Elastic Language in Persuasion and Comforting

This innovative book examines, from a cross-cultural perspective, the elasticity of language in the popular talent show The Voice. The study discusses how and why elastic language is used in persuasion and comforting. The comparisons made throughout the book between Chinese and English highlight the important role elastic language plays in effective interactions and strategic communication. The insights and resources provided in this book are expected to advance our knowledge in the fields of contrastive pragmatics and cross-cultural communication. The study emphasises the need to give the elastic use of language the attention it deserves, and reveals how language is non-discrete and strategically stretchable. This book will be of interest to academics and postgraduate students engaged in elastic/vague language studies, cross-cultural pragmatics, media linguistics, discourse analysis, sociolinguistics and communication studies. It will also be useful for educationalists involved in language teaching, cross-cultural education and professional communication training, as well as those who have a general interest in language and communication.