Communication is, ultimately, a multimodal phenomenon. That is why languages must be examined and taught in their socio-cultural contexts, where we look not only at what things are called, but also how, when, with whom, in what situation and how long we talk to each other interculturally.
In my PhD dissertation, I analysed several video recordings of discussions over lunch between colleagues working in tech in Sweden and Germany. I described their different ways of interacting, that is to say, the differences between communication practices and cultural patterns. Because the analysis was mainly based on conversations between men, I looked at these phenomena specifically in relation to men.
With an interdisciplinary approach within the so-called cross-cultural communication framework, I combined cultural analytical theories and methods with linguistic and conversation analysis-based ones. I came up with a semiotic concept for describing various culturally specific styles of interaction.
I call the semiotic field conceived of in my dissertation “enmbedding culture”. Embedding culture affects the formation of interactions through, for example, aspects of scenario, timing and ritualisation. But the question of how communication is specifically affected by culture is one that continues to occupy me.
Similarly, I am interested in the question of how cultural analyses of language can be related to other, non-interaction-based analyses within research on intercultural communication, as well as how national cultural stereotypes are portrayed in e.g., adverts.
Teaching
I teach on the international programmes at the Faculty of Science and Engineering and Faculty of Arts and Sciences. I also teach on the freestanding courses on intercultural business communication, culture and marketing.
