Chapter 6 Language in Action

Language in Action Beyond language to speech Beyond language to speech – Language in context… – Ethnography of Communication… – Communicating across cultures….

Language in Context Context = cultural and social situation Context = cultural and social situation How does context affect language? How does context affect language? – Malinowski ( ) Translation requires knowledge of context Translation requires knowledge of context Context can shift meanings Context can shift meanings – Recognizing indirection: Asking for a ride Asking for a ride Saying yes, saying no. Saying yes, saying no.

Communicative Competence Ability to speak a language “well” Ability to speak a language “well” – Ability to use your language “correctly” – In a variety of social situations Compare with Linguistic Competence Compare with Linguistic Competence – Ability to produce (and recognize) grammatically correct expressions Chomsky’s “ideal speaker” Chomsky’s “ideal speaker” – Not distracted by environment.

Some Environmental “Distractions” When ‘bad’ means ‘good’ When ‘bad’ means ‘good’ When two positives make a negative When two positives make a negative Greetings and address terms Greetings and address terms – Ty and vy, du and Sie – ‘Hello’ / ‘Hi’ / ‘Sup!’ How do you learn these “rules?” How do you learn these “rules?” – Ethnography of Speaking….

Speech Communities Linguistic Communities A speech community is A speech community is – A group of people who share One or more varieties of language One or more varieties of language And the rules for using them in interaction And the rules for using them in interaction A linguistic community is A linguistic community is – A group of people who share A single language variety A single language variety And who identify with that language variety And who identify with that language variety A community of practice is ???. A community of practice is ???.

Rules in Speech/Linguistic Communities Are a part of the community’s culture Are a part of the community’s culture Are different in different communities Are different in different communities Can be learned/studied in the field. Can be learned/studied in the field.

Ethnography of Speaking Developed in 1960s by Dell Hymes Focus on language in total cultural context Focus on language in total cultural context – How people use language in real situations – Communicative competence… – Symbolic Capital – S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G… – Speech communities… The importance of fieldwork The importance of fieldwork – What are the rules for speaking? – For not speaking? – How do children learn the rules?

Ethnography of SPEAKING Setting/Situation/Scene Setting/Situation/Scene – Where? Participants Participants – Who are the speakers? – Who can speak? – Who should speak? Ends: Ends: – What are the goals? Bargaining Bargaining Asking for (and giving) directions Asking for (and giving) directions Report-talk vs rapport-talk. Report-talk vs rapport-talk.

Ethnography of SPEAKING Act Sequence Act Sequence – Exactly what gets said? Speech Acts Speech Acts – Promises, commands, apologies Speech Events Speech Events – Exchanging greetings, telling jokes, giving speeches  Status and type or order of greetings Speech Situations Speech Situations – Classrooms, conferences, parties, ceremonies Key Key – Tone of voice, manner of delivery Mourning, joking, irony, teasing. Mourning, joking, irony, teasing.

Ethnography of SPEAKING Instrumentalities Instrumentalities – Languages & dialects Mutual intelligibility Mutual intelligibility Politics and attitudes: languages and their speakers Politics and attitudes: languages and their speakers – Ideas about “Standard” and “Non-standard”  Cousin Joe and the performance of identity through dialect  ‘warsh’ ‘fouath flouah’ ‘pahking the cah’  “ אַ שפראַך איז אַ דיאַלעקט מיט אַן אַרמײ און פֿלאָט "  “A language is a dialect with an army and navy.”

Ethnography of SPEAKING – Registers Situation-specific Situation-specific – Prestigious, formal, scientific, academic, colloquial Politics and attitudes about registers and their use Politics and attitudes about registers and their use – Speech levels in Java – Implicit speech levels in the U.S.  Def vs splendid.

Ethnography of SPEAKING Norms Norms – Expectations Speaking vs silence Speaking vs silence Directness vs indirectness Directness vs indirectness Lying vs politeness Lying vs politeness Taking turns and interrupting Taking turns and interrupting Taboos and avoidances Taboos and avoidances Genres Genres – Kinds of speech acts or events Lectures, Poetry Readings, Joking, Gossip. Lectures, Poetry Readings, Joking, Gossip.

Language Across Cultures Different communities = different rules Different communities = different rules Easy for misunderstandings to occur Easy for misunderstandings to occur Rich Points Rich Points – Moments of misunderstanding Corn pudding Corn pudding Interviewing for a job Interviewing for a job Asking for a ride Asking for a ride – Signal differences in rules Ways to say ‘no’ Ways to say ‘no’ Ways to take turns Ways to take turns Indirectness. Indirectness.

Cross Cultural Repairs Michael Agar’s ‘MAR’ Michael Agar’s ‘MAR’ – Recognize/acknowledge ‘Mistake’ in using rules Can also think of ‘Mistake’ as ‘Miscue’ Can also think of ‘Mistake’ as ‘Miscue’ – Develop Awareness of different rules Ethnography of Communication as a method Ethnography of Communication as a method – Repair understanding of rules Finding appropriate ways to say ‘no’ Finding appropriate ways to say ‘no’ Learning to take turns without ‘interrupting’ Learning to take turns without ‘interrupting’ ‘Hearing’ and responding to a request for a ride ‘Hearing’ and responding to a request for a ride