Getting along well at work involves a variety of sociolinguistic and pragmatic skills. Drawing on a database of over 300 interactions collected in a range of New Zealand professional workplaces, this article identifies some potentially problematic areas for those who are expected to communicate in English at work, although English is not their first language. The discussion focuses in particular on the topics, distribution and functions of small talk and social talk in the workplace.
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Janet Holmes (2000) studied this question.
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