Colaboracion interdiscursiva

7/29/2019 Colaboracion interdiscursiva

1/20

Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146

ISSN 1139-7241

AbsracIterdisrsive llbrtive strti f prfessil geres (Bhti, 2004 &

2010; Bremer, 2006; Smrt, 2006) withi the frmewrk f mmities f

prtie (Lve & Weger, 1991) be viewed s sefl istrmet fr

develpig writig expertise t iitite vie writers it the vetis f

rprte writig. Drwig evidee frm pbli reltis (PR) writig

texts i Hg Kg, the pper fses the dymis f prtiipti i

llbrtive PR prtie d the destrti f the llbrtive press

s evideed i the destrti f vris drfts (frm bristrmig t the

fil prdt) d thrgh the pereptis f sme f the key PR prtitiers

i the idstry. The pper will hve implitis fr r derstdig f

iterdisrsivity i gere thery (Bhti, 2010) d fr the llbrtive writig

press withi the demy s well s i the wrkple.

Kywrds: iterdisrsive llbrti, gere thery, mmity f

prtie, writig, pbli reltis.

RsumnColaboracin interdiscursiva en el mbito de las relaciones pblicasL stri de ls gers prfesiles medite l lbri

iterdisrsiv (Bhti, 2004 y 2010; Bremer, 2006; Smrt, 2006) e el mr de

ls middes de prti (Lve y Weger, 1991) pede etederse m

istrmet til gris l l es psible desrrllr iert experiei e ls

press de esritr iiid ls esritres veles e ls veies de l

esritr rprtiv. Bsdse e ls evideis bteids e el mbit de l

esritr e el text de ls relies pblis e Hg Kg, el presete

Iterdisrsive llbrti i pbli

reltis texts1

Vijay K. Bhatia, Rodney H. Jones, Stephen Bremner and Anne Peirson-Smith

City University of Hong Kong (China)

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],

[email protected]

127


2/20

Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146

V.K. BHaTIa, R.H. JonES, S. BREMnER & a. PEIRSon-SMITH

trbj se etr e l dimi de prtiipi e l prti lbrtiv e

dih mbit s m e l destri del pres lbrtiv tl y m

se demestr e l destri de diverss brrdres (desde l trmet de

ides iiil hst qe se btiee el prdt fil) y medite ls perepies

de lgs de ls experts lve e el setr de ls relies pblis. El

presete trbj tedr repersies e l qe respet estr mpresi

de l iterdisrsividd e l ter de gers (Bhti, 2010) y l pres de

esritr tt e el mbit dmi m pil.

Palabras clav: lbri iterdisrsiv, ter de gers, midd

de prti, esritr, relies pblis.

Inrducin

Prfessil disrse, prtilrly i Pbli Reltis (PR) texts, fte

presets sigifit hlleges fr the develpmet f writig expertise i

the demy. Reet reserh i ritil gere thery (Bhti, 2004 & 2010;

Bremer, 2006 & 2010; Smrt, 2006) idites tht prt f the res fr

sme f the diffilties ld be ttribted t lk f derstdig f the

rel tre f prfessil disrse s iterdisrsive llbrtive

pheme rther th simple exerise i disrsive strti f

prfessil geres s sh. Drwig sme f the reserh fidigs frm

lrger prjet llbrtive writig i the retive mmitiidstry i Hg Kg, this pper idetifies tw relted spets f

disrsive prties i pbli reltis texts, tht is iterdisrsivity (s

sed i Bhti, 2010) d the press f iterdisrsive llbrti, d

illstrtes hw these disrsive presses re sed t hieve prfessil

gls i pbli reltis mpies i Hg Kg. The stdy will hve

implitis fr develpig writig expertise t iitite vie writers it

the vetis f rprte writig, prtilrly i PR texts. The

evidee mes frm pbli reltis writig texts i Hg Kg,

prtilrly frm the lyses f vris drfts d the fiished prdts,

iterdisrsive llbrtive tribtis by the prtiipts ivlved i

speifi pbli reltis tsks, d iterviews with experieed PR

prfessils i severl Hg Kg PR firms. Mre geerlly, the pper

brigs it fs sme f the imprtt tribtig ftrs d presses

t the strti f speilist PR geres, with prtilr emphsis the

dymis f prtiipti i llbrtive PR prtie, highlightig the

mplexities f the llbrtive press t wrk, d mpres them with

wht ges i the demy.

