Cover not available

Article published In: Pragmatics and Society
Vol. 16:3 (2025) ► pp.421–441

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB
authorization required

Interveners’ performance of “identity work” in the context of Chinese bystander intervention

ORCiD logo with link | Nanjing UniversityNanjing
 | Nanjing UniversityNanjing
Published online: 12 September 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ps.23080.li
Abstract
The present study examines a variety of “identity work” that interveners perform discursively in the context of Chinese bystander intervention, a communicative strategy underexplored in related literature. Analyzing data from 3 Chinese social observation TV shows, it showcases the varied categories of identity work performed and the discursive practices employed by the interveners. It demonstrates that identity work is a common device used by Chinese intervener to serve the purpose of intervention and that it is driven by their needs to seek interactional power, pursue social alignment and justify accusation. Hopefully, the present study could lend further support to the current conceptualization of identity as communicators’ resource to satisfy their communicative needs in Chinese social interaction.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Research background
    • 2.1Pragmatic approaches to identity and identity work
    • 2.2Bystander intervention
  • 3.Methodology
  • 4.Categories of identity work by the intervener
    • 4.1Identity constructing
    • 4.2Identity checking
    • 4.3Identity deconstructing
    • 4.4Identity foregrounding
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
References (53)
References
Antaki, Charles, and Sue Widdicombe, eds. 1998. Identities in Talk. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Banyard, Victoria L. 2011. “Who will help prevent sexual violence: Creating an ecological model of bystander intervention.” Psychology of Violence 1(3): 216–229. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Benwell, Bethan, and Elizabeth Stokoe. 2006. Discourse and Identity. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Berger, Peter, and Thomas Luckmann. 1967. The Social Construction of Reality. London: Doubleday.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blitvich, Pilar Garcés-conejos. 2009. “Impoliteness and identity in the American news media: The ‘Culture Wars’.” Journal of Politeness Research 51: 273–304. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bucholtz, Mary, and Kira Hall. 2005. “Identity and interaction: A sociocultural linguistic approach.” Discourse Studies 71: 585–614. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Burr, Vivien. 2003. Social Constructionism (2nd ed). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chen, Jianping. 2009. “‘Sister’ this, ‘sister’ that: Address generalization of ‘sister’ in A Dream of Red Mansions.” Studies on “A Dream of Red Mansions” 21: 304–318.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chen, Jing, and Xin Zhao. 2022. “An empirical study of Chinese university student advisors’ dynamic identity construction in the context of individual consultation.” Pragmatics (33)11: 23–48.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chen, Qian, and Yongping Ran. 2013. “Rapport-challenge pragmatic orientation of identity construction in the intentional impoliteness context.” Foreign Languages and Their Teaching 61: 15–18.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chen, Qian, and Yuan Xue. 2017. “A pragmatic study of doing intervention and its relational orientation in the context of online interaction.” Foreign Language Education 38(1): 61–66.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chen, Shaojie. 2019. A Pragmatic Study of Prejudice against Identity in Bystander Intervention. Unpublished master dissertation. Guangzhou: Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.
Chen, Xinren. 2018. Pragmatic Identity: How to Do Things with Words of Identity. Beijing: Beijing Normal University.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2022. Exploring Identity Work in Chinese Communication. London & New York: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chiles, Tina. 2007. “The construction of an identity as ‘mentor’ in white collar and academic workplaces: A preliminary analysis.” Journal of Pragmatics 39(4): 730–741. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Darley, John M., and Bibb Latané. 1968. “Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 8(4): 377–383. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Deng, Zhaohong. 2016. “Interpretation and cognitive basis of generalized honorifics: A case study of meinv.” Hubei Social Sciences 31: 139–143.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dolón, Rosana, and Júlia Todolí, eds. 2008. Analyzing Identities in Discourse. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Feng, Wenjing. 2020. “The evaluation of the validity of pragmatic identity: Evidence from police mediation discourse.” Journal of PLA University of Foreign Languages 43(02): 26–33.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Graham, Sage Lambert. 2007. “Disagreeing to agree: Conflict, (im)politeness and identity in a computer-mediated community.” Journal of Pragmatics 39(4): 742–759. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Grundy, Peter. 1995. Doing Pragmatics. London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Guo, Suran, Hailing Fu, and Shaobo Lv. 2023. “Effect of cyberbullying experience on aggressive intervention: A dual moderation model.” China Journal of Health Psychology 31(4): 582–586.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Guo, Xiaofei. 2023. “On the meaning, limitations, and acceptance of ‘Battered Women’s Syndrome’ in China: A comparative law perspective.” Journal of Chinese Women’s Studies 61: 107–126.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Guo, Yadong. 2018. Identity Manipulation, Cognition and Negotiation in Conflict Talk: With Evidence from Conflict Talk between Couples. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Nanjing University, Nanjing.
