Cross-cultural pragmatics

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This book serves as both a research monograph and a textbook, challenging traditional approaches to human interaction that rely on supposed universal "maxims of conversation" and "principles of politeness." Such approaches often fail to resonate with the realities faced by refugees, immigrants, and cross-cultural families. Instead, the book presents a theoretical and practical framework that recognizes the diversity of interaction norms across societies, reflecting varying cultural attitudes and values. It emphasizes that these differences can be effectively explored, explained, and taught. Drawing on data from numerous languages, including English, Italian, Russian, Polish, Yiddish, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, and Walmatjari, the book illustrates how meanings in human interaction and distinct "cultural scripts" can be described and compared in a clear, rigorous, and unbiased manner using a "natural semantic metalanguage." This approach is grounded in empirically established universal human concepts. Ultimately, the book demonstrates how this metalanguage can serve as a foundation for teaching successful cross-cultural communication and education, including language instruction within a cultural context.