Identity Negotiation in Relation to Context of Communication

ISSN 1799-2591 Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 219-225, March 2011 © 2011 ACADEMY PUBLISHER Manufactured in Finland. doi:10.4304/tpls.1.3.219-225

Identity Negotiation in Relation to Context of Communication
Ying Huang
School of Foreign Languages & Literature, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China Email: [e-mail]
Abstract—This paper explores how tour guides negotiate their identities in a multiple context of communication. The context is characterised as professional, commercialized and Chinese. The discussion is based on an investigation into the communication between Chinese tour guides and their international tourists. Findings indicate that to communicate effectively and appropriately in these contexts, tour guides have to actively construct meaning through a negotiated balance of content, identity and relationship. Index Terms—identity, context of communication, tour guides, intercultural communication

I. INTRODUCTION In intercultural communication, perceptions and strategies of communication, to some degree, are determined by the context of communication. In terms of context, there are two perspectives: a specific context of situation and a larger context of culture. The latter includes tribal economics, social organization, kinship patterns, fertility rites, seasonal rhythms, concepts of time and space. It is a more abstract, and not easy to change (Kramsch, 2008, p. 26). With the development of globalization, communication between people from different cultures is increasing every day. People travel cross-culturally for different purposes: education, tourism, business, leisure and so on. Among them, tourism has attracted quite a large number of people. As an important component in tourism industry, tour guides’ service quality means quite a lot to the experience of the tourists. In China, foreign language speaking tour guides are also called international tour guides. They are employed by travel

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