128


3/20

Dsign f h sudy

as briefly metied bve, dt fr the stdy mes frm ethgrphi

ivestigti dted ver tw yers (2008-2010) fsig the

pereptis f PR mgers i Hg Kg regrdig their se f Eglish

i the PR idstry. The im ws t se sme f the key spets f wht

Geertz (1973) lled iterprettive ethgrphy, s demstrted i Smrts

(1998, 1998b & 2006) dtrl wrk, where he stdied prfessil bkig

prties i cdi bk. We deided t se thse ethgrphi

predres tht we thght wld mke it pssible fr s t derstd d

desribe wht ws hppeig i prfessil texts i rge f PR firms

i Hg Kg. The predres sed were extesive semi-strtred

iterviews f key prfessils i the PR idstry, prtiipt-i-ti

bservtis, disrse d gere lyses f dmets (drfts s well sfiished prdts), reserher diries, et., ll f whih llwed s t get

ivlved i severl PR reserh sites thrgh bservti d prtiipti,

d t prde wht Geertz (1973: 3) lls thik desripti f hw

prfessils perfrm their dy-t-dy tsks, whih ls prvided s with

pprtities t th prfessils i ti t speifi mmets i time

d spe, d derstd their prtie.

The dt mprised severl hr-lg pe-eded iterviews with mre

th 15 PR exetives wrkig i 10 pbli reltis firms (six smll d

medim-sized firms, d fr lrge mltitils estblished i Hg Kg

d the asi regi). The 15 PR exetives, wh mde vilble their

rrtives f experiee i the PR idstry, sisted f bth ll Hg

Kg chiese (6) d exptrites frm Egld, astrli d nrth

ameri (9). The iterview dt were trsribed d lyzed i rder t

idetify sme f the imprtt themes emergig frm their pereptis. We

ls dted fllw-p iterviews t seek their lrifitis, wherever

sidered eessry.

I the rse f the ivestigti, reserh ssistt ws ls pled s

iter i sme f these firms fr perid f three mths eh, drig

whih time she dted prtiipt bservti, lleted texts relted t

the mpigs i whih she ws ivlved, rerded vris frml d

ifrml itertis i the wrkple, d kept detiled refletive diry

bt her experiees d her gig silizti it the rprte

ltres f the mpies i whih she ws pled. This ethgrphi dt

ws spplemeted by mre frml iterviews with vris stff wrkig i

InTERDIScuRSIVE coLLaBoRaTIon In PR conTExTS

Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146 129


4/20

these firms, ildig seir mgers, vie pywriters d sltts.

oe f the ress fr dertkig this stdy ws t ivestigte the rel

tre f writig prties i the PR idstry s mpred with wht ws

hppeig i the demy, espeilly i prfessil mmiti

lssrms2

. We thght tht it wld be iterestig t mpre thepedggil text with the rel prfessil text i the wrkple i

whih stdets re fte reqired t perfrm i prfessil mmiti

tivities. over the yers we hd disvered tht the pedggil tsks i the

demy reslted i iheret d frgmeted texts s reslt f the

reqiremet f eql effrts the prt f prtiiptig stdets, whih

fte led t eql tribtis. Mrever, there ws little perepti f

lerig mg prtiipts, s mst f them treted mmiti tsks

s prt f ssessmet exerise. cmpred t this, the prfessil PR

text ppered t be very differet, i tht, it lerly idited tht eql

rights i PR texts led t eql tribtis; fte the mplete drftig

beig de by e idividl with freqet se f templtes, whih re

psitively disrged i the demy bese f ers bt plgirism.

ulike llbrtive writig tsks i the demy, there ws sis

effrt the prt f seir PR exetives t erge lerig frm

llbrti.

We shll w give sbste t these lims by disssig sme f the key

fidigs f the stdy fsig the iterdisrsive tre f PR disrse

d its llbrtive strti, with prtilr emphsis the

llbrtive press, its retivity, the se f templtes, d revisi s

lerig press.

Ky findings

Inrdiscursiviy in PR discurs

Prfessil disrse is geerlly rih i iterdisrsivity (Bhti, 2008,

2010 & 2012). Writig i the prfessis, espeilly i PR texts, is

essetilly iterdisrsive pheme, whih tkes ple i si-

prgmti spe (Bhti, 2010) where prfessil idetities d, mre

speifilly, pbli reltis re egtited thrgh dymi rge f

prfessil geres i rder t hieve speifi prfessil gls d

bjetives. oe f the ress fr this iterdisrsive hrter f

prfessil writig seems t be the seqee f widespred


Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146130


5/20

llbrti withi d rss speifi mmities f prtie (Figley &

Miller, 1982; Ede & Lsfrd, 1985 & 1990; Freedm & adm, 1996).

