Journal of Intercultural Communication | 2026
Authors: Schenck A.
DOI: 10.36923/jicc.v26i3.1506
Journal: Journal of Intercultural Communication
Year: 2026
Publisher: Immigrant Institutet
Document Type: Article
Open Access: All Open Access; Gold Open Access
Cited by: 0
The prevalence of power distance in Confucian heritage contexts has been well documented, yet the impact of this cultural value on rhetoric has not been extensively explored. To address the gap in our current understanding of cultural influences on rhetoric, language to assert authority or make a proposition (modals and epistemic stances) and pronouns to express an author’s relationship with their reader (pronoun deixis) were tallied and statistically compared in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) essays from six different Confucian heritage contexts. Essays were obtained from 1,288 participants included in the International Corpus Network of Asian Learners of English (ICNALE). Results of Pearson’s correlation suggest that high-authority modals and first-person singular pronouns are used significantly differently in high-and low-power-distance contexts. Low power distance learners tended to use “I” and obligatory modals to engage the reader in a more direct fashion. Albeit insignificant, high power distance learners also appeared to use more epistemic stances of certainty (e.g., certainly and definitely) to increase the intensity of general and noncontroversial arguments. These writers may have chosen stronger stances with uncontroversial claims to reduce conflict or avoid offending the reader, which mirrors Confucian collective beliefs that value authority and harmony. The study suggests that cultural beliefs may have some impact on rhetoric. These influences should be investigated to develop targeted EFL curricula that enhance intercultural communication in global workplaces. © 2026 by author(s).
Corpus; Cultural Influences on Rhetoric; English As A Foreign Language; Epistemic Modals; Epistemic Stances; Pronouns