Chinese workplace discourse: politeness strategies and power dynamics

What is it about?

Workplace discourse can take different forms in different situations – e.g., spoken or written, formal or colloquial, ritualized or improvised, computer-mediated or social media-mediated – and therefore encompasses a variety of (sub)genres. All of these (sub)genres tend to be goal oriented and geared towards producing outcomes in workplace tasks and institutional missions. Workplace discourse can be shaped by both specific institutional conventions and more general social and cultural ideologies and norms. Workplace discourse in Chinese-speech communities may also be subject to different influences – e.g., Confucian traditions regarding interpersonal (power) relations, collectivism and group-oriented principles, and modern management styles and company cultures (see Hwang 1987; Kong 2013; Zhu, Nel and Bhat 2006). Research into Chinese workplace discourse probes the actual sociocultural practices in professional settings to extend both our linguistic and sociological understandings. This chapter focuses on politeness and power relations in Chinese workplace discourse through a review of some relevant theoretical frameworks and an examination of several empirical studies.

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Why is it important?

we review theoretical insights that cast light on our understanding of some key factors in workplace discourse - power and politeness. Some interesting empirical studies are revisited and new perspectives are proposed.

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