cle d Peteli (2004: 136) rightly pit t tht []llbrtive writig

is pervsive i the temprry rprte wrkple. nrth ameri

reserh reprts tht ie t f te bsiess prfessils prde smef their dmets s prt f tem. I the PR idstry this kid f

llbrtive effrt ivlves vriety f liets d PR speilists i

speifi firm, t e level, d withi speifi firm itself, differet members

f the tem re ivlved i the desigig d writig f prtilr

dmet. This spet f iterdisrsive llbrti i the strti

f PR geres, whether they re mpy d liet meetigs,

dvertisemets, press releses, web desigs, r prpsls seems t be

refleti f Bkhtis (1991) sserti tht ll texts re essetilly

heterglssi i tre. Like Bkhti, Kristev (1980) ls believed tht ll

texts re strted frm preedig d tiipted texts, d every ew

text egtites the textl vies f thers befre it. I similr mer,

Flt (1972) ls mitis tht texts re the seqee f wht he

lls disrsive frmtis, whih is ehed i Firlgh (1995), where he

lims tht iterdisrsivity highlights the rml hetergeeity f texts i

beig stitted by mbitis f diverse geres d disrses

trsfrmig the pst r prir texts it the preset. Sll (2001) ls

reitertes tht the mbiti f geres, registers, sittis dmmities f prtie re pprprited s sigifit spets f medited

ti. Mre reetly, Bhti (2010) prvides mprehesive view f

iterdisrsivity i gere thery, espeilly i the text f prfessil

gere, viewig it s retive pprpriti r miplti f prir

frmltis f disrsive tis withi d rss prfessil prties

d ltres t strt ew d retive frms f prfessil geres.

Cllabrain in h pr indusry

cllbrti i the PR idstry is bth ivlvemet d diseggemet

tht lrgely depeds es bility t wrk i tem. The idstry seems

t pt high premim temwrk bese it is imprtt spet f the

disrsive press i this idstry, whih fte rs tight shedle. a

seir exetive frm medim-sized PR mpy3, tlkig bt the

imprte f temwrk hs this t sy the termiti f emplyee:

Bese the getlem ... wh wrked e f ... the lst speehes with


Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146 131


6/20

r liet, eh ws wrkig with this fr ie mths, d the i the ed

I deided t termite ... his trt. ad I wld sy third f the res

fr tht termiti ws the ibility t wrk withi the tem.

He tied,

We relly eed everye t be ble t wrk tgether d [be]

strtively ritil ... f everyes tpt. I sppse i tht sese were

srt f qite flt i terms f the strtre f the rgizti

Temwrk is ls imprtt bese it brigs it fs differet kids f

bilities tht prtiipts hve whih tribte t the disrsive press i

effiiet wy. ather seir exetive frm medim-sized PR

mpy pits t:

i terms f the whle llbrtive press y get t lse

t the dmet. Y strt missig thigs Y kw yve bee wrkig

it fr exmple, i terms f stylemy writig style ted t be srt

f qite lg setees. The wrds re fie, bt thts lg setees. ad

we ll hve r little tlets d we eed t pt it thrgh ht wsh.

S everythig is ... extremely llbrtive d ... we might t erti

pit, if smees t bee wrkig the dmet t ll, thts qite

sefl by the time y get t drft te ... depedig wht the liet

wts.

oe thig speifilly distitive bt temwrk i the PR idstry tht is

remrkbly differet frm temwrk i the demy is the tre d extet

f redit give t idividl prtiipts i the tem. as metied erlier,

temwrk i the demy wrks sme kid f demrti priiple, tht

every member is expeted t tribte eqlly t the llbrtive press

d t get eql redit, prtly de t the ft tht the disrsive tsk is viewed

s prt f ssessmet press. I the PR idstry, the ther hd, it isever qesti f wh des wht d hw mh; it is imprtt t fiish

the jb effetively t tr it it prgmti sess. ather seir

exetive f PR firm highlighted the tre f prtership i the

llbrtive press s fllws, prtilrly lkig t wh tribtes wht

t wht pit:

It defiitely wt be e pers writig e seti, bese the writig

style f eh pers is differet. cmbiig differet peples wrk my

prde smethig very strge. cmbiig the writigs my eed mre


Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146132


7/20

time th writig the drfts ll by eself We will first hld meetig t

disss ... mke sre we gree the direti, r highlightig pits ... tht

is the key pits f the tet ... d the e pers will write the drfts.

ather PR exetive frm lrge itertil firm reitertes this i the

fllwig mer.

Its hrd t tell wh geerted the rigil ide bese we hd hd t my

bristrmig meetigs. Smetimes it might be tht smee else hs

sggested ide, whih is t dpted bt it ispired me t me p with

ther ide. I tht se I still give the redit t the e wh ispired me

bt everye is ivlved i it.

It is iterestig t te tht i the demy, llbrti tkes very

differet frm. There is lwys expetti f eql prtiipti by ll

members f the grp bese f the tre f ssessmet ssited with

sh tsks. althgh the tsk is lbelled s grp prjet, the ssessmet is

fte idividl, whih strgely egh reslts i frgmeted texts, whih

is t the se i rel life prfessil texts.

