CONTRASTIVE RHETORIC INTRODUCTION

Definitions „Contrastive rhetoric is an area of research in second language acquisition that identifies problems in composition encountered by second language writers and, by referring to the rhetorical strategies of the first language, attempts to explain them.” (Ulla Connor, 1996:5)

„Contrastive rhetoric has its origins in notions of language structure, learning and use which are not strongly autonomous, and its goal is to describe ways in which written texts operate in larger cultural contexts.” (Grabe & Kaplan, 1996:5)

Robert Kaplan’s work 1966: Culture-based thought patterns in writing English Semitic Oriental Romance Russian

Influences of the Kaplanean idea L1 in the way of logical thinking and linear discourse construction Ethnocentric bias „whether the Japanese are capable of using logical arguments to the degree that other people are” (Hazen, 1986:232) Instructional focus: eliminating L1 traditions, inculcating new L2 patterns

Early research concerns: focus on differences Reader/writer-friendly styles (Hinds, 1987) Rhetorical organisation, discourse structure (Clyne, 1987; Connor, 1987) Cohesion and coherence (Connor, 1984) Method: discourse analysis

Criticism of the Kaplanean idea Comparing novice L2 writing with professional L1 writing No control of topic, genre and length Stereotypes, no concern for variation within a culture Too broad categories Ethnocentric

New trends Similarities (Connor, 1987, Wolfe, 2008) Development (Stalker & Stalker, 1989) New languages (Finnish, Polish, Czech) Intellectual styles, roots of differences(Ramanathan & Atkinson, 1999) Fight for linguistic rights (Kubota,1997; Kontra, 1997)

New concerns Initiating into L2 rhetorical practices (Connor & Mayberry’s 1996, Belcher & Connor, 2003) Exploring roots and harmonising differences (Petric, 2004; Bloch 2008) Writing as socially constructed activity (Hyland, 2008)

New methods Practicioner research (Liu & You, 2008) Insider (team) research (Yang & Cahill, 2008) Focus on process vs. product Ethnographic methods

Future directions Looking for a global identity (Li, 2008) Concern for methodology: comparable corpora Variety vs. stereotyping