Kecskes, Istvan. November 2019 English as a Lingua Franca: The pragmatic perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Short reviews:

“Pragmatists have a lot to learn from research on English as a Lingua Franca. As I learnt first-hand, there's no better way to start the learning process than with Istvan Kecskes' English as a Lingua Franca: The pragmatic perspective. I hope pragmatists will be inspired by this excellent piece of research.”

Mira Ariel, Professor of Linguistics, Tel Aviv University, Israel

“This is a very important and highly original book. Kecskes challenges two fields that have developed largely in parallel to listen to each other. There is much to learn about how speakers successfully communicate in a lingua franca and the implications of this for how we theorise pragmatics. The socio-cognitive approach that lies at the heart of this book is perfectly situated to address these questions and to bring researchers together in productive and respectful dialogue. This book is a must read for any scholar interested in how globalisation is impacting communication around the world. If you only have time to read one book this year, read this one.”

Michael Haugh, Professor of Linguistics, Head of School of Languages and Cultures, The University of Queensland, Australia

“This book demonstrates how the examination of English as a Lingua Franca provides novel insights into contemporary pragmatic theory. Kecskes has done marvelous work here. Readers should greatly appreciate the sparkling manner by which he guides them on this compelling intellectual journey.”

Raymond W. Gibbs, Jr.  Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA

Edda Weigand and Istvan Kecskes (eds). 2018. From Pragmatics to Dialogue. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

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“What can pragmatics, conceived as the detailed study of language use, learn from dialogue studies? This is the key question this wonderful volume addresses by building bridges between two fields that too often tend to ignore each other. A must read for anyone interested in investigating the dialogical aspects of life, language and communication.” - François Cooren, University of Montreal, Canada

Human beings as dialogic individuals use language as dialogue which allows them to tackle the vicissitudes of their lives. Dialogue and its methodology of action and reaction can be traced back to human nature and provides the key to the unstructured field of pragmatics. The contributions to this volume share this common ground and address various perspectives in different types of action game.

Kecskes, Istvan & Stavros Assimakapoulos (eds.) 2017. Current Issues in Intercultural Pragmatics. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

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Kecskes, Istvan & Chaofen Sun (eds.) 2017. Key issues in Chinese as a Second Language Research. London: Routledge.

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Kecskes, Istvan (ed.) 2017. Explorations into Chinese as a Second Language. Cham: Springer.

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Allan, Keith; Capone, Alessandro; & Istvan Kecskes(eds.) 2016. Pragmemes and Theories of Language Use, Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy & Psychology #9. Cham: Springer.

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Kecskes, Istvan 2013. “Intercultural Pragmatics” Oxford University Press

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“This book introduces an important new dimension to the field of pragmatics, shedding much light on social interaction across cultural lines and on the way that language is used in these interactions.”
- Steven Pinker, author of The Language Instinct and The Stuff of Thought.

“Intercultural Pragmatics presents a valuable new perspective on how individual and cultural factors are intertwined in communication. Moving beyond the traditional pragmatic concern with utterance-length exchanges among monolingual speakers, and focusing instead on the distinctive features of discourse-length exchanges among speakers with different languages and cultures, it provides genuinely important insights into an exciting new field of research.” - Deirdre Wilson, University of London

“Istvan Kecskes, the internationally renowned forefather of intercultural pragmatics, has now written THE book on the subject. Professor Kecskes is an invaluable guide for exploring the sociocultural and cognitive dimensions of intercultural—and intracultural—communication and their implications for the study of pragmatics.” - Laurence Horn, Yale University

“In the increasingly globalized and ‘translingual’ world, intercultural communication is one of the greatest practical problems facing millions of people on a daily basis. How do they manage to communicate (if they do)? This is the central question of the new field of intercultural pragmatics, of which Istvan Kecskes is the spiritus movens. It is also the question at the heart of Kecskes’s new book Intercultural Pragmatics. Few questions addressed by linguists today could be more important and more fascinating.” - Anna Wierzbicka, Austral National University