Craiviy in PR discurs

ather imprtt spet f iterdisrsive llbrti i PR disrseis its retivity, whih gi is rther differet frm retivity i ther kids

f writig, fr iste, i literry wrks. I PR disrse, it is t simply

prperty f the text r the ed prdt; mre imprttly, it is fti

f the llbrtive sil presses, the disrsive tls emplyed, the kid

f sil reltiships tht filitte them, d the wys vies re

silized it these retive disrsive tis (Jes et l., 2012). The

press f llbrtive d retive strti f PR dmets,

ildig mpy d liet meetigs, prmtil texts, press releses,

pdsts, d prpsls, ivlves lrge mber f iterrelted texts.

cretivity lies i the wy these texts re itegrted d refrmed t hieve

prtilr kid f mmitive bjetive fte thrgh bristrmig

i smller grps, reserhig vris spets f diee ptke, i

ttempt t strt press releses, writig speehes, rrgig pperes

tlk shws, develpig se stdies, d ssemblig press kits (ars,

Speter & ames, 2007). cretive llbrti i PR writig is ths mtter

f hw mltiple texts re jitly rdited t mplish prtilr set

f gls withi idividl mpigs (ars, Speter & ames, 2007).


Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146 133


8/20

Idividl texts ths re t eessrily see s retive i themselves, s is

mst fte see i demi texts, bt re viewed s retive if d

whe they tribte t the bjetives f the PR tivity. I ther wrds,

texts re see s prts f rdited (d) prpsefl tis (Reddi,

2009: 400) desiged t slve prtilr prblems d meet prtilr verllbjetives. cretivity is lted t s mh i the disrsive prdts s i

the rdited tis thrgh whih differet kids f disrsive

prdts re rfted d deplyed i differet wys drig the rse f

mpig.

Us f mplas

oe f the iterestig isses tht srprised s mst i the disrsive tis

f PR speilists ws its se f wht they referred t s templtes, r whtJes et l. (2012: 154) ll disrses i ple. I ll f the firms we

stdied, the reti f texts, whether they were prpsls, press releses,

speehes r brhres, ws fte bsed previsly sed templtes. as e

t exetive i medim-sized firm pt it:

If sme text be resed, the we rese it. We my jst hge sme f

the ifrmti like the me r bkgrd f the liets, bese wht the

liets wt is smetimes very similr. Fr prpsls, we my ly hve t

hge the servies ifrmti d the bdget. If its press relese, wesmetimes jst eed t pdte the fts d figres.

It ws iterestig t te tht PR mpies rmlly wrk with tw rther

differet kids f spprt they seem t get frm erlier disrses, whih

the PR prfessils ll templtes d bilerpltes. Templtes, fr

them refer t the rhetril frmewrks lredy sed by the mpy fr

speifi strti f gere, whih be resed i sbseqet exerises

f the sme kid r gere with mdifitis, dditis f ew tet,

wheres bilerpltes refer t items f tet, whih be resed, r

fte prvided by the liets, whih be iserted i the frmewrk with

eessry djstmets. It my be pited t tht erly ll the stdrd

geres tht PR writer is geerlly egged i hve templte whih gives

them the rhetril frmewrk tht he r she hs t wrk withi, d whih

derpis the sefless d effiy f the gere frmewrk (Swles, 1990;

Bhti, 1993 & 2004) tht hs bee s very pplr i mst frms f ESP

wrk. I mst istes f the disrsive strti i PR texts tht

we hd the si t stdy, we fd tht pprpriteess f the vilble


Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146134


9/20

templte ws lmst tke fr grted; it ws ly mtter f pllig t the

right e frm the repsitry f sh rhetril frms tht every PR

mpy seemed t hve. Whe sked bt the freqet se f templtes,

seir exetive f PR frm sid:

Templtes re like ... the lg f mpy r brd. Whe peple reeive

tht templte, they kw isttly tht it is frm Meredes Bez. There is

sme ifrmti tht we lwys pt t the begiig r prtilr prt(s) f

the writigs, peple wh get sed t reeivig r press releses will kw

isttly tht the writig is frm Meredes Bez. It ls sve their time

bese they kw extly where t fid wht ifrmti.

The mi res fr the se f templtes is t sve time bt, perhps mre

imprttly, t sty sistet. It is iterestig t te tht i the rprtewrld there seem t be templtes fr every type f writig d they rrely

hesitte t rese them wherever pssible, fte pdtig fts d figres, if

d whe reqired. He ties, itig press releses s exmple.

nrmlly y d t hve t drft the press relese bese the liet hs

lredy set y the ifrmti. Wht y eed t d is jst t mdify the

ifrmti bit d preset it i press relese frmt.

I this se, the press relese frmt rmlly sed by this firm ted sthe templte withi whih the bilerplte prvided by the liet ws iserted.

