POLITENESS STRATEGIES IN DOCTOR-PATIENT CONVERSATIONS: A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON BETWEEN THE US AND JAPAN

Abstract

This study explores how politeness is achieved in the context of doctor-patient dialogue in the context of the two cultural groupings namely the United States and Japan. The need to be polite is an important feature of communication, which is especially important in the context of the healthcare environment, because the rules of interaction between people are controlled by power and cultural conventions. This paper employs discourse analysis to explore how the processes of politeness in the US and Japanese help the doctor and patient preserve social harmony, be respectful and deal with face. Using the recorded communications between doctors and patients in both countries, the research determines how directness, pleasant niceties, and hierarchical deference were used in both countries. The analysis of the findings shows that the maintenance of respect is valued in both cultures, however the US culture is rather egalitarian and less formal, whereas Japan, on the other hand, is characterized by hierarchy and indirect manner of communication. This research can help to understand how cross-cultural communication influences healthcare processes and what kind of influence cultural norms can have on designing communication strategies.