Chapter 6 Language in Action

linguistic competence

(1965, theoretical linguist Noam Chomsky) term used to describe a speaker's underlying ability to produce (and recognize) grammatically correct expressions. knowing how to form grammatically correct sentences

communicative competence

(1966, linguistic anthropologist Dell Hymes) term used in order to develop a more inclusive way to think about and describe the way people use language in real situations. knowing how to get the floor and speak appropriately in real situations, so that people will listen to your words contemporary research often focuses on the details of actual conversations or on issues of how symbolic capital is deployed in discourse in order to analyze how language communicates gender, ethnicity, and power in subtle ways. ability to produce (and recognize) grammatically correct expressions Chomsky's ideal speaker no distract by environment

symbolic capital

(1991, French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu) think of communicative competence as a kind of symbolic capital.

ethnography of speaking

(Hymes, 1960s) designed to be an ethnography that focused on describing and analyzing the ways that people use language in real situations. also called ethnography of communication framework focuses attention on eight key aspects of language in context focus on language in total cultural context how people use language in real situations communicative competence S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G speech communities

The P of Dell Hymes' S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G mnemonic refers to: Selected Answer: Correctd. participants.

A "rich point" is a phrase that refers to moments when things flow harmoniously and mutual understanding is close to perfect in a speech situation. Selected Answer: Correct False

Bronislaw Malinowski was an anthropologist who wrote about the importance of attending to ______________ in the study of language. Selected Answer: Correctb. context

An approach whose goal is the discovery of those rules that help to legitimate particular conversational practices, as well as the ideas or ideologies that people have about languages and conversations, is called: Selected Answer: Correctd. discourse analysis (DA).

Bronislaw Malinowski was an anthropologist who described the contexts of language use in early part of the twentieth century.

Building on the work of Malinowski and other, dell Hymes took the lead in the 1960s in developing a framework for describing language in social and cultural contexts.

A speaker's underlying ability to produce and recognize grammatically correct expressions is called: Selected Answer: Correcta. linguistic competence.

Correct Michael Agar's acronym MAR stands for: Selected Answer: Correctb. Mistake, Awareness, and Repair.

According to Deborah Tannen's research, when females overlap their speech with males, uttering words of agreement and support and anticipating how sentences are likely to end, the males often feel as though they have been interrupted, rather than supported or agreed with. Selected Answer: Correct True

Correct The G of Dell Hymes' S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G mnemonic refers to the kind of speech act or event taking place (such as lecture, conversation, joke, etc.). This is called the genre. Selected Answer: Correct True

importance of fieldwork what are the rules for speaking? for not speaking? how do children learn the rules?

Different communities = different rules easy for misunderstanding to occur

The K of Dell Hymes' S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G mnemonic refers to the mood or spirit in which communication takes place. This is called the: Selected Answer: Correcta. key.

In the 1960s, American linguistic anthropologist Dell Hymes began to develop a fieldwork methodology for studying language in its social and cultural contexts. This methodology was called: Selected Answer: Correcta. the ethnography of speaking.

A group of people who share one or more varieties of language and the rules for using any or all of those varieties in everyday communication is called a: Selected Answer: Correctb. speech community.

Indirection, as a speech style, is limited to making requests. Selected Answer: Correct False

The S of Dell Hymes' S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G mnemonic refers to: Selected Answer: Correctb. setting/situation

Just as economic capital can buy you items like textbooks and clothing, symbolic capital can "buy" you: Selected Answer: Correcte. position and power in social and cultural contexts and the right to be listened to in a conversation only

Ability to speak a language "well" ability to use your language "correctly" in a variety of social situations

Some environmental "distractions" When 'bad' means 'good' when two positives make a negative greetings and address terms ty and vy, du and sie hello/hi/"sup!" How do you learn these "rules"? ethnography of speaking

The I of Dell Hymes' S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G mnemonic refers to the channels that are used (speaking, writing, signing, etc.) as well as the varieties of language that speakers use (language, dialect, register, etc.). These are called the: Selected Answer: Correctc. instrumentalities.

Stereotypes about men and women can affect the ways that men and women are heard in conversations. Selected Answer: Correct True

When Good Tracks' cousin wanted a ride he put on his coat and said he was going downtown. This is an example of what kind of conversational style? Selected Answer: Correctc. noninterfering

The A of Dell Hymes' S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G mnemonic refers to: Selected Answer: Correctd. act sequence.

The way to "get" symbolic capital is to demonstrate: Selected Answer: Correctc. communicative competence

The acronym, S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G, proposed by Dell Hymes, was developed to assist in the: Selected Answer: Correctc. ethnography of speaking.

Someone who demonstrates communicative competence can also lay claim to having accumulated: Selected Answer: Correctc. symbolic capital.

The close study of actual conversational exchanges is called: Selected Answer: Correcte. conversation analysis (CA).

