The pragmatics of initial interactions: Cross-cultural and intercultural perspectives

Meeting someone for the first time is one of the most basic interpersonal communication events. Yet there have only been a limited number of studies that have examined variation in first encounters between previously unacquainted persons across different languages and cultures. This special issue on the pragmatics of initial interactions contains four papers that draw together cross-cultural and intercultural perspectives on first encounters between previously unacquainted individuals in a range of different linguistic and cultural settings, including Austrian German, Australian English, English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), French, Italian, and Japanese. The papers focus on the pragmatic dimensions of the initial stages of getting acquainted, including the role of address terms, self-disclosures, backchannels, and humour in first conversations.