DISCURSO E MALENTENDIDOS “INTERCULTURAIS” EM PORTUGÛES E ALEMÃO NO ÂMBITO EMPRESARIAL

Resumo

Since the late 1980s, researchers have become more and more concerned with intercultural questions (Picht 1987; Müller, 1991; Ehlich 1995). Studies in Brazil, especially those in discourse analysis involving the acquisition of the German language in multinational industries, seem to be pertinent, since “in a search for market expansion, multinational companies have invested in Brazil” (Oö. Nachrichten 17/05/1996:8). A marked increase in the number of German courses offered in Brazil has been observed, although these do not always consider recent developments in linguistic research, especially these of Discourse Analysis and Applied Linguistics. The present paper explores transcultural representations in the utterances of native German speakers and Brazilians working in multinational industries in Brazil. Emphasis is placed on the study of misunderstandings arising from ambiguous interpretations or a lack of sufficient knowledge of language by the interlocutor, and the results serve to support a proposal for the teaching of German in Brazilian industries which incorporates a discussion of cultural aspects. The analysis of experimental microscenes resulting from the interviews served as a foundation for the preparation of questionnaires which were filled out by employees in Germany and Austria, as well as in Brazil, and used to study meaning resonances and the configuration of discursive formations (FD) (Haroche/Henry/Pecheux 1971; Foucault 1972; Pêcheux 1988; 1990). Differences in relation to politeness values in sociability and discursive functions in the public and private sector were revealed in relation to the German and Brazilian societies.