Templtes, the ther hd, lmst lwys me frm the firm d

stitte imprtt prt f the firms disrsive ltre, heritge d

brdig. The prpse f templtes is t jst t ssist the firm i prdig

texts mre effiietly, bt ls t ssist reders, espeilly medi

prfessils, i sig these texts mre effetively s gere. as e seir

t exetive pt it:

or templtes re like r mpy brd. Whe peple get stff frm s,they kw isttly wht t d with it. Theres sme ifrmti, fr

iste, tht we lwys pt t the begiig r i prtilr prts f the text.

Peple wh get sed t reeivig r press releses will kw isttly where

t fid wht ifrmti.

Sme mpies mke templtes d bilerpltes, i the frm f previsly

thred press releses, prpsls d ther texts, vilble t emplyees

lie thrgh sere servers r shred hrd drives. a seir mger f

lrge mltitil firm desribed his mpys prties like this:


Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146 135


10/20

S fr exmple if yre tryig t pt tgether ew bsiess prpsl,

bsilly y jst lg d y dwld every se stdy tht (me

f firm) hs ever de tht kid f prdt r servie d jst dmp the

ifrmti it yr w presetti witht hvig t sk smebdy r

pt t mss emil, d thts beig sttly pdted with every sigle

thig tht mes t f this firm, d we hve dedited peple whre

tlly mgig these resres t mke sre theyre beig bilt p d

tht the right resres re esy t fid.

nerly ll the prtitiers we tlked t, hwever, tied s gist

ssmig tht the pprpriti f previsly writte texts r previsly

desiged templtes ws either esy r retive. It ivlves, they tld s,

mplex prties f deisi mkig whih ilde t jst seletig the

best texts t pprprite bt ls dptig them i retive wys t fit ewprdts r ew gls. The sme seir mger qted bve, fr exmple,

sid:

Whe yre writig smethig, y shld ever hve t strt frm srth,

s y hve t strt by thikig, right, wht hve we de befre thts

pplible here? If the bjetive is t lh ew r i chi y might

tlly fid tht the prpsl tht we did t lh ew ple i chi is

the mst pprprite templte, r if it is t lh regil lie f mbile

phes, we tlly lhed regil lie f eterprise sftwre whihmight tlly be gd fit, right? S ll tht stff s p there, d redily

vilble t everybdy, s the key isse is deidig whih dmet is mst

like the e y re bt t write.

a mger frm ther firm emphsized tht retivity reqires resig

previsly writte mterils i gd wy. T erti extet, this

be hllege t yr writig skills, she sid. Y t simply py-d-

pste. Y hve t thik bt the effetive pithig gle.

oe mjr theme tht r thrgh r disssis d bservtis, ws

tht retive texts were t mh se witht gd retive ide t the

fdti f give mpig, d gd ides tht ddressed prtilr

gls fr prtilr liets t prtilr pits i time were mh mre

diffilt t rese. oe mger sid, Smetimes peple wld g d t

d pste smethig d they wld get it wrg, bese theyre t ly

ttig d pstig the strtre d the tet bt ls the retive ide,

whih y kw, my t be pprprite fr every text. ather

desribed retive presses s existig i kid f hierrhy:


Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146136


11/20

Its srt f the hierrhy f retivity right? S, t the tp is the mpig

theme d it hs t be smethig lever, twisted r it mkes the trget

diee thik bt smethig differetly d behve differetly, d the

belw tht re the retive ttis, d the belw tht theres the retive

tet whih fte ivlves dig thigs tht re tlly firly rdiry, s

wht determies whether smethig is retive t the bttm f the fd

hi depeds tht etrl strtegi r iterestig thig thts deided t

the tp.

I ft, we fte bserved, espeilly i smll d medim-sized firms, these

hierrhl dyds develpig it metrig reltiships i whih the fs

f the sperirs feedbk ws s mh develpig the jir stff

members writig bility s imprvig the drft. a etry i r reserh

ssistts refletive diry desribes e sh reltiship like this:

I this meetig, (spervisrs me) d I st dw tgether t tlk bt the

hges he mde the drft, d he explied the ress why he hd mde

these hges. He gve my sefl sggestis d mmets I terms

f lgge se, he fsed lt the wrds, pitig t whih wrds I

hd bee versig d sggestig sme mre speifi wrds as fr

tet, he dded severl strtive sggestis i the Notes to Editors f

the press relese. He ls gve psitive feedbk d ergig mmets,

I ws s hppy d impressed by this. If I hd t grde this, I wld give it

a+!

of rse, sh reltiships d t lwys grw t f the hierrhil fe

systems ssited with the drftig press. The mgig diretr f

medim-sized firm, fr exmple, relted her pst experiees wrkig i

mh less sessfl hierrhl dyds:

Ive wrked fr PR bsses wh sk y t write press relese d seem t

tke gret delight i tellig y tht it sks witht iditig hw it be

imprved d the y g thrgh edless rds f time wstig tryig t

get it right til the dedlie lms d the bss des it himself srppig

ll f yr wrk. Bt eve wrse, the relese the ges t the liet wh

seds it bk fll f edits d sty mmets bt it beig seless d

the yr bss blmes y gi d yre bk t the strt f time

wstig yle. S its t like bese y re mre seir s y dt hve

t drft n, this is t my style. Bese I hve wrked i geies befre,

I dt like this kid f hierrhy. I thik it shld be temwrk. We ll wrk

tgether t serve the liets. We re mre reslt-rieted. With less hierrhy,

r -perti is better.


Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146 137


12/20

Discursiv prcss

We w lk t the tl writig press thrgh the drfts f iteded

press relese frm e f the medim-sized PR firms. althgh they seem

t hve gd ide f the rhetril frm tht is, the templte, the tet

r wht is referred t s bilerplte, eeds t be wrked t. I mst ses,it strts ff with bristrmig sessi ivlvig ll the members f the

tem, ildig the seir d the very jir es. We shll sider three

f the te drfts tlly strted t vris stges, t illstrte wht ges

s prt f the disrsive press. The first illstrti (see appedix 1)

mes frm the sed bristrmig meetig bsed the tes frm e

f the members. althgh we d t fid ythig f sbste here, it

demstrtes hw sme f these tsks begi frm srth. a few drfts

lter, the dmet strts givig shpe t sme prts f the bilerpltes,whih is give i appedix 2.

Eve here, the ifrmti is smewht skethy d we d t fid y ler

iditi f the expeted rhetril frm t this stge. Hwever, this drft

is sigifit i tht the seir tem member strts givig detiled feedbk

the drft sbmitted by the tem. as we see the feedbk is typilly

i the frm f hdwritte tes the prited drft, d t thrgh trk

hges the mrked p eletri versis. The mi prpse f sh

feedbk frm the seir member is t mke lerig pririty, rther thjst the revisi f the drft. The seir member (chief Exetive) f the

PR firm firms this whe he pits t:

Well, ... I believe i sig y revisi press s srt f

edtil press s well. Ive wrked i ther slties where the

editig press is de by emil r file trsfer frm e pers t

ther. ad y d it by trk hge ... i pressred evirmet

f PR firm where time is fte qite tight If I were jst t edit it

sree, emil it bk, geerlly yr sbrdite will jst g epthges.

after severl sbseqet drfts, the expeted fil shpe emerges sig the

stdrd templte, whih is idited i the versi i appedix 3.

Rvisin as ducainal prcss

Feedbk by the teher i demi texts is fte see s prt f the

ssessmet press, d is rrely see r sed s edtil press, whih


Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146138


13/20

ld be ttribted t the time pressre d ther lssrm strits

the teher d the ttitde f stdets wh fte view tehers s ssessrs

i sh tsks. I PR texts, the ther hd, i spite f the strits

f time d the limited mber f drfts ivlved, feedbk is fte see

s lerig pprtity fr jir prtiipts wh vle shpprtities fr lerig the gere i qesti, espeilly the se f lexi-

grmmr fvred i expert mmiti. Let s lk t exmple f

the se f lexi-grmmr i the speilised PR gere (hges highlighted

i itlis):

Revisi: Exmple

chi Resres Prperty Limited: Strtegy Pl fr Hrbr Rd Grde

DRaFT

cRPL will wrk lsely with LcSD d ssre the qlity f mitee

d mgemet is bve stdrd fter the revitlisti prjet is

mpleted. The ew grde will be better desig d eqipped leisre

spe t serve the eeds f W chi residets d wrkers.

REVISIon

cRPL will wrk lsely with LcSD d ssre the highest qlity f

mitee d mgemet is bve stdrd fter the revitlisti

prjet is mpleted. The ew grde will be better, more modern opendesig

d eqipped with pleasant leisre spe t serve the eeds f Whi

residets d CRPL building tenants and adjacent officewrkers.

The er d vle f sh revisi wrk is highlighted i the sttemet

frm the chief Exetive f medim-sized PR firm qted erlier.

Cncluding rmarkscsiderig the PR idstry s key site f eggemet t stdy wht Lve

d Weger (1991: 89) ll legitimte peripherl prtiipti i

mmity f prtie, this pper hs mde ttempt t derpi

iterdisrsivity i llbrtive disrsive tis f mber f PR

firms frm Hg Kg. The disrsive press fte tkes ple i relxed

d llegil evirmet where emplyees t vris levels pt their effrts

tgether s tem t bristrm the bsis d t disss tet s ipt

t the hse templte fr the textl gere i qesti. The stdy lerly


Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146 139


14/20

demstrtes the iterdisrsive hrter f PR disrse, whether it is

dvertisemet, press relese, pdst r prpsl. Every gere i

qesti ges thrgh rther ritil d retive yle f disrsive ts,

fte bsed rhetril frms (templtes) sed by the firm erlier

sis d resed i rder t sve time d effrt d ls s the lg rbrd idetity f the firm. The retivity i PR disrse mes t

eessrily frm ew tet bt frm the mplex prties f deisi

mkig whih ilde t jst seletig the best texts t pprprite bt ls

dptig them i retive wys t fit ew prdts r ew gls.

