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Macro And Macro Contextual Factors

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Huang and Tian (1990) have developed a contextual framework that focuses on the factors that may influence the attitudes and use of LTs. They (ibid) made a difference between macro and micro contextual factors. Macro contextual factors are known also as social factors and they are one of the most influential factors that shape our attitudes to TL. Macro contextual factors may include cultural and religious factors. On the one hand, the authors (ibid) defined the social factors or what they called ‘macro_context’ as follows : A social setting or environment in which a semantic word gains a socially engendered connotation, either sacred or despicable and filthy. This additional meaning is usually accepted and regarded as a convention to be observed by almost all the speakers in one speech community or even at a national level (p.66). On the other hand, they (ibid ) defined situatinal factors or what they called ‘micro-context’ as follows : Participants, including speaker and listener, their age, sex, social status, relationship to each other. Purpose of conversation and attitudes to participants. Content or subject matter. Setting including place and time. Medium. (pp.66_67). From the above definition of micro _contextual factors, the interlocutors’ relation is a critical factor in assessing the offensiveness of a given word and has a great effect on LAs. Jay (2009) believes also that “the ultimate offensiveness of words is determined entirely by pragmatic variables
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