Impoliteness strategies reported and issued on website reviews by clients of New York and Madrid social services centres

This paper analyses the negative reviews that some users of social services in New York and Madrid posted on Google. The aim is to relate the impoliteness strategies that the users of these centres reported to have received or that they issued themselves with the cultural values of the groups they belong to. To achieve this, twenty American and Spanish centres were analysed, obtaining more than two hundred negative comments that, qualitatively and quantitatively analysed, were related to impoliteness strategies. These impoliteness strategies were linked to the four social characteristics already presented in a previous study. Also, the chi-square formula was applied to the data. Thus, this study has shown that the use that speakers make of impoliteness strategies is related to the cultural values of the group they belong to

Cultural values in American and Spanish TV advertising at the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic

This article discusses the similarities and differences found in some Spanish and American television advertisements broadcast at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. To carry out this study, forty advertisements shown on television in the two countries during the months of March and April 2020 were analysed. Qualitative and quantitative analysis considered the cultural dimensions of identity, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity. In addition, the Chi-square formula was also applied in order to confirm that the differences found in both groups of adverts were not significantly important. The results show that a great deal of similar messages and even expressions was conveyed to both audiences in both countries, although some differences were also found. Besides, the main goal of these ads in both groups was to comfort the audience, and not to clearly promote or advertise the product. Thus, this study demonstrates once again that despite the differences that these two cultural groups display, and which are usually portrayed in intercultural literature, the context highly influences the values typically assigned to a linguistic community. That is reflected in the discourse of speakers, and it is the reason why we can find values opposite to those expected in a cultural group

Identity, Gender, Uncertainty and Long/Short-term Orientation in British and Spanish TV Adverts at the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Este artículo analiza las diferencias encontradas en algunos anuncios de televisión británicos y españoles emitidos al principio de la pandemia de COVID-19, concretamente durante marzo y abril de 2020, es decir, durante las primeras semanas de confinamiento. Se analizaron cuarenta anuncios emitidos en Gran Bretaña y España, identificando expresiones que remitiesen a las dimensiones culturales de identidad, de género, de evitación de la incertidumbre y de orientación a largo plazo. Esta última dimensión no se suele analizar en la literatura intercultural, por lo que añade valor a este estudio. En este análisis, de carácter cualitativo y cuantitativo, se demuestra que, aunque tradicionalmente se describen importantes diferencias en la publicidad que se hace en estos dos países debido a sus también diferentes valores culturales, en un momento de pandemia global, los valores y preferencias se asemejan mucho, llegando a utilizarse las mismas expresiones de forma repetida en los anuncios de ambos grupos culturales. En concreto, los anuncios dirigidos al público británico apelaron a valores culturales femeninos y tribales-colectivistas, cuando los anuncios de este grupo cultural exhiben normalmente rasgos de masculinidad y de individualismo. Es decir, este artículo demuestra la importancia que tiene el contexto a la hora de analizar el discurso de los hablantes, hasta el punto de que un grupo cultural puede resaltar unos valores culturales con los que no es tradicionalmente asociado. Como se aprecia aquí, las similitudes en el estilo comunicativo superan a las diferencias que puedan presentar estos dos países, cuando tradicionalmente no debería ser así.This article discusses the differences found in some British and Spanish television advertisements issued at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and more specifically during the months of March and April 2020, i.e., during the first weeks of confinement. Forty advertisements issued in Great Britain and Spain were analysed, identifying expressions referring to the cultural dimensions of identity, gender, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation. The last dimension is not usually included in intercultural communication analysis, so its inclusion here adds value to this study. This qualitative and quantitative analysis shows that although there are traditionally large differences in advertising in these two countries, due to their also different cultural values, at a time of a global pandemic, values and preferences are very similar, and the same expressions are repeatedly used in the advertisements of both cultural groups. In particular, advertisements aimed at the British audience appealed to feminine and tribal-collectivist cultural values, although adverts for this cultural group typically exhibit traits of masculinity and individualism. Thus, this article demonstrates the importance of context when analysing the speakers' discourse, to the point that a cultural group can highlight cultural values with which it is not traditionally associated. As can be seen in this paper, the similarities found in the communicative styles of these two groups outweigh the differences, when traditionally it should not have been the case

American individualism and masculinity? The case of nursing homes

The aim of this article is to show that opposing cultural values can coexist in the same culture at a time. The United States is typically featured as a society representative of individualist and masculine cultural values. Nevertheless, the conditions given in some contexts collide head on with this view. The case that this article examines is one of these scenarios. The analysis of more than a hundred statements from fifteen nursing homes has shown that these centres try to convey messages compatible with tribal-group and feminine values. At a vulnerable time of life, as ageing is, owing to the need for assistance or to a desire to feel safe, what is attractive is knowing that one is going to be in a place of warmth. People seek for an environment of cooperation and care and not of competition and detachment. The discourse that these centres use to attract customers, opposes somehow the individualist and masculine values that are usually associated with the American culture. Therefore, this article discusses the importance of context and the communicative situation, which tilt the discourse used by the speakers even if it does not reflect the values traditionally assigned to their cultural group

Impoliteness Strategies and Social Characteristics. An Analysis of Films in Peninsular Spanish and American English Speakers at Work

This paper aims to offer a brief revision of some of the best-known contributions to the field study of impoliteness. On the one hand, a taxonomy of impoliteness strategies is presented, based on my own model of social characteristics. On the other hand, as an example of the application of this model, dialogues in six films – three of them filmed in peninsular Spanish and the rest in American English – are analysed, in search of the use of such impoliteness strategies. The results will show that different cultural conceptions of these two groups reflect upon the use of impoliteness strategies

