Cultural dynamics of metadiscourse in Chinese mediation: a pragmatic approach to rapport management and conflict resolution

This study explores Chinese mediators’ strategic use of interactional metadiscourse for rapport management in family conflict resolution from a culturally localized pragmatic perspective. Drawing on five resolved family dispute cases from the Chinese television mediation program Baixing Tiaojie, the study integrates quantitative frequency counting of metadiscourse markers and qualitative pragmatic interpretation to unpack core linguistic patterns of Chinese mediation practice. The analysis reveals that Chinese mediators prioritize interactional metadiscourse to foster engagement over stance assertion, emphasizing active listening and participant orientation as central to effective communication and conflict resolution. The study verifies Spencer-Oatey’s Rapport Management Model and extends it by integrating indigenous Chinese cultural constructs centered on composite interests, affective bonds and collective welfare, relational face, legal codes and traditional etiquette norms, which collectively govern dynamic relational regulation throughout mediation procedures. Chinese mediators flexibly enhance, maintain, or readjust ties shaped by these factors to balance cultural norms and resolution goals. Contextualizing mediation discourse within Chinese socio-cultural conventions, this study clarifies how native value systems shape conflict talk and refines the cross-cultural explanatory capacity of rapport management frameworks. The findings highlight the indispensable function of culture-specific linguistic tactics in domestic mediation. Theoretically, the study enriches pragmatic research on conflict discourse by elaborating the linkage between cultural norms and metadiscursive practice. Practically, it delivers targeted references for domestic mediator training and cultural sensitivity cultivation in cross-cultural mediation scenarios.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

This study analyses de-identified discourse excerpts from publicly broadcast TV mediation shows. No original data collection involving direct contact with human participants was undertaken by the authors. As the corpus consists of anonymized pre-released public media content, institutional ethical approval was waived.

Informed consent

This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.