Discourse features of vendor-customer interaction in a transactional setting in Sibu

The study examined the discourse features of vendor-customer interaction in a transactional setting in Malaysia. The study focused on the schematic structures of transactions in the retail encounter and the languages used for various stages of the encounter. A total of 100 naturally-occurring intera...

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Main Author:	Lau, Kimberley Yih Long
Format:	Thesis
Language:	English
Published:	2012
Subjects:	HM Sociology
Online Access:	http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/14397/3/Discourse%20features%20of%20vendor-customer%20interaction%20in%20a%20transactional%20setting%20in%20Sibu%20%28fulltext%29.pdf
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spelling	my-unimas-ir.143972023-03-06T03:15:23Z Discourse features of vendor-customer interaction in a transactional setting in Sibu 2012 Lau, Kimberley Yih Long HM Sociology P Philology. Linguistics The study examined the discourse features of vendor-customer interaction in a transactional setting in Malaysia. The study focused on the schematic structures of transactions in the retail encounter and the languages used for various stages of the encounter. A total of 100 naturally-occurring interactions between vendors and customers in a traditional Chinese cake shop in Sibu were audio recorded for analysis. Relevant contextual infonnation and non-verbal expression of the vendors and customers were observed and noted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the sellers to obtain their perspectives of the transactions. Fourteen transactions in three cake shops of the same type were recorded and analysed to verify the discourse features of the retail encounter in this study. The results indicated that the cake shop transactions were realised in eight functional stages, namely, Sale Request, Sale Enquiry, Sale Initiation, Greeting, Sale Compliance, Goods Handover, Purchase and Purchase Closure. Among the eight stages, four of the stages (Sale Request, Sale Compliance, Purchase and Goods Handover) were obligatory stages of the retail encounter, with Sale Request, Purchase and Goods Handover stages being realised non-verbally. Stages which functioned as greetings and closings were infrequently present in the retail encounter of the present study. All the stages of this study were not restricted by any specific sequences. The results also showed that the language choice for interaction depended on the ethnicity of the customers, in which Mandarin and Chinese vernacular languages (Foochow, Hokkien) were used for intra-ethnic communication whereas Bahasa Metayu and Bazaar Malay were used for inter-ethnic communication. The language choice for ,transaction in this study was detennined by the customers and the sellers accommodated to the choice by code switching. Switching in the content words related to price, type, quantity, turn, availability and appreciation indicated the importance of such words in transactional interaction, and pointed to the stages of Sale Enquiry, Sale Request and Purchase Closure being enacted in a language which was different from the language of the interaction. The findings have implications for designing marketing plans. Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) 2012 Thesis http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/14397/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/14397/3/Discourse%20features%20of%20vendor-customer%20interaction%20in%20a%20transactional%20setting%20in%20Sibu%20%28fulltext%29.pdf text en validuser masters Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Centre for Language Studies
institution	Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
collection	UNIMAS Institutional Repository
language	English
topic	HM Sociology HM Sociology
spellingShingle	HM Sociology HM Sociology Lau, Kimberley Yih Long Discourse features of vendor-customer interaction in a transactional setting in Sibu
description	The study examined the discourse features of vendor-customer interaction in a transactional setting in Malaysia. The study focused on the schematic structures of transactions in the retail encounter and the languages used for various stages of the encounter. A total of 100 naturally-occurring interactions between vendors and customers in a traditional Chinese cake shop in Sibu were audio recorded for analysis. Relevant contextual infonnation and non-verbal expression of the vendors and customers were observed and noted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the sellers to obtain their perspectives of the transactions. Fourteen transactions in three cake shops of the same type were recorded and analysed to verify the discourse features of the retail encounter in this study. The results indicated that the cake shop transactions were realised in eight functional stages, namely, Sale Request, Sale Enquiry, Sale Initiation, Greeting, Sale Compliance, Goods Handover, Purchase and Purchase Closure. Among the eight stages, four of the stages (Sale Request, Sale Compliance, Purchase and Goods Handover) were obligatory stages of the retail encounter, with Sale Request, Purchase and Goods Handover stages being realised non-verbally. Stages which functioned as greetings and closings were infrequently present in the retail encounter of the present study. All the stages of this study were not restricted by any specific sequences. The results also showed that the language choice for interaction depended on the ethnicity of the customers, in which Mandarin and Chinese vernacular languages (Foochow, Hokkien) were used for intra-ethnic communication whereas Bahasa Metayu and Bazaar Malay were used for inter-ethnic communication. The language choice for ,transaction in this study was detennined by the customers and the sellers accommodated to the choice by code switching. Switching in the content words related to price, type, quantity, turn, availability and appreciation indicated the importance of such words in transactional interaction, and pointed to the stages of Sale Enquiry, Sale Request and Purchase Closure being enacted in a language which was different from the language of the interaction. The findings have implications for designing marketing plans.
format	Thesis
qualification_level	Master's degree
author	Lau, Kimberley Yih Long
author_facet	Lau, Kimberley Yih Long
author_sort	Lau, Kimberley Yih Long
title	Discourse features of vendor-customer interaction in a transactional setting in Sibu
title_short	Discourse features of vendor-customer interaction in a transactional setting in Sibu
title_full	Discourse features of vendor-customer interaction in a transactional setting in Sibu
title_fullStr	Discourse features of vendor-customer interaction in a transactional setting in Sibu
title_full_unstemmed	Discourse features of vendor-customer interaction in a transactional setting in Sibu
title_sort	discourse features of vendor-customer interaction in a transactional setting in sibu
granting_institution	Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
granting_department	Centre for Language Studies
publishDate	2012
url	http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/14397/3/Discourse%20features%20of%20vendor-customer%20interaction%20in%20a%20transactional%20setting%20in%20Sibu%20%28fulltext%29.pdf
_version_	1783728163292971008

Discourse features of vendor-customer interaction in a transactional setting in Sibu

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