The "Unknown Unknowns" of Plain English (December 2004) Volume 6, Issue 4 Asian EFL Journal
http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/december_04_RN.html
This paper re-considers the intercultural analysis in article 31 below in the same journal, a paper which uses complex ‘jargon’ from the field of pragmatics, in the light of Donald Rumsfeld's now notorious statement on "known, knowns" and "unknown, unknowns" which led to his “award” of the "Plain English Campaign’s" 'Foot in the Mouth' Award. The paper also discusses the notion of ‘plain English’. The "plain" English of modern news media has a worrying capacity for keeping us in the dark; which is reminiscent of Orwell's 1984. For Orwell, the natural partner of Newspeak was Doublethink. The Orwellian example of Doublethink best suited to this paper is perhaps, "Ignorance is strength".
Cooperation and Relevance in Intercultural Conversation: the Influence of Background
Knowledge on the Inferential Process Vol. 14 March 2003 Asian EFL Journal http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/march03.sub3.htm
This paper uses a sample from a data-base
of recordings of simulations involving foreign
and Japanese students of intercultural communication
in Kochi University. Three views of inferencing
are discussed in relation to the data sample.
Grice’s view of inferencing guided by a principle
of cooperation, and its subordinate maxims,
Sperber and Wilson’s relevance theory and
Clyne’s revised maxims for intercultural
analysis. Within a theory of relevance, “contextual
effects” are created by reference to known
information, reducing the need for processing
by interlocutors who share the same prior
contextual clues in a “mutual cognitive environment”.
In intercultural negotiation, however, a higher level of
awareness of assumptions about common knowledge
is of central importance to performance.
International Media Analysis
Teaching Language and Content through an
International Media Case Study
This article proposes a detailed example
of a media case study, critically examining
the media reporting of an incident in Afghanistan
at the start of the US led military operation
there. It also discusses a pedagogical approach
to media case studies. (Detailed analysis,
F. Nunn, pedagogical applications R. Nunn)
Teaching a Critical Reading of International
Media
JACET Bulletin Vol. 30 pp. 59-69 (October,
1999)
This article argues that there are in-built
weaknesses in the process of international
newsflow and that these weaknesses should
be systematically studied in courses in international
studies. It considers the ways in which internet
resources can enhance our understanding of
international news, but also examines the
problems caused by the increased speed and
volume of newsflow and argues that the concept
of the "global village" is still
little more than a convenient myth created
by the media. It illustrates how students
can develop an awareness of the editing process
of international news, learning to evaluate
different styles of information presentation,
to assess factual evidence and to identify
narrative techniques that are normally associated
with fiction.
Faculty of Humanities and Economics, Vol.
1 (pp. 1-12) Kochi University. (2000)
This article discusses the use and misuse
of visual images in the media process and
argues that the reliability and truth value
of international news transmission has not
necessarily improved as a result of technological
advances. Some teaching strategies are suggested
to help international studies students confront
the difficulties.