UNIT 5

ORAL COMMUNICATION.
ELEMENTS AND RULES.
ROUTINES AND FORMULAIC LANGUAGE.
ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES

0. INTRODUCTION
1. NATURE OF COMMUNICATION
2. LANGUAGE AS COMMUNICATION
3. ORAL COMMUNICATION
3. 1. SPOKEN vs WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
3.1. 1. Supremacy of speech
3.1.2. Writing and speech on the same level
3.1.3. Supremacy of writing
4. ELEMENTS AND RULES GOVERNING ORAL DISCOURSE
4.1. Elements governing oral discourse.
4.1.1. Linguistic elements.
4.1.2. Non-linguistic elements.
4.2. Rules governing oral discourse.
4.2.1. Rules of usage.
4.2.2. Rules of use.
4.2.3. Conversational Studies.
5. ROUTINES AND FORMULAIC SPEECH
6. STRATEGIES IN ORAL COMMUNICATION
7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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0. INTRODUCTION
The aim of this unit is to frame the concept of oral communication as a unique and
distinctive element within human communication. In order to do this we will firstly analyze
the nature of human communication and the use of language as a distinctive tool for human
interaction. Then we will analyze the specific features of the speech as opposed to writing.
Next we will consider the different elements of the oral communication, paying special
attention not only to the linguistic elements of oral discourse , but also to its pragmatic and
social aspects. Finally, the importance of routines and formulaic language will be analyzed as
well as the importance of strategic competence for the effectiveness of communication as a
whole.
This unit has been foregrounded on some of the most relevant and influential scholars,
namely, David Crystal, Linguistics (1985); Erving Goffman, Forms of Talk (1981) and Dell
Hymes, On Communicative Competence (1972).

1. NATURE OF COMMUNICATION
Research in cultural anthropology has shown quite clearly that the origins of communication
are to be found in the very early stages of life when there was a need for animals and
humans to communicate so as to carry out basic activities of everyday life, such as hunting,
eating, or breeding among others. However, even the most primitive cultures had a constant
need to express their feelings and ideas by other means than gutural sounds and body
movements as animals did. Human beings constant preoccupation was how to turn thoughts
into words.
From a theory of language, we shall define the notion of communication in terms of its main
features regarding the oral component, thus types and elements. First, in relation to types of
communication, we distinguish mainly two, thus verbal and non-verbal codes. Firstly, verbal
communication is related to those acts in which the code is the language , both oral and
written.
Thus, giving that speech and writing a letter are both instances of verbal communication.
Secondly, when dealing with non-verbal devices, we refer to communicative uses involving
visual and tactile modes, such as kinesics, body movements, and also paralinguistic devices
drawn from sounds (whistling), sight (morse) or touch (Braille).
Thirdly, regarding elements in the communication process, we will follow the Russian
linguist Roman Jakobson and his productive model on language theory which explains how
all acts of communication, be they written or oral, are based on six constituent elements
(1960).

Briefly, according to Jakobson, the Addresser/encoder (speaker) sends a Message (oral

utterance) to the Addressee/ decoder (listener). Messages are embedded in or refer to
Contexts which the Addressee must be able to grasp and perhaps even verbalize. The
Addresser and Addressee need to partially share a Code (language as verbal, and symbols as
non-verbal devices) between them, that is, the rules governing the relationship between the
Message and its context; and the Message is sent through a physical channel (air) and
Contact, a psychological connection, is established between Addresser and Addressee so
that they may enter and stay in communication (1960).

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Context
Cont act
Sender Re ce ive r
Me ssage

Code

Among all the communication codes which are used by human beings, music, kinesics, sign-
language, etc- written and spoken language is the most efficient for the transmission and
reception of information, thoughts , feelings, experience and opinions. In addition, thess
linguistic codes are the ones that best define human communication, since most of the
messages we send and receive are expressed through such codes, the majority of them
orally.

2. LANGUAGE AS COMMUNICATION
The word language has prompted many definitions.
For example; Sapir said that "language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of
communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols ".
Hall (1964) defined language as "the institution whereby humans communicate and
interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory symbols ". This is one
of innumerable definitions of language but the most outstanding definition comes from
Halliday (1973) who defines it as "an instrument of social interaction with a clear
communicative purpose".
In fact, a widely recognized problem with the term "language" is the great range of its
application. However, a useful approach to language, and one used by modern linguists, is to
identify the various properties that are thought to be essential defining characteristics. The
aim is to determine what counts as human language as opposed to some other system of
communication.
The most usual answer to the question of "why we use language" is to communicate our
ideas. But it would be wrong to think of communicating our ideas as the only aim for which
language is used. Several other functions may be identified where the communications of
ideas has a marginal or irrelevant consideration.
One of the most common uses of language, the expressive or emotional one, is a means of
getting rid of our nervous energy when we are under stress, when we are angry, afraid, etc.
We do not try to communicate because we can use language in this way whether we are
alone or not.
Malinowski termed the third use of language we are studying Phatic Communication. He
used it to refer to the social function of language, that is, to signal friendship or lack of
enemity. Also, to maintain a comfortable relationship between people.
The fourth function we may find is based on Phonetic Properties. The persuasive cadences
of political speechmaking, or the chants used by prisoners or soldiers have only one
apparent reason: people take delight in them. They can only be explained by a universal
desire to exploit the sonic potential of language.
The fifth function is the Performative one. A performative is an utterance that performs an
act. This use occurs in the naming of a ship at a launching ceremony, or when a priest
baptises a child.
We can also find other functions such as:
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- recording facts
- instrument of thought
- expression of regional, social, educational, sexual or occupational identity.

