Cross-Cultural Insights into Phatic Communication: Indonesian and Australian Student Interactions
Abstract
Phatic communication, a widespread yet often unnoticed language phenomenon, primarily serves to maintain social interactions rather than convey substantive information. This study investigated the use of phatic expressions among Indonesian and Australian students, examining how cultural backgrounds and social contexts influence their communication styles. Using a Discourse Completion Task (DCT) with both qualitative and quantitative methods, this research revealed significant differences between the two groups. Australian students frequently used phatic speech to initiate conversations, provided comfort, and expressed empathy, emphasizing respect and interpersonal connection. In contrast, Indonesian students tended to use phatic expressions to promote social harmony, engage in casual discourse, and offer interpersonal support, often focusing on group cohesion. Social variables, such as social status and distance, played a critical role in shaping the choice of phatic functions and forms, with both groups adapting their communication strategies based on these factors. The findings highlight the intricate relationship among culture, social dynamics, and language in phatic communication, offering a nuanced understanding that can enhance intercultural interactions, minimize misunderstandings, and improve communication effectiveness in multicultural settings. This research underscores the importance of considering cultural and social contexts when analyzing language use, contributing valuable insights for educators, linguists, and communication professionals aiming to foster more effective and harmonious interactions across diverse cultural landscapes.
References
Adnan, Z. (2022). The function of phatic communication in the English language. English Language Literature & Culture, 7(2), 62-65. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20220702.13
Aitchison, J. (2006). The Seeds of Speech: Language Origin and Evolution. Cambridge University Press.
Al-Khawaldeh, N. (2016). A pragmatic cross-cultural study of complaints expressions in Jordan and England. International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 5(5), 197-207.
Arimi, S. (1998). Basa-basi dalam masyarakat bahasa Indonesia [Master’s thesis, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia].
Aull, B. (2019). A study of phatic emoji use in WhatsApp communication. Internet Pragmatics, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.1075/ip.00029.aul
Birjandi, P., & Rezaei, S. (2010). Developing a multiple-choice discourse completion test of interlanguage pragmatics for Iranian EFL learners. ILI Language Teaching Journal (Special Issue: Proceedings of the First Conference on ELT in the Islamic World), 6(1-2), 43-58.
Chen, R. (2010). Pragmatics between East and West: Similar or different? Pragmatics across Languages and Culture, 7, 167-188.
Coupland, J., Coupland, N., & Robinson, J. D. (1992). “How are you?”: Negotiating phatic communion. Language in Society, 21, 207-230.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Sage Publications.
Cutting, J. (2008). Pragmatics and discourse analysis (2nd ed.). Routledge.
de Groot, M., Schaafsma, J., Castelain, T., Malinowska, K., Mann, L., Ohtsubo, Y., Wulandari, M. T. A., Bataineh, R. F., Fry, D. P., Goudbeek, M., & Suryani, A. (2021). Group-based shame, guilt, and regret across cultures. European Journal of Social Psychology, 51(7), 1198–1212. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2808
Díez-Palomar, J., Chan, M. C. E., Clarke, D., & Padrós, M. (2021). How does dialogical talk promote student learning during small group work? An exploratory study. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 30(Part A), 100540. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2021.100540
Given, L. M. (2008). The Sage encyclopedia of qualitative research methods. Sage Publications.
Hamdin, H. (2016). The phatic communion in the Pillars of Community drama transcription. In Indonesia International Conference on Linguistics (pp. 100-109).
Hidayah, S. A. N., Degaf, A., Sa’adah, S. N., & Pratiwi, R. A. (2023, November 7). The language of beauty: Investigating persuasive strategies in advertising for cosmetic products. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Language, Linguistics, and Literature (COLALITE 2023) (pp. 270-288). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-140-1_28
Indarti, G. A. (2016). English phatic communication of graduate students in English language studies of Sanata Dharma University [Master’s thesis, Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia]. Retrieved from https://repository.usd.ac.id/6916/2/146332029_full.pdf
Jumanto, J. (2008). Phatic communication among English native speakers. WorldPro Publishing.
Kulkarni, D. (2013). Exploring Jakobson's 'phatic function' in instant messaging interactions. Discourse & Communication, 8(2), 117-136. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481313507150
Lado, R. (1957). Linguistics across cultures: Applied linguistics for language teachers. University of Michigan Press.
Lewis, R. D. (2006). When cultures collide: Leading across cultures. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
Malinowski, B. (1923). The problem of meaning in primitive languages. In C. K. Ogden & I. A. Richards (Eds.), The meaning of meaning (pp. 296-336). K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co.
Mirzaei, A., & Farnia, M. (2023). Exploring (non-)ritual patterns of phatic interaction (small talks) at different phases of social encounters in Persian linguaculture. Acta Linguistica Academica. https://doi.org/10.1556/2062.2023.00692
Nadar, F. X. (1990). Pragmatik & penelitian pragmatik. Graha Ilmu.
Nguyen, T. M. (2009). Cross-cultural pragmatics: Refusals or requests by Australian native speakers of English and Vietnamese learners of English [Master’s thesis, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland]. Retrieved from https://www.asian-efl-journal.com/Thesis_Phuong.pdf
Parker, F., & Riley, K. (2014). Linguistics for non-linguists: A primer with exercises (5th ed.). Pearson.
Poedjosoedarmo, S. (1982). Javanese influence on Indonesian. Pacific Linguistics.
Prastika, N. D. (2009). An analysis of phatic communion employed by the characters in the movie entitled Juno [Master’s thesis, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta, Indonesia]. Retrieved from digilib.uns.ac.id
Robah, A., & Anggrisia, N. F. (2023). Exploring challenges and strategies in English speaking among Indonesian university students: A case study of AKM university. Englisia: Journal of Language, Education, and Humanities, 11(1), 55–74.
Searle, J. (1976). A classification of illocutionary acts. Cambridge University Press.
Slatter, F. (2021). The art of Indonesian small talk – How to make small talk in Indonesia. AIYA. https://aiya.org.au/id/2021/11/26/the-art-of-indonesian-small-talk-how-to-make-small-talk-in-indonesia/
Trioktaviani, S., & Degaf, A. (2023). Exploring language styles in online bedtime stories for children: A sociolinguistic analysis. Pioneer: Journal of Language and Literature, 15(2), 371-381.
Ying, S. (2017). A study on cross-cultural pragmatic failure and spoken English teaching. Advances in Computer Science Research, 82, 258-263.
Yulinda, P. (2012). An analysis of phatic communion in the novel entitled The New Adventures of Mary Kate & Ashley: Sociopragmatics approach [Master’s thesis, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta, Indonesia]. Retrieved from digilib.uns.ac.id
Copyright (c) 2024 Deskripsi Bahasa
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Deskripsi Bahasa publishes its articles under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0. International License. This means anyone can copy, transform, or redistribute articles for any lawful purpose in any medium, provided they give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and Deskripsi Bahasa, link to the license, indicate if changes were made, and redistribute any derivative work under the same license. Once articles are accepted and published on this journal website, the author(s) agree to transmit the copyright to Deskripsi Bahasa.
Authors are permitted to distribute online (institutional repository or webpage) by linking complete references to Deskripsi Bahasa and including the same license to realise a more comprehensive exchange of thoughts and quotations from published articles. (Public Access Impact)
