Italian Studies seminar

Performance and perception: emailed apologies by learners of Italian to academic staff

Talia Walker (PhD Candidate, University of Sydney)

Wednesday 9 November 2022, 5pm AEDT (Sydney time)

Abstract

In this presentation I will discuss the main findings from my doctoral thesis, which explores how Australian learners of Italian apologise to academic staff, in a comparative perspective with native speakers of Italian and native speakers of Australian English. This study also investigates the perspectives of learners of Italian of their own apology performance, as well as the perspective of academic staff who would receive these students’ apology emails. In doing so, it provides a holistic investigation of the apology act within the university context, bringing to light key differences in communication norms in Australian and Italian university settings. In order to investigate these apologies and communication norms, this research adopts a mixed methodology, through which I draw together the viewpoints of a number of participant groups, allowing for an in-depth exploration not only of apology performance, but also of the intent and impact of this performance.

About the presenter

Talia Walker is a PhD candidate in Italian Studies at the University of Sydney, and recently submitted her thesis, which explored the performance of apologies by learners of Italian. Combining her loves of communication and culture, Talia’s research interests fall within the fields of pragmatics and sociolinguistics, and are inspired by her observations of her own bilingual family. In recent years, she has applied her research knowledge to projects both within and outside of academia, always carrying with her an interest in the ’how’ and ‘why’.

Join online via Zoom

For more information, contact: Associate Professor Antonia Rubino (antonia.rubino@sydney.edu.au)

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