He, Jianju, and Jinxin Zhang. 2012. “An exploration of linguistic construction of gender identity and its causes.” Seeker 21: 123–124+216.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ho, Victor. 2010. “Constructing identities through request e-mail discourse.” Journal of Pragmatics 421: 2253–2261. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Howarth, Caroline. 2002. “Using the theory of social representations to explore difference in the research relationship.” Qualitative Research 2(1): 21–34. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jin, Yingzhe. 2021. “The image management function of addresser metadiscourse: A metapragmatic analysis of experts’ self-representation in academic setting.” Linguistic Research 11: 43–54.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kádár, Dániel Z. 2017. Politeness, Impoliteness and Ritual: Maintaining the Moral Order in Interpersonal Interaction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kádár, Dániel Z., and Melvin de la Cruz. 2016. “Rituals of outspokenness and verbal conflict.” Pragmatics and Society 21: 265–290. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kádár, Dániel Z., and Rosina Márquez Reiter. 2015. “(Im)politeness and (im)morality: Insights from intervention.” Journal of Politeness Research 21: 239–260.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kuang, Zhan, and Chengyu Liu. 2017. “Identity construction from the perspective of individuation: Retrospect and prospect.” Foreign Language Research 11: 31–37.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Latané, Bibb, and John M. Darley. 1968. “Group inhibition of bystander intervention in emergencies.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 10(3): 215–221. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Latané, Bibb, and Judith Rodin. 1969. “A lady in distress: Inhibiting effects of friends and strangers on bystander intervention.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 51: 189–202. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Markey, P. M. 2000. “Bystander intervention in computer-mediated communication.” Computers in Human Behavior 16(2): 183–188. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pan, Yuling, and Dániel Z. Kádár. 2011. Politeness in Historical and Contemporary Chinese. London: Continuum.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ren, Yuxin. 2012. Constructing Identities in Academic Advising Interaction: An Adaptationist Account. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Nanjing University, Nanjing.
Sun, Li. 2021. “A study of the use of metadiscourse from the perspective of pragmatic identity theory: Based on international journal articles on applied linguistics.” Journal of PLA University of Foreign Languages 44(01): 79–86.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Unruh, Anita. 2004. “Reflections on: ‘So…what do you do?’ Occupation and the construction of identity.” Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy 711: 290–295. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vo, Lai Van, Hazel Thu-Hien Nguyen, and Huong Thi Thu Le. 2021. “Do female CEOs make a difference in firm operations? Evidence from Vietnam.” Accounting & Finance 611: 1489–1516. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wang, Xueyu. 2013. Advertisers’ Identity Construction in Advertising Texts: A Diachronic Study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Nanjing University, Nanjing.
Widdicombe, Sue. 1998. “Identity as an analyst’s and a participant’s resource.” In C. Antaki & S. Widdicombe (Eds.), Identities in Talk. London: Sage, pp. 191–206.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wu, Jue. 2015. “The pragmatic identities and discourse construction of English teachers in online courses.” Journal of Guangxi Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition) 51(03): 165–171.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Xia, Dan, and Meizhen Liao. 2012. “On the variation of personal deixis and identity construction in civil courtroom discourse.” Journal of Central China Normal University 51(02): 119–124.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yang, Min, and Tong Tong. 2022. “Discursive strategies for identity construction of doctors and patients in courtroom narratives.” Foreign Languages in China 19(1): 53–62.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ye, Ning, and Yun Zhao. 2022. “Discursive identity construction of fraudsters in impersonation scam: A sociosemiotic perspective.” Journal of Zhejiang Gongshang University 21: 17–27.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yuan, Zhoumin. 2011. An Empirical Study of Medical Consultants’ Pragmatic Identity Construction from the Adaptationist Perspective. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Nanjing University, Nanjing.
. 2013. “On dynamics of consultants’ identity construction in business phone-in.” Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies 61: 89–96.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2014. “An analysis of dynamic adaptability on pragmatic identity construction.” Foreign Language Education 35(05): 30–34.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2020. “Identity rhetoric in Chinese radio-mediated medical consultation.” East Asian Pragmatics 5(1): 41–65. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhang, Yu. 2017. Bystander Intervention in Emergency Context from the Perspective of Linguistic Adaptation Theory. Unpublished master dissertation. Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou.
Zhang, Runhan. 2022. “Research of college English teachers’ pragmatic identity construction in online teaching.” Foreign Language Research 21: 22–27.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue