IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Mar 2003

Resolving the directness dilemma in document review sessions with nonnative speakers

K. Riley ; J. Mackiewicz

Abstract

Reviewers of technical documents must often work with nonnative speakers (NNSs) of English. Drawing on research in cross-cultural pragmatics and institutional discourse, we discuss linguistic patterns that document reviewers are likely to use when commenting on NNS writing. We anticipate miscommunications that may arise from some of these linguistic patterns, especially when a reviewer attempts to be both clear (so that the writer understands the comments) and polite (so that the reviewer maintains positive working relations with the writer). We recommend specific linguistic strategies that allow reviewers to balance clarity and politeness most effectively when communicating with NNSs.

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
2003-03-01
DOI
10.1109/tpc.2002.808352
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
discourse analysis multilingual writers book reviews
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (8)

  1. Friess (2013)
    “Bring the Newbie Into the Fold”: Politeness Strategies of Newcomers and Existi…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Friess (2011)
    Politeness, Time Constraints, and Collaboration in Decision-Making Meetings: A …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Schaefer (2010)
    Response-to-Complaint Letter as a Rhetorical Genre
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. Mackiewicz (2007)
    Compliments and Criticisms in Book Reviews About Business Communication
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. Mackiewicz (2005)
    Hinting at What They Mean: Indirect Suggestions in Writing Tutors' Interactions…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Show all 8 →
  1. MacKiewicz (2005)
    How to Use Five Letterforms to Gauge a Typeface's Personality: A Research-Drive…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. MacKiewicz (2004)
    What Technical Writing Students Should Know about Typeface Personality
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Grove (2003)
    In pursuit of constructive criticism
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

References (47) · 7 in this index

  1. (2000)
    Nat. Sci. Bd., Nat. Sci. Found.
  2. Driskell (1996)
    Collaborating across national and cultural borders
  3. Bosley (1993)
    Cross‐cultural collaboration: Whose culture is it, anyway?
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Cross (2001)
    Forming the Collective Mind: A Contextual Exploration of Large-Scale Collaborative Writin…
  5. Katz (1998)
    The Dynamics of Writing Review: Opportunities for Growth and Change in the Workplace
Show all 47 →
  1. Leki (1990)
    The technical editor and the nonnative speaker of English
    Tech. Commun.
  2. Fukuoka et al. (1999)
    The organization of Japanese expository passages
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  3. Lentz et al. (2000)
    Babel in document design: the evaluation of multilingual texts
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. Spyridakis et al. (2000)
    Japanese readers' comprehension of and preferences for inductively versus deduc…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  5. Thompson (2001)
    Collaboration in technical communication: a qualitative content analysis of jou…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  6. 10.4324/9781315835976
     ↗
  7. Blum-Kulka (1989)
    Investigating cross-cultural pragmatics: An introductory overview
  8. Reynolds (1995)
    Where the trouble lies: Cross-cultural pragmatics and miscommunication
    Papers and Studies in Contrastive Lingustics
  9. Blum-Kulka (1989)
    Cross-cultural and situational variation in requesting behavior
  10. 10.1111/j.1944-9720.1991.tb00464.x
     ↗
  11. 10.1017/CBO9780511813085
     ↗
  12. 10.4324/9780203788387
     ↗
  13. Goffman (1974)
    Frame Analysis
  14. 10.1016/0378-2166(88)90003-3
     ↗
  15. 10.1111/1467-971X.00208
     ↗
  16. 10.1111/j.1467-971X.1988.tb00228.x
     ↗
  17. 10.1177/003368829402500205
     ↗
  18. 10.1075/prag.9.2.04yu
     ↗
  19. Mancuso (1992)
    Technical Editing
  20. Mackiewicz (2003)
    The technical editor as diplomat: Linguistic strategies for balancing clarity and politeness
    Tech. Commun.
  21. Walker et al. (1987)
    Writing Conference Talk: Factors Associated with High- and Low-Rated Writing Co…
    Research in the Teaching of English
  22. 10.2190/CWIC5
     ↗
  23. Goatly (1995)
    Directness, indirectness and deference in the language of classroom management: Advice fo…
    IRAL: Int. Rev. Appl. Linguistics Lang. Teaching
  24. 10.1163/9789004368811_004
     ↗
  25. Parker (2000)
    Linguistics for Non-Linguists: A Primer with Exercises
  26. 10.1163/9789004368811_003
     ↗
  27. Weizman (1989)
    Requestive hints
  28. 10.1515/9783110809145.157
     ↗
  29. Halliday (1985)
    An Introduction to Functional Grammar
  30. Blum-Kulka (1989)
    The CCSARP coding manual
  31. 10.1515/text.1.1999.19.2.253
     ↗
  32. He (1993)
    Exploring modality in institutional interactions: Cases from academic counselling encounters
    Text
  33. Straub (1996)
    The Concept of Control in Teacher Response: Defining the Varieties of "Directiv…
    College Composition and Communication
  34. 10.1016/S0378-2166(99)00027-2
     ↗
  35. 10.1016/0378-2166(87)90192-5
     ↗
  36. Blum-Kulka (1989)
    Playing it safe: The role of conventionality in indirectness
  37. 10.1016/S0388-0001(96)00040-X
     ↗
  38. 10.1111/j.1467-1770.1988.tb00416.x
     ↗
  39. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198245537.001.0001
     ↗
  40. Drewa (2002)
    What a good editor is (and is not)
    PCS Newslett.
  41. Chaney (2000)
    Intercultural Business Communication
  42. 10.1515/mult.1989.8.1.3
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 13 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Sep 2024
    Positive Evaluation in the Translation of Online Promotional Discourse in the Cheese Industry ↗
    Belén Labrador; Noelia Ramón
    discourse analysis argument assessment professional writing multilingual writers grammar and mechanics affect and writing book reviews
  2. Writing and Pedagogy Apr 2024
    The affordances of language choice in negotiation of oral peer feedback on L2 writing ↗
    Avary Carhill-Poza; Lili Tian; Jesse Rubio
    discourse analysis writing pedagogy multilingual writers book reviews
  3. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Jun 2020
    The Use of Multimodal Resources by Technical Managers and Their Peers in Meetings Using English as the Business Lingua Franca ↗
    Tiina Räisänen
    discourse analysis professional writing multimodality multilingual writers book reviews
  4. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Mar 2015
    Reasons for Using English or the Local Language in the Genre of Job Advertisements: Insights From Interviews With Dutch Job Ad Designers ↗
    Frank van Meurs; Brigitte Planken; Hubert Korzilius; Marinel Gerritsen
    genre theory discourse analysis professional writing qualitative research multilingual writers public rhetoric book reviews
  5. Journal of Response to Writing Apr 2026
    More Than Treating Errors: Bridging the Gaps and Expanding the Agenda for Scholarship on Teacher Written Feedback for L2 Writers ↗
    Goldstein, Lynn; Kohls, Robert
    discourse analysis writing pedagogy teacher development revision multilingual writers