LANGUAGE LEARNING 2

Communicative competence is the knowledge of cultural rules for appropriate

use of language in social interactions. It includes the ability to utilize these rules in

situated speech events, recognizing the intentions of speakers and the needs and

rights of listeners (Bonvillain, 2003: 295).

Last Class

• How is this communicative competence acquired?

• 2. How are children socialised into appropriate linguistic behaviour?

• 3. How linguistic practices are made to seem natural?

Three examples

• White-middle-class, Samoan, Kaluli

• Socialization and enactment of roles

• Learning social rules differ from culture to culture

• Family important factor in socialization of rules

Communicative Styles

• the overall basic normative principles which guide the form and use of languages in different speech communities (linguistic habitus)

Models of language: based on social functions ((M.A. K Halliday (1973)

• Instrumental:

• Regulatory:

• Interactional:

• Personal:

• Heuristic:

• Imaginative:

• Representational

Social functions are universal, methods to achieve them are not.

Acquisition of communicative norms

• Differs from culture to culture

• Japanese: emphasizes empathy

• Language to reinforce social harmony

• Protection of other people’s feelings

• Monitoring one’s speech

Different ways to teach norms (Japan)

• Patricia Clancy, (1986) • Attention to other’s speech

--Adult: “Are you eating something? What is in there?”

Child: (no response)Mother: “I wonder what could be in there. Older

sister is asking ‘what is in there?Child: Pudding’”

Children are taught to respond positively

• Mother: “Do you say ‘No’? You must lend one to Hirochan, saying ‘Help yourself’. The baby is cute, isn’t he?”

Through language socialisation people learn to enact in language the range of social roles available

to them

• 1. A Kaluli person

• 2. A canadian politician

Family and social and linguistic norms

• Provides models for

• Appropriate behaviour

• Social norms

• Gender relations

• Linguistic rules

Linguistic socialisation of Gender roles

• Family instrumental is socialization of gender roles

• Example: Socialization of directive speech acts:

----Direct command: get out of here

----Negative politeness: would you mind leaving, I’ve got a lot of work to finish

Gleason (1987): direct speech acts

Fathers:

--bald imperatives

--directed to boys• Ex: Don’t go in there or I’ll break your head

Mothers:

--used redressive techniques

--spoke more, longer utterances

Anderson (1986): role playing

• Similar results to Gleason’s study

• Father puppets; used more bald imperatives, took longer shorter turns

• Mother puppets: used endearment, baby talk: redressive action, took longer turns

Child: Tell me a story.Father: Mommy will.

Child: No, I want you to…Father: All right. Sit down. “Once upon a time. The end”

Child: Mommy, I’m all done.Mother: OK, sweetie. Now it’s time for your naptime.

Mother: Gotta get the baby tucked into beddy bye. She’s not a sleepy.

(to baby) Go to Sleep, sleep, sleep, darling. Go to sleep.

(Turn to father) Don’t you think it’s time to go to bed? It is midnight…we should go to bed.

Children Awareness of social meanings

• Use of linguistic directives appropriately

--Example: Expressing desire or need

• I need a match

• Give me a match: directed to subordinates or equals

• Could you give me a match? directed to those of higher status than the speaker

Similar results cross culturally

• Platt (1986) in Samoan society

• Properly sue of verb sau “come”

• Awareness of of social meaning embedded in language

• Contrary to imperative aumai “give”

Summary

• Social norms linguistic styles communicative competence

• Language fulfills diverse functions for children

• Acquire communicative norms

• Such as linguistic gender styles

Discussion Question

• Why is it anthropologically important to understand the different ways in which people in various cultures acquire communicative norms?