Reviews:

• Michael Haugh, Griffith University, Australia, Journal of Pragmatics, 79, (2015):40-42. See the complete review here

  "The socio-cognitive approach (SCA) has been developed over the past decade through a series of published papers (Kecskes 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013; Kecskes and Zhang 2009), but this volume represents an invaluable crystallisation of those efforts. Notably, the SCA draws heavily, although not by any means exclusively, from examples of language use in intercultural settings, broadly defined by Kecskes as involving “interactions among people from different cultures using a common language” (p.18). In that sense, then, the book offers a sorely needed a theoretical account of how meanings, in particular speaker meanings, attain in intercultural settings. However, it offers much more than that. Indeed, the title of the book itself somewhat understates the fact that the book is in many respects one about what might be more broadly termed “socio-cognitive pragmatics”. While Kecskes himself has resisted the use of such a term, electing instead to talk of the “socio-cognitive approach to pragmatics”, the book is at least as much about socio-cognitive pragmatics more broadly, as it is about intercultural pragmatics in the sense of the study of language use in intercultural settings. This dual focus means the book is rich source of thought-provoking proposals for researchers more interested in theoretical or cognitive-philosophical pragmatics as well as those working in sociopragmatics."

• Stavros Assimakopoulos, University of Malta Linguist List 26.530 , January 26, 2015.

  “Given that Kecskes has almost single-handedly drawn attention to this neglected subfield of pragmatics, this monograph can easily be seen as a milestone in itself. In it, the author goes beyond the mere concretisation of his significant contribution to the understanding of language use across cultural boundaries; effectively, he manages to establish intercultural pragmatics as a legitimate enterprise that is not only worthwhile and interesting in its own right but can also provide significant insights for the more traditional study of theoretical pragmatics.”

• Marta Dynel, University of Lodz, Poland. International Review of Pragmatics, 6. (2014):307-319.

  "Kecskes shows great expertise in the vast field of (intercultural) pragmatics and never ceases to challenge the reader as he gives his survey of the relevant scholarship. Each of the diversified chapters necessities the reader's careful attention to follow the argumentation and appreciate the import carried by the references made. The monograph is a significant contribution addressed to seasoned researchers with interests in intercultural pragmatics or intracultural pragmatics, which is probably how pragmatics as we know it should be labelled. This is because the insights into intercultural problems shed new light on pragmatic phenomena in monocultural and monolingual contexts. The volume will certainly mark a watershed, testifying to the fact that intercultural pragmatics is a distinct field of linguistic investigation with its unique methodology.”

• Jesus Romero-Trillo, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain. Applied Linguistics, Vol. 35. Issue 5. 621-624.

  "In sum, one of the outstanding merits of this book is that the author presents the discipline not only as an academic exercise, undoubtedly interesting for applied linguists, but also as a response to the social quandaries of everyday interaction, and it will thus appeal to researchers in disciplines such as social psychology, media studies or language acquisition. Therefore, I am convinced that Kecskes' volume is likely to become a classic in pragmatics, due to both its respectful debate with traditional theories, and also its exploration of innovative niches of research in language, culture, and society."

• Janet Holmes, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Language and Dialogue, Vol. 4. No. 3. 478-486.

  "Though this is a seriously theoretical book with extensive discussion of Kecskes' socio-cognitive framework, it is illuminated by many examples which assist the reader to grasp complex theoretical points. Overall, however, this book makes a substantial contribution in a rapidly developing area. It provides many perceptive insights and discussions that readers of Language and Dialogue will appreciate, and Kecskes makes a convincing case for the contribution of current pragmatic theories to debates in areas such as the theorization of (im)politeness. This is not a book for newcomers in pragmatics, however it assumes familiarity with standard Gricean approaches. Kecskes draws on a wide range of scholarly literature to provide support for specific components of the theoretical model being presented."

