Reflection: Inter-ethnic metapragmatic discourse in New Zealand English

Metapragmatic commentary may, in some cases, be directed not only at pragmatic meanings or acts, but also at the norms that are assumed to underlie them. In an extensive program of research about discourse in New Zealand workplaces, the Language in the Workplace project has uncovered ethnic variation amongst speakers of New Zealand English. Holmes et al. (2012) report on the explicit negotiation of politeness norms between European (termed Pākehā) and Māori ethnolects of New Zealand English. The former has traditionally been considered dominant or mainstream, but in workplaces where Maori predominate, such assumptions can be challenged. In the following excerpt, we can observe a clash between Pākehā and Māori interactional norms that surfaces in the form of metapragmatic commentary. The exchange occurs in one of the regular meetings of Kiwi Consultations, where only three out of the sixteen participants are Pākehā:

Holmes, Marra and Vine claim that while Steve asserts a (Pākehā New Zealand English) interactional norm, namely, that one should not speak while others are speaking (lines 8–10), this is treated as an inappropriate assertion by Frank, another Pākehā. Frank implies in line 14 that Steve is not sufficiently acquainted with Māori New Zealand English ways of speaking by suggesting that he needs to attend more hui (i.e. traditional Māori meetings). By doing so it is suggested that Steve would gain an appreciation of the Māori English interpretive norm that a sign of respect is that other people are talking about what you’re saying while you’re saying it (lines 17–18). By asserting a Māori interactional norm, Frank reframes Steve’s metapragmatic comment as inappropriate for that workplace because it involves the assertion of a Pākehā interactional norm. Speaking English thus inevitably raises questions about just whose norms are assumed to be at play. Such issues can be approached at various orders of indexicality, including through the lens of ethnic varieties of English.