Lecturer perceptions of im/politeness and in/appropriateness in student e-mail requests: A Norwegian perspective

• Published in: Journal of pragmatics 2018-01, Vol.124, p.52-72
• Main Author: Savic, Milica
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: College students; Communication; Computer mediated communication; Content moves; Electronic mail systems; Email; English as a second language learning; English language; Framing moves; Im/politeness; In/appropriateness; Internet; Interviews; Linguistics; Norwegian university context; Politeness; Polls & surveys; Pragmatics; Questionnaires; Respondents; Sociolinguistics; Speech acts; Student e-mail requests in English
• ISSN: 0378-2166; 1879-1387
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2017.12.005

•Opening sequences influenced perceptions more than closing sequences.•Level of directness, internal modification and grounders affected perceptions.•Awareness of the intricacies of the e-mail medium affected perceptions.•Challenges of e-mail communication in L2 influenced perceptions.•Communication in the Norwegian university context had an effect on perceptions. The present study explores lecturer perceptions of im/politeness and in/appropriateness in student–lecturer e-mails written in English at a Norwegian university, specifically focusing on framing and content moves and broader contextual issues influencing perceptions. While the data was collected in three stages, including authentic student e-mails, questionnaires and interviews, the main source of data was the interviews. With regard to framing moves, opening sequences influenced the im/politeness and in/appropriateness perceptions of most participants, whereas closing sequences, including expressions of gratitude and leave-taking, appeared to affect perceptions to a lesser degree. As for content moves, the level of directness and internal modification of request head acts as well as the content of grounders were perceived as important for the lecturers’ overall evaluation of the e-mails. Broader contextual considerations were found to affect the interviewees’ perceptions to a greater extent than the questionnaire respondents’ views. These considerations included the specificity of e-mail as a medium, challenges of institutional e-mail communication for L2 learners and the fact that the communication, although in English, took place in the Norwegian university context. These three factors often interacted in complex ways to produce more positive perceptions of what otherwise might have been considered instances of sociopragmatic failure.