Conversation
or interrogation? The case of
interactional (a)symmetry in
the institutional context of Polish
call centers |
|
Joanna Pawelczyk
(Poznań) |
The phenomenon of globalization i.e. " a set of
far reaching , transnational, economic, social and cultural changes"
(Cameron 2000a: 323) has a significant impact on the patterns of language
choice and use. The institution that seems to be particularly influenced by the
new, global demands regarding the communication skills of its employees is the
call center. It truly embodies the new, global emphasis on the significance of
the conscious application of a desirable model of communication. The relatively
new institution of the call center constitutes an interesting example of a so
called institutional context. The term
'institutionality' would imply that the language interactions going on there,
should be analyzed against a set of institutional discourse features that
underline the asymmetry of interaction between participants. Yet, as Cameron (2000a) suggests, the
linguistic performance of the call center operators, in accordance with the
demands of the new work order, should
abandon the rigid guidelines of the institutional talk and rather ought to be
linked to the ways of speaking that are symbolically coded as feminine:
projecting affection, friendliness, intimacy, etc. The reason for this would
be building friendly, symmetrical
interaction with customers, thus gaining their trust and loyalty. In this paper I explore how the call center
operators try to, yet sometimes fail, to create interactional symmetry in their
professional exchanges with customers.
In doing so they strive to 'consciously' apply the features of the
prescribed style that underlines such intimacy and affection which thus
resembles an ordinary conversation. Yet
the prescribed (preferred) style
occasionally foregrounds the institutional features of discourse applied not only by the call center
operators, but what is very specific to the Polish call centers, also by the
customers. The voice of the institution although occasional, lucidly highlights
an interactional asymmetry between the operators and customers which
contemporary global communication ideology rejects.
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