Research involving participants from different cultures, who are engaged in natural communication in a language that is not a first language to any of the speakers, shows that individuals can develop ways to construct common ground and avoid many of the problems inherent in intercultural communication.

In this chapter we report the findings of two research studies (Bowe 1995; Neil 1996) conducted in multicultural workplaces in Australia that show that individuals engaged in intercultural communication can draw on creative discourse strategies to circumvent some aspects of potential miscommunication.

We also briefly discuss the Giles (1977:322) notion of accommodation, and Sharifian's notion of conceptual renegotiation (Sharifian forthcoming); two further perspectives which seek to explain how individuals adapt to the challenges of intercultural communication.

THE ELABORATION OF REPETITION AS A CREATIVE STRATEGY TO HELP AVOID MISCOMMUNICATION

Using similar methodology to that developed by Clyne (1994), Heather Bowe examined discourse between migrant workers in the automotive industry. This study, conducted mainly on the factory floor, used tape-recorded samples of communication between supervisors and operators who were almost all immigrants to Australia. Spoken communication between supervisors and operators typically involves messages concerning health and safety in the factory, productivity, quality control, training and staff organisation, as well as general communication of a more personal nature which functions to maintain rapport. In many cases, supervisors are carrying out tasks originating from production meetings and quality control reports.