Status-congruence in request e-mail discourse of professional secretaries in a University of Taiwan

Abstract

This study investigated the status-congruence of request e-mails composed by professional secretaries serving in a private university departmental office in Taiwan. It first explored the degree of directness and internal and external modification used in their discourse, and then examined the politeness standards of ’cultural insiders.’ The results showed that senior professionals tended to use more direct strategies and more internal and external modification devices, while a novice professional used more conventionally indirect strategies and fewer modifiers. The difference in choice of request strategies revealed that senior professionals take for granted the right to make requests for information or action on behalf of the administrative body, thus giving faculty the impression of having no choice in matters. Relative to the interactional function of request e-mails, conventionally indirect expressions which showed regard for them as persons were favored by the faculty. The study also made evident the novice professional’s lack of assurance in her identity as a practicing professional in the asymmetrical academic context.