Cultural dimensions in the discourse of websites of mental health centres. Long-term orientation, individualism, and masculinity. An analysis of centres in Madrid and London, compared to Japan

Este artículo analiza cómo se reflejan las diferencias culturales en el discurso de las webs de centros de salud mental de Londres y Madrid, aunque también se señala la importancia del contexto. Los centros presentan similitudes en cuanto a rasgos individualistas y de masculinidad. Sin embargo, también se han encontrado diferencias notables en los rasgos culturales tribal-colectivista y de feminidad. Además, el análisis incluye una muestra de centros en Japón, para comparar la dimensión de orientación a largo plazo, ya que esta es una dimensión que no ha recibido mucha atención en la literatura intercultural.This article analyses how cultural differences are reflected in the discourse of the websites of mental health centres in London and Madrid, although the importance of context is also pointed out. The centres have similarities in terms of individualism and masculinity traits. However, remarkable differences in tribal-collectivism and femininity cultural traits have also been observed. In addition, the analysis includes a sample of centres in Japan, to compare the dimension of long-term orientation, since this is a dimension that has not received much attention in intercultural literature

Metaphor and Irony on Reviews for ‎Spanish and American Prisons

This paper discusses nearly eight hundred reviews posted on Google search engine about twenty prisons in Spain and the United States. These countries have cultural values that are inevitably reflected in the language of their speakers. Through a qualitative and then quantitative analysis, some differences that could be related to the cultural features that are prevalent in these two countries have been found. However, the analysis has focused primarily on the use of metaphor and verbal irony. In particular, the analysis has revealed what could be called ironic metaphor in both corpora, since in a significant percentage of reviews, the prison is compared to tourist accommodation. Undoubtedly, this comparison would be a metaphor, but likewise, it must also be regarded as irony since prison is the antithesis of a leisure facility. As shown, the cultural differences between these countries are sometimes reflected in the reviews, but also a kind of globalization of the metaphor could be argued

Discourse and cultural dimensions in the context of nursing homes web pages in Spain and the United States

El propósito del presente artículo es ofrecer un análisis comparativo de páginas web de residencias para mayores en España y en Estados Unidos, teniendo como punto de partida las diferencias culturales que existen entre estos dos países. Las dimensiones culturales, concretamente, el individualismo/colectivismo, la tolerancia/evitación de la incertidumbre y la masculinidad/feminidad (Hofstede 1980; 1991; Hofstede et al 2010), se ven reflejadas en los contenidos que muestran estas páginas y en los valores que desean transmitir. Este artículo proporciona una somera descripción de algunos de los rasgos culturales que se reflejan en estas páginas web, para poner de manifiesto las diferencias existentes entre estos dos grupos culturales. No obstante, uno de los aspectos más relevantes de este análisis es que se demuestra que el peso del contexto condiciona el discurso, hasta el punto de que el mensaje puede no reflejar los valores culturales esperados y típicamente asignados a un grupo.The purpose of this article is to provide a comparative analysis of nursing homes web pages in Spain and in the United States, taking as a starting point the cultural differences that exist between these two countries. Cultural dimensions, namely individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity/femininity (Hofstede 1980; 1991; Hofstede et al 2010), are reflected in the content displayed on these pages and in the values that they want to transmit. This article provides a brief description of some of the cultural traits that are reflected on these web pages, in order to highlight the differences between these two cultural groups. However, one of the most relevant aspects of this analysis is that it shows that the weight of context conditions the discourse, to the extent that the message may not reflect the expected cultural values typically assigned to a group

The American Constitution and the Spanish Constitutions of 1812 and 1978. Changes and structures explained through the uncertainty avoidance dimension and other cultural dimensions

This paper analyses the American Constitution of 1787 and the Spanish Constitutions of 1812 and 1978. The objective is to analyse their structures and the changes they have undergone throughout history, to find differences that can be explained by the different cultural values that these two groups normally display. As will be seen, the cultural dimension of uncertainty avoidance, amongst others, is the one that has a greater presence in this study. The conclusions drawn from this study show that cultural groups change throughout history, but the cultural roots that they inherit seem to be present through the times.Este artículo analiza la Constitución americana de 1787 y las Constituciones españolas de 1812 y 1978. El objetivo es analizar sus estructuras y los cambios que han sufrido a lo largo de la historia, para encontrar diferencias que puedan explicarse por los diferentes valores culturales que estos dos grupos muestran normalmente. Como veremos, la dimensión cultural de evitación de la incertidumbre, entre otras, es la que tiene una mayor presencia aquí. Las conclusiones extraídas muestran que los grupos culturales cambian con los años, pero las raíces culturales que se van heredando parecen permanecer a lo largo del tiempo

Evaluación formativa y estrategias de enseñanza en las asignaturas de ‘Ingles para las Relaciones Internacionales (I y II)’

Tras detectar deficiencias formativas básicas en cuanto a gramática y uso del léxico en el alumnado de la asignatura de Inglés para las Relaciones Internacionales I, se considera de máxima relevancia identificar estas deficiencias y otras necesidades formativas del alumnado con el fin de solventarlas en la asignatura que se imparte en el segundo cuatrimestre (esto es, Inglés para las Relaciones Internacionales II). Con este fin se crean diversas actividades personalizadas que se implementan tanto a través de Moodle como con la ayuda de la aplicación Nearpod. El objetivo es abordar estas necesidades y solventar dichas deficiencias durante el mismo año académico, 2021-2022. Tras finalizar la experiencia educativa, los resultados obtenidos a través de un cuestionario de Google Forms apuntan a una mejora en la realización de las actividades y en la adquisición y comprensión de los usos gramaticales y léxicos que en un principio eran deficitarios