Navigating Boundaries through Knowledge: Intercultural Phenomena in ELF Interactions

Abstract

Abstract This study investigates intercultural phenomena in the process of recognizing cultural boundaries in online English as a lingua franca (ELF) video conferencing-based interactions. The recorded interactions between 20 conversational pairs were analyzed by adopting conversation analysis as an analytic framework. The participants’ intercultural perspectives are demonstrated through the action sequence of verifying the recipient’s knowledge status, informing, and complimenting, which are built by adopting category relevant knowledge of the cultural backgrounds of the recipients. The findings thus suggest that the participants employ knowledge of their own cultural repertoire in exchanges with unfamiliar cultural values as they navigate boundaries based on practical reasoning. More specifically, the participants categorize one another and use their procedural knowledge about familiar cultural practices of their own and the other’s country while displaying one’s affiliation to the recipients. This study concludes that ELF speakers’ experiences of navigating boundaries during first encounters are organized according to the method they use to negotiate and accommodate their cultural affinity, which is significant as it confirms that these practices are shared beyond a particular cultural domain.