• Alessandro Capone, University of Messina, Italy. Australian Journal of Linguistics, 34:2, 293-301, DOI: 10.1080/07268602.2014.884914

  "My bet is that, after Kecskes' book, linguistics cannot be the same any longer. It appears that a gust of fresh air is coming from the old continent, with the spirit of interculturality promising to change academic boundaries and conquer new territories. Although in a short review I cannot do full justice to this book, apart from praising it for its excellence and applauding the author for his enormous synthetic effort (his bibliographic mastery is superb), I will point out the main strengths of the volume.” (page 294)

• Anita Fetzer, University of Augsburg, Germany. Pragmatics & Cognition, 2015 (forthcoming)

  "Intercultural pragmatics by Istvan Kecskes is an extremely valuable and original piece of work for any student, scholar or researcher interested in the huge fields of pragmatics, intercultural pragmatics and interaction across genres, contexts and cultures. There is a clear structure to the book as a whole and to each chapter. The reader is guided in her / his journey through the book, which makes it possible for the more advanced scholar to skip one or more sections should they not be relevant to her / his immediate needs. While the majority of the chapters contain all of the relevant information, the chapters on context, common ground and salience could have been slightly more explicit with regard to relational and discursive approaches. In spite of that, Istvan Kecskes'work convincingly demonstrates the merits of an integrated endeavour. Intercultural pragmatics is an excellent piece of work which not only practices what it preaches but also preaches what it practices."

• Simona Gurtavenco, University of Brasov, Romania. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov, Series IV: Philology and Cultural Studies, Vol. 7 (56) No.1 - 2014

  "The first book-length work on this field of research has succeeded in calling attention to the importance of linguistic pragmatics for intercultural pragmatics and to the adequacy of this new dimension in clarifying problematic, misrepresented or neglected issues in the field of pragmatics. The book successfully fulfills its goal of supplementing the Gricean approach from a multilingual and intercultural perspective, as well as providing novel and challenging insights into this consequential field."

Kecskes, Istvan 2013. Research in Chinese as a Second Language: the Acquisition of Language and Culture. Trends in Applied Linguistics. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter Mouton.

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Kecskes, Istvan & Jesus Romero-Trillo. (eds.) 2013. Research Trends in Intercultural Pragmatics. Berlin/Boston: Mouton de Gruyter.

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Kecskes, Istvan and Jacob Mey (eds.) 2008. Intention, Common Ground and the Egocentric Speaker-Hearer. Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

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Kecskes, Istvan and Liliana Albertazzi (eds.). 2007. Cognitive Aspects of Bilingualism. Heidelberg/London: Springer.

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Kecskes, Istvan and Laurence Horn. 2007. Explorations in Pragmatics: Linguistic, Cognitive and Intercultural Aspects. Berlin/New York: Mouton.

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Reviews:

• Multilingua. 2009. Vol. 28. No. 4: 477-79. by Kasia Jaszczolt (University of Cambridge)

“All in all, the ‘explorations’ live up to the promise in the title: they offer not a specialist morsel but a wide horizon, depicted  in  most contributions in a precise and principled way – a welcome venture in the times of the compartmentalization of pragmatic research. The papers are thought provoking to various degrees and contentious to various degrees but all are worth reading. The book is also the first volume in a new Mouton Series in Pragmatics edited by Istvan Kecskes and a successful springboard for what is to come.”

• Pragmatics & Cognition. 2009. Vol. 17. No. 2: 421-439. by Xie, Chaoqun; House, Juliane. 2009. Some aspects of pragmatics: Linguistic, cognitive, and intercultural

“…this volume gives and insightful view of the kind of theoretical issues pragmatics theorists are currently concerned with, touching upon some of the central topics that are of great importance to human communication, cognition and understanding. The editors of this volume should be credited for presenting a high-quality collection of papers contributed by scholars active in pragmatics studies. The value of this volume lies in inviting the reader to rethink some of the key aspects of pragmatics that are so essential to human interaction and mutual understanding. This volume should be of great value to anyone interested in pragmatics.” (Page 435)

Kecskes, Istvan. 2002. Situation-Bound Utterances in L1 and L2. Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

