Exploring Identity Work in Chinese Communication (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781350273214)

There is growing acceptance among pragmaticians that identity is often (de)constructed and negotiated in communication in order to impact the outcome of the interaction. Filling an important gap in current research, this book offers the first systematic, pragmatic theory to account for the generative mechanisms of identity in communication.

Using data drawn from real-life communicative contexts in China, Xinren Chen examines why identity strategies are adopted, how and why identities are constructed and what factors determine their appropriateness and effectiveness. In answering these questions, this book argues that identity is an essential communicative resource, present across various domains and able to be exploited to facilitate the realization of communicative needs. Demonstrating that communication in Chinese involves the dynamic choice and shift of identity by discursive means, Exploring Identity Work in Chinese Communication suggests that identity is intersubjective in communication in all languages and that it can be accepted, challenged, or even deconstructed.

Author: Xinren Chen
ISBN-10: 135027321X
ISBN-13: 9781350273214
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Language: English
Published: 05/18/2023
Pages: 264
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.81lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.55d