In this interdisciplinary study, Michael Clyne examines the impact of cultural values on discourse. Through an exploration of the role of verbal communication patterns in successful and unsuccessful communication, he sets out to integrate and develop a framework for a linguistics of inter-cultural communication. He draws on data derived from recordings of spontaneous communication in the Australian workplace among people of vastly differing backgrounds, notably European and Asian, who use English as a lingua franca. This study offers both a pragmatics and a discourse perspective, not simply analyzing data but seeking to extend the theoretical model.