Zinken-etal2020

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Zinken-etal2020
BibType INCOLLECTION
Key Zinken-etal2020
Author(s) Jörg Zinken, Giovanni Rossi, Vasudevi Reddy
Title Doing more than expected: Thanking recognizes another’s agency in providing assistance
Editor(s) Carmen Taleghani-Nikazm, Emma Betz, Peter Golato
Tag(s) EMCA, Agency, Courses of action, Cooperation, Cultural diversity, Expectation, Offers, Gratitude, Recruitment, Thanking, Requests
Publisher John Benjamins
Year 2020
Language English
City Amsterdam
Month
Journal
Volume
Number
Pages 253-278
URL Link
DOI 10.1075/slsi.33.10zin
ISBN
Organization
Institution
School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title Mobilizing Others: Grammar and Lexis within Larger Activities
Chapter

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Abstract

In informal interaction, speakers rarely thank a person who has complied with a request. Examining data from British English, German, Italian, Polish, and Telugu, we ask when speakers do thank after compliance. The results show that thanking treats the other’s assistance as going beyond what could be taken for granted in the circumstances. Coupled with the rareness of thanking after requests, this suggests that cooperation is to a great extent governed by expectations of helpfulness, which can be long-standing, or built over the course of a particular interaction. The higher frequency of thanking in some languages (such as English or Italian) suggests that cultures differ in the importance they place on recognizing the other’s agency in doing as requested.

Notes