Language &

Social Interaction

Language used in conversationTwo ways

1. For manipulating relationships2. Achieving particular goals

Rules for conducting and interpreting conversations differ from society to society.

Conversation Structure

Rule of an introduction of a new topicRule of SilencePrinciple of turn-takingRule of interruption Rule of interpretation

Conversations consist of structured sequences of different types of utterances.

Q1: Have you written to Ali yet?A1: No, not yet.Q2: Are you going to write?A2: Yes, eventually.

Q1: Have you seen Amir yet?Q2: Is he back?Q3: Didn’t you know?A3: No, I didn’t.A2: He’s back alright.A1: Well I haven’t seen him.

Summonses are normally followed by answersKhadija, S1: Ayesha!Ayesha,A1: Coming.

However, they do not undergo embeddingKhadija, S1: Ayesha!Ayesha, S2: Khadija!Khadija, A2: Yes?Ayesha, A1 : Coming.

Telephone conversationFollows summons sequence

Conversations, then, are structured, rule governed, non random sequences of utterances.

Coherent conversation-type sequencesA: Are you going on holiday this year?B: I haven’t got any money.

Random sequencesA: Are you going on holiday this year?B: My favourite colour is yellow.

Rule of Interpretation

A: Are you going on holiday today?B: My aunt has just bought a bicycle.

Oops!!!!!Rule of interpretation might be broken.

Mistake regarding sharing of knowledge of the proposition.A: Are you going on holiday this year?B: I haven’t got any money.A: so what?

Ethnography of communication

The study of the rules of language used in social interaction and cross-cultural differences in communicative norms, is often known as the Ethnography of communication.

The 4 conversational Maxims1. Maxim of Quality

a. Do not say what you believe to be false.b. Do not say that for which you lack adequate

evidence.

E.g. If a friend asks, “….have you seen my dog?” an

honest answer is expected.

The 4 conversational Maxims

2. Maxim of Quantitya. Make your contribution as informative as

required.b. Do not make your contribution more

informative than required.

If people don’t say something then we assume that they don’t know that information.

The 4 conversational Maxims

3. Maxim of relationa. Be relevant

E.g. “Isn’t Larry the biggest jerk you ever met?”“Uh, it sure is nice for this time of year, eh?”

The 4 conversational Maxims4. Maxim of manner

a. Avoid obscurity of expressionb. Avoid ambiguityc. Be briefd. Be orderly

E.g.

“Miss Singer produced a series of sounds corresponding closely to the score of The Star-

Spangled Banner” vs.

“Miss Singer sang The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Flouting the Cooperative PrincipleMaxim of quality is mostly deliberately

violated like while lying, exaggerating, joking, using irony or sarcasm.

E.g.I’ve got millions of bottles of coke in my

fridge.My car breaks down every five minutes.Queen Victoria was made of iron.

Flouting the Cooperative PrincipleMaxim of Quantity is flouted when we say

Too much to mark a sense of occasion or respect

Too little to be rude, blunt, or forthright.E.g. A: Excuse me are you busy?B: NoA: Can I have a word with you? It will only

take a few minutes if you could spare them?

Flouting the Cooperative Principle

Maxim of Relevance is flouted to signal embarrassment or a desire to change the subject.

Maxim of manner is violated either for humour, or in order to exclude a third person out of the conversation.

ActivityWhich maxims of the cooperative principle

are being flouted in the following and why?

1. I think I’ll go for a W-A-L-K. (spelling the word letter by letter in front of the dog)

2. -- I can jump higher than the Empire State building.-- Can you?-- Yes, because buildings can’t jump at all.

ActivityWhich maxims of the cooperative principle

are being flouted in the following and why?

3. This meal is delicious. (said by a guest who finds the food disgusting)

4. Child: I’m going to watch Match of the Day now.Parent: What was that Maths homework you said you had?

Basil Bernstein’s classificationTwo Language Varieties

1. ‘Elaborate Code’2. ‘Restricted Code’

The two ‘codes’ are not connected but there is a relationship between the usage of these two ‘codes’ and social class membership.

Contradictions!!!!!!

No implication in any version of Sapir-Whorf hypothesis that one language might produce a world view that is in any way superior to that produced by another.

Final ConclusionLanguage-deficit view incorporates a

considerable element of middle-class bias.Middle-class children can or do use two

different varieties of language, whereas working class children use only one variety

In many contexts some working-class children are less willing or less used to employing a more formal style than are middle-class children.