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Respecting Other People’s Boundaries: A Quintessentially Anglo Cultural Value

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Further Advances in Pragmatics and Philosophy: Part 2 Theories and Applications

Part of the book series: Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy & Psychology ((PEPRPHPS,volume 20))

Abstract

A challenge that culturally non-Anglo speakers of English face is that of understanding what respecting boundaries, an Anglo cultural value, is about. The cultural value is unfamiliar to many cultures, especially so-called ‘group-orientation’ or ‘collectivist’ cultures. This means that even if a culturally non-Anglo speaker of English has a good mastery of English grammar, they may not be able to connect with culturally Anglo people if they do not respect boundaries. In this paper, what respecting boundaries means to culturally Anglo speakers of English and cultural implications are explored. Meanings and cultural values are represented by semantic explications and cultural scripts. For the purposes of writing semantic explications and cultural scripts, Minimal English is used. Understanding what respecting people’s boundaries is about would also help cultural outsiders understand related Anglo values such as personal rights and personal autonomy. This paper has implications for intercultural communication, cultural adaptation and language pedagogy.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    http://goodenglish.org.sg/

  2. 2.

    www.rosewoodranch.com/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/20_RW_RESPECTINGPEO PLESBOUNDARIES.PDF

  3. 3.

    All dictionary consulted are online dictionaries.

  4. 4.

    http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/boundary

  5. 5.

    http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boundary

  6. 6.

    http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/boundary

  7. 7.

    http://www.cricket.com.au/news/australia-champions-trophy-warm-up-match-short-45m-boundary-edgbaston-glenn-maxwell-chris-lynn/2017-05-29?mode=wv

  8. 8.

    http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/trespass

  9. 9.

    http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trespass

  10. 10.

    http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/trespass

  11. 11.

    http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/07/05/census-worker-trespassing-case-goes-federal-court.html

  12. 12.

    http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/trespass

  13. 13.

    http://injury.findlaw.com/torts-and-personal-injuries/what-are-intentional-torts.html

  14. 14.

    http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boundary

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Brian Poole for reading an earlier version of this paper and giving me comments. I would also like to thank Daron Benjamin Loo for his editorial assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for English Language Communication, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Jock Wong

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  1. Jock Wong
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cognitive Science, University of Messina, Barcellona, Italy

    Alessandro Capone

  2. Department SUM, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Marco Carapezza

  3. University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Franco Lo Piparo

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Wong, J. (2019). Respecting Other People’s Boundaries: A Quintessentially Anglo Cultural Value. In: Capone, A., Carapezza, M., Lo Piparo, F. (eds) Further Advances in Pragmatics and Philosophy: Part 2 Theories and Applications. Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy & Psychology, vol 20. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00973-1_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00973-1_25

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-00972-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-00973-1

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