The N of Dell Hymes' S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G mnemonic refers to the expectations that speakers have about appropriateness of speech use. These are called the: Selected Answer: Correctd. norms.

The idea that situations affect the meanings of words is an important one in linguistic anthropology. Selected Answer: Correct True

The ability to speak a language well in a variety of social situations is called: Selected Answer: Correctc. communicative competence.

The phrase "A language is more than its dictionary and grammar" means that: Selected Answer: Correcta. social and cultural contexts affect the way language is used.

A group of people who share a single language variety and focus their identity around that language is called a: Selected Answer: Correcta. linguistic community.

The rules in a speech community: Selected Answer: Incorrectd. none of these Answers: Correcta. can be learned in the field.

Correct Michael Agar's acronym MAR stands for: Selected Answer: Correctb. Mistake, Awareness, and Repair.

When people who are identified as culturally different have different conversational styles, their ways of speaking can become the basis for negative stereotyping. Selected Answer: Correct True

S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G

an acronym to guide research setting, participants, ends, act, sequences, keys, instrumentalities, norms, genres Hymes proposed the mnemonic S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G to sum up the range of elements that a researcher should attend to in developing a complete description of language use in a community.

instrumentalities

channels that are used (speaking, signing, signaling with flags, etc.) as well as the varieties of language that speakers use (language, dialect, register, etc.) languages and dialects mutual intelligibility politics and attitudes: languages and their speakers ideas about "standard" and "non-standard" cousin joe and the performance of identity thru dialect 'warsh' 'fouath flouah' 'pahking the cah' " A language is a dialect with an army and navy" registers situation -specific prestigious, formal, scientific, academic, colloquial politics and attitudes about registers and their use speech levels in Java implicit speech levels in the US epic vs. splendid

context

cultural and social situation--in which the words are being used in order to understand what is being said. How does context affect language? Malinowski (1884 - 1942) Translation requires knowledge of context Context can shift meanings Recognizing indirection: asking for a ride Ukrainian no

speech acts

describe the specific utterances that people make.

rich point

describes the kind of moment in which things "go wrong" in a speech situation moments f misunderstanding: corn pudding, interviewing for a job, asking for a ride signal differences in rules: ways to say 'no', ways to take turns, indirectness

genres

different kinds of speech acts or events. lectures, poetry readings, joking gossip

norms

expectations, and ideologies, that speakers have about appropriateness of speech use. expectations speaking vs silence directness vs. indirectness lying vs. politeness taking turns and interrupting taboos and avoidances

community of practice

group of individuals who interact regularly, developing unique ways of doing things together (lave and Wenger 1991)

Linguistic community

group of people who share a single language variety, and the rules for using it in everyday communication, and who focus their identity around that language.

speech community

group of people who share one or more varieties of language and the rules for using any or all of those varieties in everyday communication.

indirection

making a request without directly asking

dialects

mutually intelligible varieties of that language

M-A-R

process of analyzing rich points. Mistake, awareness, repair Michael Agar's

repair

refers to developing new sets of expectations or new linguistic ideologies to use in communicating. repair understanding of rules: finding appropriate ways to say 'no', learning to take turns without 'interrupting, 'hearing' and responding to a request for a ride

mistake

refers to recognizing that a rich point has occurred. Something has gone wrong and communication has broken down somehow. recognize/acknowledge 'mistake' in using rules (can also thing of 'mistake' as miscue')

awareness

refers to recognizing that different expectations or linguistic ideologies have caused the rich point to occur develop awareness of different rules: ethnography of communication as a method

key

refers to the mood or spirit in which communication takes place. tone of voice, manner of delivery mourning, joking, irony, teasing

Discourse analysis (DA)

somewhat broader than conversation analysis, taking into account almost everything that an ethnography of communication might study

conversation analysis (CA)

takes as its focus the close study of actual conversation exchanges

mutual intelligibility

test to differentiate "language" from "dialect" if two or more ways of speaking are "mutual unintelligible" --in other words, if the speakers can't understand one another--then they are considered to be different languages. if two or more ways of speaking are "mutual intelligible" --in other words, if the speakers can understand one another--then they are considered to be different dialect

Act sequence

the actual sequence of events. exactly what gets said? speech acts promises, commands, apologies speech events exchanging greetings, telling jokes, giving speeches status and type or order of greetings

setting/situation

the place in which the conversation is occuring, in its broadest sense, including the overall psychological feeling of the place. setting/situation/scene where?

ends

the reasons for which the speech event is taking place, or the goals that people have in speaking in a particular situation. what are the goals? bargaining asking for (and giving) directions report-talk vs. rapport-talk

registers

variety of a language that is appropriate in specific situations. examples: formal used in making speeches, informal used in ordinary conversation

participants

who can or should be involved in various speech events or conversations and what is expected of the various individuals. who are the speakers? who can speak? who should speak?