5.3 Distribution of Various Identities in Advising...
The identities constructed by expert advice-givers are distributed at the different points in an advising sequence. Some identities are constructed in the pre-sequence, some are in the post-sequence and some others are during the sequence of advising performance.
The teacher identity is found in all three sequences, whereas the identities of a novice researcher and a layperson are only displayed in the pre-sequnce and the identities of a modest and amiable expert and a virtual advice-receiver are only displayed in the sequence of advising performance.The identity of a knowledgeable expert is constructed in both the pre-sequence and the post-sequence, while the identities of a collegial researcher and an authoritative expert are constructed in both the pre-sequence and the sequence of advising performance. The distribution of these identities can be summarized in Table 5.1.
One identity can be constructed in the different sequences of an advising,but with different frequencies. In general, most types of identities are constructed in the pre-sequence of an advising and the sequence of advising performance. This is prompted by the face threatening nature of advising acts.It is more natural to provide a basis to carry out this face threatening activity.The identities which can be constructed in the pre-sequence thus serve as a basis for giving a piece of advice in the following sequence. For example, the teacher identity which can be constructed in the pre-sequence of an advising sequence is constructed to draw the advice-receivers’ attention to the problem in their proposals, thus providing a basis for advice-givers to offer advice. Similarly, the identity of a collegial identity, the identity of a novice researcher and the identity of a layperson are also constructed in the pre-sequence as a basis for advice-givers to offer advice.
Table 5.1 Distribution of identities in an advising sequence
Note: If “√” is followed by “+”, it means that this identity is constructed with a higher frequency in the sequence than in other sequences it corresponds to.
Fundamentally, the distribution of the identities in an advising sequence is related to their pragmatic functions. For example, the identity of a knowledgeable expert and the identity of an authoritative expert constructed in the pre-sequence can draw the advice-receivers’ attention to what will be suggested by advice-givers. The identity of a virtual advice-receiver and the identity of a collegial researcher constructed in the sequence of advising performance may decrease the imposition of advising on advice-receivers.
Thus, the distribution of the identities in an advising sequence indicates a close relationship between identity construction and advising performance.Yuan (2011a) finds that advising speech acts are only associated with the consultants’ expert identity in medical phone-in programme interaction. In other words, the consultants can construct their expert identity to perform advising acts in interaction. However, this study has found that various identities, including the expert identity, can be constructed in an advising sequence. This is, to some extent, different from Yuan’s (2011a) finding.
This section has presented the distribution of the identities and given a brief introduction of the reason why these identities distributed differently in an advising sequence. Chapter Seven will offer a detailed examination of the relationship between advising and identity construction.