Intercultural Communication About Pain

Abstract

As far as language and communication studies are concerned, pain is barely visible on the radar. It has received even less attention in the context of intercultural communication. And yet pain is universal. It is prominent among the causes why we visit the doctor. And its impact on the quality of life of pain sufferers, as well as on national economies, make it a topic of urgent interest: it highlights, in a particularly sharp perspective, some of the key issues currently facing intercultural communication, and specifically intercultural communication in Asia. The purpose of this chapter is threefold: to present pain as a bona fide area of research in linguistics and communication studies, specifically in intercultural communication; to survey the current state of play of research into pain and communication; and to outline the implications of intercultural pain communication for the key themes of this volume, with special reference to Asia. Pain will be seen, as it is communicated by individuals in an internationalizing world, at the intersection of linguistic, cultural and value systems.