakh letters is found the additional communicative purpose directed to creation of the long-term collaborative relations. This distinctive feature of the Kazakh business correspondence is represented to us extremely important as its existence demonstrates to specifics of the Kazakh business letter that, in turn, is caused by specifics of the Kazakh national and communicative culture in which the short-term business contacts focused on obtaining only unilateral, instant benefit are inappropriate, hasty and, therefore, not suitable for business relations. On the basis of such standard orientation during language practice of Kazakhs various ways of expression of the benevolence, hospitality and also interest on long-term partnership are developed. The emotionality and expressivity is not welcomed in texts of the Kazakh and Russian business correspondence. The national cultural specifics of texts of business correspondence in the Russian and Kazakh languages exclude use, except for exceptional cases, language means with emotional and expressional semantics. While the specifics of culture of English-language business correspondence consist in wide use of emotional and expressional lexicon by means of which the sender makes an impression of the subjective relation to information stated to them or to own speech actions. This national and cultural feature of business correspondence in English can be explained with desire to sustain the relations on a positive wave, adhering to already noted principle of politeness emphasized with the aspiration to show respect for the addressee. Therefore, national and cultural distinctions of the people, their mentality, traditions, undoubtedly, find reflection in texts of business correspondence and define its national and cultural specifics, to reveal and describe which – a task rather difficult, however necessary not only because it is possible to see a specific originality of the business text – the carrier of traditions of culture, but also to investigate factors of emergence of communicative and pragmatic failures and possible communicative failures. Business correspondence samples made by the Kazakhstan business specialists in English clearly demonstrate all these manifestations and also the general results of this influence enough that gave us the chance to carry out the analysis of the most often found communicative and pragmatic failures in the letters of the Kazakhstan experts directed to their foreign partners. The Socio-cognitive aspect of a research of the revealed differences in texts of business correspondence of the considered languages and process of designing of business texts are interpreted in the real work from the point of view of unique cognitive base of authors of business messages and its interrelation with the specific social factors, valuable aspects defining specifics of generation of the business text. It is proved that at perception and producing the business text each business communicant has the sum concrete (communicative pragmatic, encyclopedic and linguistic) the presuppozitive of knowledge characteristic of this or that social and professional and socio-cultural context. In other words, the business specialist owns a set of the professional and business qualities taken in a certain business context which do this professional and business community of communicants in own way unique. A lack of knowledge corresponding the presuppozitive , in this case – in the field of writing of business correspondence, the discursive of competences of business experts demonstrates to not formation and represents one more source of communicative discomfort. These problems can be overcome in case of complex formation the discursive of competences, as one of components of which presuppozitive knowledge acts. The factors of the general socio-cultural context noted above – the existence of the Soviet economic system, collectivist qualities of the Kazakh and Russian cultures, the general historical, geopolitical interrelations, etc. influencing designing of the Kazakh and Russian business texts allow to explain to a certain extent some differences not only in specifics of linguistic execution of business correspondence, but also in the social and professional and situational and role statuses of the addressee and the sender of business correspondence in the Kazakh, Russian and English languages. For example, in the Kazakhstan and Russian business context the business organizations, than personal faces most often act as communicants of business communication. In other words, the relations "reading – writing", displayed in the Kazakh and Russian business correspondence, more are "interorganizational", than personalized as, for example, in the English business correspondence. The diachronic researches of English-language business correspondence (J.H. Fisher, J. Hoppit, M. Richardson) confirming, in particular, the Anglo-Saxon principle of politeness with underlined respect of identity and the right of the personal choice, decrease in a distance and categoriality in business speech behavior of business experts also demonstrate to it. At the level of a research of valuable aspect of realization of social cognition in texts of business correspondence on material of the Kazakh, Russian and English languages special attention to ideological, material and emotional values, constant verbal representation of the studied phenomena as values, the instruction on their importance, importance for business development in general, inclusion of these values in a circle of the purposes and problems of the professional and business activity is noted. At the same time certain differences in definition of the leading valuable orientations in different business cultures are found. So, results of the analysis of group of ideological values which is carried out by us by drawing up business correspondence showed that business communicants in Kazakh emphasize most often value "cooperation" and slightly less often note such value as "collectivism". In business correspondence of Russian-speaking business experts the value mention "professionalism" dominates, "cooperation" and "collectivism" is a little less often noted. In texts of business correspondence of English-speaking business communicants the emphasis is placed on "individualism" and "competition". The English business communicants in texts of business correspondence it is considerable more often than their Kazakhstan and Russian colleagues, address material values among which leading place is taken "material stimulation", "material income", "quality of goods, works and services". It demonstrates that within this type of business culture performance of tasks of the enterprise – effective achievement of economic growth, receiving profit is considered priority. Thus, the research of a business discourse, undoubtedly, demands the appeal to extra linguistic factors and also cognitive, cultural and social interpretations. As, both cultural, and social parameters, eventually, have an impact on speech activity by means of the business communicant cognitive system [55, p. 128], model cultural values in different language collectives, form the conceptual picture of the world inherent in each language collective, use of socio-cognitive approach to a research of a business discourse is represented to the most acceptable. жүктеу/скачать 379 Kb. Достарыңызбен бөлісу:
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