Chaper 32 – Speech Codes Theory – Flashcards

Dell Hymes (1962): How is it that culture and language are intertwined -If we look very closely at the way people talk, we will understand something about the way they live. ex: Gerry Philipsen "Teamsterville"

a historically transmitted, socially constructed system of terms and meanings, premises and rules, pertaining to communicative conduct

Definition: a generalized statement of belief or value ex: the more connections a man has, the more he is a man.

Definition: prescription (what you should do) or proscription (what you should not do), for how to act, under specified circumstances, which has some degree of force in a particular social group. ex: Men should respond physically to misbehavior of children because they are in an asymmetrical relationship. (Philipsen became seen as a saint to the children b/c he was "above" hitting children

Wherever there is a distinctive culture, there is to be found a distinctive speech code.

In any given speech community, multiple speech codes are deployed Speech community: a group sharing the rules for the use and interpretation of at least one linguistic variety. example: many diff ways of using english as a language (Coutu speaks diff when shes in Boston vs when shes in Seattle)

A speech code involves a culturally distinct psychology, sociology and rhetoric psychology: who are people? What is the nature of individuals? sociology: What is society? Rhetoric: How are people and society linked through communication?

The significance of speaking depends on the speech codes used by speakers and listeners to create and interpret their communication

The terms, premises and the rules of a speech code are inextricably woven into speaking itself. A. social drama B. Totemizing ritual

The artful use of a shared speech code is a sufficient condition for predicting, explaining, and controlling the form of discourse about the intelligibility, prudence, and morality of communicative conduct *speech codes guide how we talk about talk

a public confrontation in which one party invokes a moral rule to challenge the conduct of another party ex: Gerberding makes racist comment at public university event

a careful performance of a structured sequence of actions that pays homage to a sacred object ex: "communication ritual" 1. initiation 2. acknowledgement 3. negotiation - selves 4. reaffirmation (of who you are in relation to each other) *sacred object: self, ex: wedding, graduation

-Some ppl don't like Philipsen's desire to make generalizations about cultures -this theory does not prioritize power and dynamics, he should analyze them -his goal was to look at a few small communities and try and find generalizations -he will take power and dynamics into consideration IF they become apparent

-Gerry Philipsen -Interpretive -Socio-cultural tradition