The stdy ls demstrtes the tre f llbrti i PR texts,

whih seems t be very differet frm wht hppes i similr tivity

withi the demy. I the demi text, we fte believe i eql

tribti frm ll the prtiipts, smetimes ll spets fllbrti, whih leds t frgmeted texts, s they re writte by severl

peple d the pt tgether; wheres i the wrkple, thgh everye is

ivlved i bristrmig the tet f the gere, fte ly e pers is

give the tsk f drftig the text, d thers me bk t it t ffer their

ritil d strtive mmets drig its mltiple drfts befre it is

filized fter refl editig. It is fte diffilt fr prtiipts t ffer

ritil d strtive mmets t ther prtiipts i demi texts.

cllbrtive exerise i the wrkple is ls differet frm tht i thedemy i ther respet. Wheres grp wrk s prt f rrilm is

mst fte see s ssessmet tsk, d hee very little lerig tkes

ple thrgh sh llbrtive tis, llbrti i the PR idstry is

essetilly see s lerig, where feedbk drfts is fte ritil d

strtive i hdwritte frm, bese the ide is t imprve the drft

d fte e hs t g thrgh severl rds f drfts. cllbrti i

the PR text we hve see ws bth ivlvemet d diseggemet, i

the sese tht thgh everye is sppsed t prtiipte i the disrsivet, tht is, i the writig f mplete drfts, they re ivlved i the press

f seletig tet, d the gi i the frm f dethed strtive s

well s ritil feedbk.

Besides, this stdy highlights e f the mst imprtt d ril

hlleges fig preset-dy pedggy, tht is, the isse f plgirism i

prfessil d demi ssessmet. as we tied, the wrkple relies

hevily the se d rese f estblished templtes; hwever, i demi

texts, y brrwig r pprpriti f tet d its se i demi


Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146140


15/20

ssessmet is sidered egtive d hee dispreferred. neither f these

views is irret. The trth f the mtter seems t be tht iterdisrsive

pprpriti, whih ildes refrmig, refrmltig, d

retextlizig, is desirble skill d shld frm eessry prt f

mst demi writig rril r prfessil triig prgrmmes. ayfrm f legitimte pprpriti, s disssed i the erlier setis f this

pper, shld beme imprtt d desirble skill s prt f demi

triig d shld fs givig redit t ther vies wherever

eessry.

Filly, the stdy ls tribtes t r derstdig f iterdisrsivity

i gere thery, espeilly i the text f prfessil disrse, whih

frttely is e f the less explred res f gere thery.

[Paper received 05 July 2012][Revised paper accepted 16 December 2012]

Rfrncs


Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146 141

Aronson, M., D. Spetner & C. Ames (2007). The

Public Relations Writers Handbook, San

Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Bakhtin, M.M. (1991). The Dialogic Imagination:

Four Essays. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Bhatia, V.K. (1993). Analysing Genre: Language

Use in Professional Settings. London: Longman.

Bhatia, V.K. (2004). Worlds of Written Discourse: A

Genre-Based View. London: Continuum.

Bhatia, V.K. (2008). Towards critical genre

analysis in V.K. Bhatia, J. Flowerdew & R. Jones

(eds.), Advances in Discourse Studies, 166-177.

New York: Routledge.

Bhatia, V.K. (2010). Interdiscursivity in

professional communication. Discourse and

Communication 21: 32-50.

Bhatia, V.K. (2012). Critical reflections on genre

analysis. Ibrica, 24: 17-28.

Bremner, S. (2006). The Construction of

Workplace Writing: Texts, Contexts and Interaction

in an Academic Administration. Unpublished PhD

dissertation, City University of Hong Kong. URL:

http://lbms03.cityu.edu.hk/theses/abt/phd-en-

b2107091xa.pdf [01/02/13]

Bremner, S. (2010). Collaborative writing:

Bridging the gap between the textbook and the

workplace. English for Specific Purposes 29: 121-

132.

Colen, K. & R. Petelin (2004). Challenges in

collaborative writing in the contemporary

corporation. Corporate Communications 9: 136-

145.

Ede, L. & A. Lunsford (1985). Let them write

together. English Quarterly18: 119-27.

Ede, L. & A. Lunsford (1990). Singular Texts/Plural

Authors: Perspectives on Collaborative Writing.

Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.

Faigley, L. & T.P. Miller (1982). What we can learn

from writing on the job. College English 44: 557-

569.

Fairclough, N. (1995). Critical Discourse Analysis:

The Critical Study of Language. New York:

Longman.

Freedman, A. & C. Adam (1996). Learning to writeprofessionally situated learning and the transition

from University to professional discourse. Journal

of Business and Technical Communication 10:

395-427.

