Global English: Class 10 Communicative Competence: Part Two

Global English
Class 10
Communicative competence: Part Two
1
Communicative competence
Misunderstanding due to different

communicative competence rules (intra -
and inter-culturally)
e.g., reactions to offers:

• English ‘thank you’ = yes, thank you
• French ‘merci’ = no, thank you

• Polish ‘dziekuje’ = no, thank you
2
Misunderstanding due to the use of different

styles:
Conversational style differences
e.g. - get down to business
- use ‘small talk’ and then get down to
business
- cultural and individual differences
with respect to inviting people to drink and eat
- differences within English (how many

times do you offer something?)
3
When an offer is rejected, do you say “are you

sure?”, “you don’t want anything?”
Invitations to visit: how many times does an

invitation need to be rejected not to be
extended again?
Getting a letter from an old aunt complaining

about health; how do you react?
4
Patterns of complimenting
Compliment: «You’ve got a nice sweater»
Response: Thank you.
Oh, it’s an old rag.
Oh, I am glad you like it,
but it’s an old rag.
Do you really like it?
etc……
5
The further apart (culturally) the interlocutors

are the bigger the danger of misinterpretation
(misunderstanding); but that danger exists also
within close networks, small communities (e.g.
families, work groups, groups of friends)
e.g. at dinner table, the person sitting next to

you asks you many questions about yourself;
is it ‘concern’ or ‘inquisitiveness’?
6
When is interest interrogation? When is

concern inquisitiveness?
Asking no questions = lack of concern,

timidity, non-imposition (?)
7
Remembering other people’s (and their

children’s) names and personal details:
when is it an expression of genuine concern?
when is it a skill allowing manipulation?
when is it neither of the two?
8
Praising other people; praising A in the

presence of C
Does it mean that C is not so good as A?
9
Fuzzy cases
10
The likelihood of
misinterpretation/misunderstanding in
writing, in face to face conversation, in
non face to face conversation (e.g. in
telephone conversation)
11
BEWARE of ambiguity while

communicating on the Internet!
NOTE: When something significant is at

stake writing may not be sufficient;
people then want to talk over the phone,
or, preferably, face to face. Why is this?
12
Our ways of understanding and

communicating seem self-evident to us.
13
We usually don’t know that there has

been a misunderstanding
Misunderstanding is normal, not

something special.
14
Nonverbal behavior rules
15
Kinesics
16
Face behavior
17
Gaze
18
Proxemics
19
Haptics
20
Posture:
Socio-petal orientation
Socio-fugal orientation
21
Silence
22
Asian speakers (following Confucius): ‘Those

who know do not speak. Those who speak do
not know’.
Western speakers: ‘Those who know speak

out’. Western cultures celebrate talk. In spite of
the proverb ‘Silence is golden’, silence is
regarded negatively in most interactive
situations. Talk is powerful. Even brief pauses
can be interpreted as rejection when they
occur in a response position.
23
When in doubt Westerners tend to resort

to ‘small talk’, rather than staying silent.
Western speakers sometimes interpret

Chinese silence as a lack of ideas, and
Chinese speakers sometimes consider
Western participants’ interruptions as not
allowing others to express their ideas.
24
Organizing physical space

Westerners tend to opt for individual offices or cubicles, and often
mark their space with items that show individual ownership: a
telephone, a personal computer, photographs of the family. In
contrast, the Japanese choose common offices, with everyone
from the same section sitting in the same large room.
25
Violating sociolinguistic (both verbal and

nonverbal) rules shows how important
they are.
26
Conversational maxims
The maxim of quality
The maxim of quantity
The maxim of relevance (cf. the function
of background knowledge)
The maxim of manner
27
The relative openness of sociolinguistic rules vs. the relative rigidity of

grammatical rules
Grammar - Standard English: Where are you going now?
Discourse - Standard English: Could you close the door

please?
Do you think you could close
the door?
Would it be ok if we closed the
door?
Do you mind closing the door?
How about if you closed the
door?
etc……
28
The awareness of how conversation

works and the ability to manipulate other
people (e.g. the use of a name; the use
of the first name vs. second name)
29
Sociolinguistic rules and «real life problems»
30
People believe that problems may be

solved by talking about things, but if
people don’t share meanings of words
and conversational styles, talking makes
things worse! We then tend to think that
there is something wrong with our
relationship. Then you tend to blame the
other party, not the process of
communication (language) or yourself.
31
The most important points to remember:
1. Verbal and non-verbal (sociolinguistic) behavior is

rule-governed.
2. Our communicative competence allows us to use
the sociolinguistic rules as (more or less) expected
in a given speech community.
3. There is significant intra-cultural and inter-cultural
misunderstanding (miscommunication) due to the
differences in expected sociolinguistic behavior.
4. We should be very careful about not jumping to
conclusions about others in terms of evaluations like
‘dominating’, ’manipulative’, impolite’.
32
END OF PRESENTATION
33

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Global English

Misunderstanding due to different

e.g., reactions to offers:

• French ‘merci’ = no, thank you

Misunderstanding due to the use of different

- differences within English (how many

When an offer is rejected, do you say “are you

Invitations to visit: how many times does an

Getting a letter from an old aunt complaining

The further apart (culturally) the interlocutors

e.g. at dinner table, the person sitting next to

When is interest interrogation? When is

Asking no questions = lack of concern,

Remembering other people’s (and their

when is it an expression of genuine concern?

when is it a skill allowing manipulation?

when is it neither of the two?

Praising other people; praising A in the

Does it mean that C is not so good as A?

BEWARE of ambiguity while

NOTE: When something significant is at

Our ways of understanding and

We usually don’t know that there has

Misunderstanding is normal, not

Nonverbal behavior rules

Asian speakers (following Confucius): ‘Those

Western speakers: ‘Those who know speak

When in doubt Westerners tend to resort

Western speakers sometimes interpret

Organizing physical space

Violating sociolinguistic (both verbal and

The relative openness of sociolinguistic rules vs. the relative rigidity of

Grammar - Standard English: Where are you going now?

Discourse - Standard English: Could you close the door

The awareness of how conversation

Sociolinguistic rules and «real life problems»

People believe that problems may be

The most important points to remember:

1. Verbal and non-verbal (sociolinguistic) behavior is

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