A Discourse Analysis of Chinese Disagreement Management Strategies in Business Negotiation Settings

Abstract

This dissertation investigates strategies of native Mandarin Chinese speakers in disagreement management at business negotiation settings by examining linguistic and non-linguistic resources recurrently utilized by the participants in this study. A principal concern is how cultural and contextual factors contribute to the formation and interpretation of the strategies.The present study is intended to provide Western audiences with practical information about Chinese tactics in their disagreement management particularly at business settings. The ultimate goal of this study is to enhance intercultural communication and understanding. Under the guidance of the theoretical and methodological principles of interactional sociolinguistic approaches, I observed and filmed seven live Chinese business negotiation meetings and conducted three post-interviews with key participants at three Chinese cities. The treatment of the data includes transcribing the set of the data, identifying the instances containing the strategies, and analyzing patterned strategies with the qualitative method. In this study, I argue that the preference for agreement is situational specific. The findings indicate Chinese people are conscious of their opponent's face, but business interest outweighs face politeness. The study shows that business interest and power/personal relationships are major factors in the participant's choice of disagreement management strategies.