Foucault, M. (1972). The Archaeology of

Knowledge. New York: Pantheon Books.

Geertz, C. (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures.

New York: Basic Books.

Glaser, B.G. & A.L. Strauss (1967). The Discovery

of Grounded Theory: Strategies of Qualitative

Research. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.


16/20

Vijay K. Bhaia hs reserh iterests i gere lysis f demi d

prfessil disrses i legl, bsiess, ewspper, dvertisig texts.

He hs widely pblished i ll these res s reserh rtiles, bks hpters,

edited vlmes, d idividlly writte bks. Tw f his bks analysing

Genre: Language Use in Professional Settings (Lgm, 1993) d Worlds of

Written Discourse: A Genre-based View(ctim, 2004), re widely sed by

reserhers i gere thery d prtie. Sme f his reet reserh

prjets ildeAnalyzing Genre-bending in Corporate Disclosure Documents, dInternational Arbitration Practice: A Discourse Analytical Study. i whih he leds

reserh tems frm mre th 20 tries.

Rdny H. Jns is assite Prfessr f Eglish t city uiversity f

Hg Kg. His reserh iterests ilde medited d mltimdl

disrse lysis, iterltrl mmiti, d helth

mmiti. He is -thr (with R d Sze Sll) f

Intercultural Communication: A discourse approach, 3rd editi (Wiley, 2011), -

thr (with christph Hfer) f Understanding Digital Literacies: A practicalintroduction(Rtledge, 2012), d thr f Discourse Analysis: a resource book

for students (Rtledge, 2012) d Health and Risk Communication: An applied

linguistic perspective(Rtledge, 2013).

Sphn Brmnrwrks i the Deprtmet f Eglish t city uiversity

f Hg Kg, where he tehes rses reltig t prfessil

mmiti. His mi reserh iterest is wrkple writig, i prtilr

the presses srrdig the strti f texts, d the wys i whih

stdets mke the trsiti frm the demy t the wrkple.


Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146142

Jones, R.H., V.K. Bhatia, S. Bremner & A. Peirson-

Smith, (2012). Creative collaboration in the Public

Relations industry in R.H. Jones (ed.), Discourse

and Creativity, 148-172. Harlow: Pearson

Education.

Kristeva, J. (1980). Word, dialogue and novel in

J. Kristeva (ed.), Desire in Language, 64-91.Oxford: Blackwell.

Lave J., & E. Wenger. (1991). Situated Learning-

Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

Reddi, V.V.N. (2009). Effective Public Relations

and Media Strategy, New Delhi: PHI Learning Pvt.

Scollon, R. (2001). Mediated Discourse: The

Nexus of Practice. London: Routledge.

Smart, G. (1998a). Mapping conceptual worlds:

Using interpretive ethnography to explore

knowledge-making in a professional community.

The Journal of Business Communication 35: 111-

127.

Smart, G. (1998b). Knowledge-making in a Central

Bank: The Interplay of Writing and EconomicModeling. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. McGill

University, Montreal. URL: http://wac.colostate.

edu/books/selves_societies/smart/ [01/02/13]

Smart, G. (2006). Writing the Economy: Activity

Genre and Technology in the World of Banking

London: Equinox.

Swales, J.M. (1990). Genre Analysis: English in

Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.


17/20

Ann Pirsn-Smih, PhD is assistt Prfessr i the Deprtmet f

Eglish, city uiversity f Hg Kg. She tehes d reserhes fshi

ltre d mmiti, pplr ltre, pbli reltis, dvertisig d

brdig d hs pblished vris rtiles i these res. She hs ls

reetly -thred bk, Public Relations in Asia Pacific: CommunicatingBeyond Cultures(Wiley, 2009).

NoteS

1 The pper drws extesively the wrk de der RGc, HKSaR fded GRE prjet (n.

9041281), led by Dr. Rdey H. Jes, d etitled Collaborative writing in the Creative Communication

Industries: Professional and Pedagogical Perspectives.

2The demi text is the Ba degree i Eglish fr Prfessil cmmiti t the city

uiversity f Hg Kg d my f the stdets fter mpletig their degree re emplyed i thePR idstry i Hg Kg. o this prgrmme, the stdets re reqired t d tw-semester

tthmet t tside mpies wrkig their prjets, whih fte ivlve prfessil

mmiti wrk, my f them i the PR idstry.

3all the pereptis f PR exetives vrisly qted i this stdy hve bee ymised t prtet the

idetities f vris firms d their emplyees.


Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146 143


18/20

Appndix 1: Ns frm h scnd brainsrming

ming.


Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146144


19/20

Appndix 2: Ns frm subsqun drafs.


Ibrica 25 (2013): 127-146 145


20/20

Appndix 3: Final x using h sandard mpla.


Colaboracion interdiscursiva

Documents

Transcript of Colaboracion interdiscursiva