Reviews:

• Pragmatics and Cognition: 2004, Vol. 12 Issue 1, pp.177-181, by Francois Cooren (Université de Montréal)
   

• Language, Vol. 80, Nº 4, 2004 , pp. 895-896 by Liang Chen (University of Georgia)
   

• Linguist List: 14.1391-5/15/2003  by Jesus Romero-Trillo (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid)
   

• Studies in Second Language Acquisition 2005, Vol. 27, Issue 3. pp. 488-489, by Margaret A. DuFon, (California State University)
   

• Linguist List: 14.1391-5/15/03 by Jesus Romero-Trillo (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid)
   

“This book is a must read for whoever is interested in the exploration of fields as varied as theoretical linguistics, cognition, communication studies, pragmatics, second language acquisition, and bilinguism. Through his encyclopedic knowledge of these different areas of research, Kecskes convincingly shows how a linguistic and social phenomenon like SBU can be illuminated by a multi-disciplinary approach. This study also illustrates the analytical power of the Dynamic Model of Meaning, which attempts to reconcile traditions that have been opposed for too long. Beyond the specificity of its analytical focus, Situation-Bound Utterances in L1 and L2 demonstrates how necessary it becomes to cross disciplines in order to grasp the nature of language, whether in its use or its structure. In this regard, Kecskes’ book shows us the way to follow.”
(Francois Cooren, Université de Montréal)

Reviews:

• Applied Linguistics, 2001. Vol. 22. No.2 . 284-286 (Jean-Marc Dewaele, University of London, UK)

  “Every once in a while a book comes along that opens up completely new perspectives in a field. Kecskes and Papp’s highly original book is a fine example of this. While most research on bilingualism and applied linguistics has concentrated on the effects of the mother tongue on the foreign language, Kecskes and Papp look for instances of bi-directional transfer, i.e. not only L1–›L2, but also L2–›L1. (Jean-Marc Dewaele, University of London)

• American Journal of Psychology, 2002. Vol. 115. No. 1: 119-124. (Judith Rosenthal, Kean University)

  “Foreign Language and Mother Tongue presents a new way of looking at multilingualism and undoubtedly will provoke discussion among scholars in this field.” (Judith Rosenthal, Kean University).

• International Journal of Bilingualism, 2001, Vol. 5. No. 4. 497-500. Aneta Pavlenko, Temple University)

“This highly original and innovative book is a must-read for all interested in the complex relationships between bilingualism and conceptual development, and between one’s first (L1) and second language (L2).” (Aneta Pavlenko, Temple University).

• Journal of Pragmatics , 2002, Vol. 34. 615-618 (Jesus Romero-Trillo, University of Madrid, Spain)

“Chapter 4 is one of the most fascinating chapters in this book, because it studies the concepts of ‘thought’ and ‘word’, and explains the passage from preverbal thought to discourse. I would like to emphasize that the authors do not stop at the lexical or clause level, but continue to the real language situation represented by discourse. They advocate that bilinguals have a specific mental lexicon development and give very interesting examples of how this mental lexicon is put to test in discourse, with one of the most intriguing linguistic topics in a foreign language, such as the case of metaphor.” (Jesus Romero-Trillo, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid).

• WORD , 2002, Vol. 54. No. 1. 80-83. (Jasone Cenoz, University of the Basq Country, Spain)
   
• TESOL Quarterly, 2001. Vol. 35. No.3 (Virginia LoCastro, Universidad de las Americas, Mexico)
   
• Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2002. Vol. 24. No. 1. 121-122. (Margaret A. DuFon. California State University, Chico.)
   
• TESL-EJ, 2001. Vol. 5. No.1. (Lola Gran, University of Valencia, Spain)
   
• Linguist List, Sept. 13. 2000 (Ingrid Pillar, University of Sydney, Australia)
   
• The English Teachers’ Magazine of Japan, 2001. Vol. 50. No.2. (Tatsuhiko Toda, Kumamoto University, Japan)