Elasticity in Healthcare Communication: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

by Grace Qiao Zhang, Ming-Yu Tseng

Overview

Elastic language is a phenomenon in linguistics that refers to how we stretch the meanings of words, depending on the context in which they are used – for example many, about 20, perhaps, could be. This study looks specifically at elastic language in the fields of medicine and healthcare, showing how it is used to serve both the patient's and the professional's needs. It explores the pragmatics and metapragmatics of elasticity in the delivery of online medical information as a way of avoiding miscommunication. Based on data from Chinese and English sources, it takes a cross-cultural perspective, to present an account of harmony and disharmony between professional medical websites and their users. Adding exciting new dimensions to the fields of health communication and pragmatics, it is essential reading for scholars and advanced students in semantics, pragmatics, discourse analysis and interactional linguistics, as well as professionals involved in healthcare and communication.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108828871
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/20/2025
Pages:	273
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.59(d)

About the Author

Grace Qiao Zhang is Emeritus Professor at Curtin University, Australia. She has published numerous works in the fields of pragmatics and cross-cultural communication, including Elastic Language (CUP, 2015).

Ming-Yu Tseng is Professor at National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan. He has published in Journal of Pragmatics, Pragmatics & Society, Pragmatics & Cognition, Lingua, English for Specific Purposes, and Journal of English for Academic Purposes.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. Theoretical foundations; 3. Methodology; 4. Elastic language used in Chinese; 5. Elastic language used in English; 6. Comparison between Chinese and English in regarding elastic language use; 7. Perceptions of and attitudes towards the use of elastic language in Chinese; 8. Perceptions of and attitudes towards the use of elastic language in English; 9. Comparison between Chinese and English regarding participants' feedback; 10. General discussion; Conclusions and implications; Appendix: English questionnaire used in Perth, Australia; Appendix: Chinese questionnaire used in Taiwan.