Studies in Ethnopragmatics, Cultural Semantics, and Intercultural Communication - Minimal English (and Beyond)

This book is the third in a three-volume set that celebrates the career and achievements of Cliff Goddard, a pioneer of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach in linguistics. This third volume explores the potential of Minimal English, a recent offshoot of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage, with special reference to its use in Language Teaching and Intercultural Communication.
Often considered the most fully developed, comprehensive and practical approach to cross-linguistic and cross-cultural semantics, Natural Semantic Metalanguage is based on evidence that there is a small core of basic, universal meanings (semantic primes) that can be expressed in all languages. It has been used for linguistic and cultural analysis in such diverse fields as semantics, cross-cultural communication, language teaching, humour studies and applied linguistics, and has reached far beyond the boundaries of linguistics into ethnopsychology, anthropology, history, political science, the medical humanities and ethics.


Lauren Sadow's research focus is on intercultural communication and language teaching. Her Ph.D. thesis (Australian National University, Canberra) proposes a new pedagogy for teaching intercultural communicative competence in ESL classrooms. In addition to these main interests, Lauren has an interest in intercultural pragmatics, lexicography, and the teaching of linguistics at the tertiary level.

Kerry Mullan is Senior Lecturer and Convenor of Languages at RMIT University. She teaches French language and culture, and sociolinguistics. Her main research interests are cross-cultural communication and differing interactional styles, particularly those of French and Australian English speakers. She also researches in the areas of intercultural pragmatics, discourse analysis, language teaching and conversational humour.

Bert Peeters is an honorary associate professor at the Australian National University, Canberra, and an adjunct associate professor at Griffith University, Brisbane. He previously held appointments at the University of Tasmania and at Macquarie University, Sydney. His main research interests are in the areas of French linguistics, intercultural communication, and language and cultural values,with special reference to French and to Australian English.