Watching the Kiwis: New Zealanders' Rules of Social Interaction - an Introduction

Bönisch-Brednich, Brigitte

doi:10.26686/jnzs.v0i6/7.131

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…While the actual enactment of the tall poppy syndrome in interaction is very varied, the ideology is regularly discussed in society and invoked as an explanation for the sanctioning of others. Achievements can be recognised by others, and even admired, but flaunting them is not typically tolerated (Bönisch-Brednich 2008. As noted, it is not the 'done thing' to show that you have a lot of experience in the field.…”

Section: Examplementioning

confidence: 99%

Laughing along?

Marra

2022

EJHR

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Successfully joining a new workplace community is demanding, especially when this involves crossing national boundaries in addition to team boundaries. For outsiders, humour is an area that arguably presents a challenge to full participation, particularly when local understandings are not shared, nor even recognized as distinctive. Newcomers face the challenge of navigating the trajectory from legitimate peripheral member towards core status (adopting the terms of the Community of Practice model). This involves cooperating with others in interaction, including engaging with humour and laughter as a way of indicating belonging. Here belonging is operationalized using the two dimensions proposed by Antonsich (2010), namely (1) a sense of belonging and (2) the politics of belonging as evidenced through negotiation with others. Applying an Interactional Sociolinguistic approach, I offer analysis of naturally occurring workplace interactions and reflections from skilled migrant interns in New Zealand workplaces. I discuss the place of laughter in attempts to demonstrate team membership, arguing that these attempts at belonging require the cooperation and endorsement of insiders. The findings indicate that, however benevolently intentioned, the local colleagues’ use of humour, and their reactions to the humour and laughter produced by the skilled migrant interns, often results in a sense of othering and exclusion. This is keenly felt by the interns who note the difficulties that taken for granted practices create in their acceptance and progress. In many cases the result is laughing along, as an outward signal of fit, rather than laughing with which suggests a deeper sense of belonging.

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Section: Examplementioning

confidence: 99%

Laughing along?

Marra

2022

EJHR

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“…The predominant culture in New Zealand is Pākehā and one distinctive feature of this culture is the New Zealand egalitarian ideology (Bönisch-Brednich, 2008). Many Pākehā New Zealanders are not comfortable with the explicit enactment of power or status and prefer instead for power differences to be minimized and an emphasis on equality between colleagues (Jackson & Parry, 2011; Kennedy, 2007).…”

Section: Cultural Values In New Zealandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Context Matters: Exploring the Influence of Norms, Values, and Context on a Māori Male Manager

Vine

2019

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology

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Adopting an Interactional Sociolinguistic approach, this article focuses on one Māori male manager working in an ethnicised Māori workplace and examines the way he adapts his interaction patterns in meetings where he takes on different roles. The role of chair requires being much more active than when simply attending as a member of the team, while the additional responsibility of “acting CEO” adds extra interactional obligations and expectations. Team norms are important, these being constrained by the cultural context, and the analysis demonstrates how the focus participant’s adaptation of his interaction patterns reflects Māori norms and the values underlying these.

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“…A core component of the Pākehā culture order is a strong commitment to an egalitarian ethic (Kennedy 2007; Bönisch-Brednich 2008). 4 Pākehā New Zealanders do not comfortably tolerate explicit demonstrations of power, and people typically seek ways of reducing status differences and of emphasising equality with their colleagues.…”

Section: The Culture Ordermentioning

confidence: 99%

Negotiating the culture order in New Zealand workplaces

Holmes

2018

Lang. Soc.

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In many societies the relative social status of different social and cultural groups results in hegemonic relationships or an ‘order’ which manifests itself as sets of taken-for-granted societal norms or ideologies which influence behavior, including linguistic behavior. I label this concept the culture order, and propose it as a potential sociolinguistic universal. Drawing on the research of the Language in the Workplace Project (LWP) team, I provide evidence of some of the complex components of the New Zealand culture order. Using a social realist theoretical framework, and an interactional sociolinguistics approach, I identify a number of areas of contrast in the discourses instantiating the Māori and Pākehā culture orders (e.g. meeting norms, ways of criticising others), as well as discourse norms apparently shared by both groups (e.g. the Modesty Maxim; see Leech 2014). The complexities of these similarities and differences are discussed as well as their implications for hegemonic relationships. (Culture order, workplace discourse, sociolinguistic universals, egalitarianism, meeting norms)*

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Watching the Kiwis: New Zealanders' Rules of Social Interaction - an Introduction

Abstract: The key aspects and features of the 'Watching the Kiwis' series about the rules of social interaction of New Zealanders are discussed. Other important parts of the research are highlighted.

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Laughing along?

Laughing along?

Context Matters: Exploring the Influence of Norms, Values, and Context on a Māori Male Manager

Negotiating the culture order in New Zealand workplaces

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