3. ORAL COMMUNICATION
Semiotics is the study of different symbols and signs as means of communication. It is
essential to look into oral communication within the wider perspective of the different signs,
symbols and modes of communication human beings use. Although oral communication is
primary and distinctive to all human beings, especially in the use of the verbal code and its
realization in speech and writing, we must be aware that there are other means whereby
human beings communicate.
We shall therefore attempt to undercome the study of oral communication bearing in mind
that communication among human beings is mainly realized by means of the verbal code
(Language) through oral auditory signs. The use of oral auditory channel is primary in human
beings although there are other channels or modes of communication such as the visual
(writing). However, the use of the aural-auditory mode and of the vocal tract is primary in
human beings. Nevertheless, this use of language through the oral tract (speech) as we shall
see, will be aided by other modes or channels mainly through the use of the so called non-
verbal communication- body language-.
Oral communication can therefore be defined as a two way process in which both speaker
and hearer must be present in the same situational context, unless we talk about special
cases of oral communication such as telephone conversations. We are therefore talking
about an interactive situation directly related and dependent on the communicative
function and the speech situation involving speaker and hearer.
In a communicative event both speaker and hearer perform highly complex processes. They
must encode and decode messages under time pressure always bearing in mind their
purposes for interaction.
Oral communication is typified as an activity involving two (or more) people in which the
participants are both hearers and speakers having to react to what they hear and making
their contributions at high speed. Each participant has an intention.....(....) Each participant
has to be able to interpret what is said to him, (...) and reply with what langaugage he has at
his disposal in a way that takes account of wat has just been said and which reflects his own
intentions, at this point in the interaction.
R. Scott (Johnson, K et al 1981:70)
The complexity of the process results in syntactic alterations , the need for tags to negotiate
meaning as well as a misuse of links and the use of time fillers such as "er" or "um" to hold
the channel. The oral message unlike the written language where the sentences are carefully
structured and linked together, is often characterized by incomplete and sometimes
ungrammatical utterances, and by frequent repetitions and overlappings.
The apparently chaotic oral message would be difficult to interpret as M. Geddes (Johnson, K et
al 1981:70) points out, without the help of the prosodic features such as stress, rhythm ,
intonation, pitch etc. which as we shall see are essential aspects of oral communication.

3. 1. SPOKEN vs. WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

Now let's study the main differences between writing and speech. The most obvious is the
contrast in physical form. Speech uses phonic substance typically in the form of air-pressure
movements, whereas writing uses graphic substance, typically in the form of marks on a
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surface. As writing can only occasionally be thought of as an interaction, we can establish
the following points of contrast:
1) The permanence of writing allows repeated reading and close analysis. The
spontaneity and rapidity of speech minimizes the chance of complex pre-planning,
and promotes features that assist speakers to think standing up.
2) The participants in written interaction cannot usually see each other, so they
cannot make clear what they mean. However, in speech interactions feedback is
possible.
3) The majority of graphic features presents a system of contrasts that has no speech
equivalent. Many genres of written language, such as tables, graphs and complex
formulae, cannot be conveyed by reading aloud.
4) Some contractions may only be found in writing, others only occur in speech, such
as in slang and swear words.
5) Finally we can say that writing tends to be more formal and so it is more likely to
provide the standard that society values. Its performance provides it with a special
status.
Despite these differences, the written and spoken language have mutually interacted in
many respects. We normally use the written language in order to improve our command of
vocabulary, active or passive, spoken or written. Loan words may come into a country in a
written form, and sometimes everything we know about a language is from its written form
eg: Latin.
It is true that writing has derived from speech in an historical sense, but nowadays their
independence is mutual.

3.1. 1. Supremacy of speech

Speech was traditionally the original object of linguistic, while writing was only considered a
means of representing the primary form, based on sounds which were the first
manifestation of human communication. This consideration derives mainly from the studies
of Ferdinand de Saussure, who did not consider writing worthy of synchronic study, because
it had not independent life, its only function was to represent the system of sounds which
form a language.
Saussure distinguishes three different kinds of linguistic objects: the language system (La
langue), speech (la parole) and writing. The real object of study for him was the abstract
system of signs which find their expression in the actual examples of speech used by people
(la parole). But neither speech nor writing can be the object of linguistic study because
speech is transient, unpredictable and completely context dependant, while writing is not
really part of the language, but a means of making manifest the sound system.
On the same line as Saussure is Leonard Bloomfield, who regarded writing simply as a
means of recording language, presenting it as a sound recording mechanism in a
straightforward, mechanical process; he states that writing is like a 'phonograph' or a 'radio'.
His arguments for the primacy of speech are that it precedes writing chronologically in both
the history of people and a person; that there are indeed non-literate language
communities; that it is an arbitrary representation of a language; that deciphering written
records is impossible without previous knowledge of language; that written forms hinder,
rather than help our understanding of actual speech, and that alphabetic writing is a poor
guide to the underlying phonemes.

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For Noam Chomsky, the most influential linguist since Bloomfield, the question of the
nature of the relation between speech and writing is mainly irrelevant. Chomsky considers
writing more in the context of memory processing limitations, to be used when the sentence
is too complicated and can only be understood with the aid of additional memory (writing);
he even compares it with mathematics in which we use pen and paper to extend our
memory, but our ability or inability to carry out a complex computation is independent of a
person's fundamental knowledge of arithmetic. The abstract entity which is the fundamental
grammar is not causally linked to speech or writing production or perception.

3.1.2. Writing and speech on the same level

In contrast with the linguists who consider writing as only a representation of speech, which
is the genuine expression of Language and the only object of study, some others have given
writing independence from speech; while accepting the existence of an underlying language
system, they didn't enter into such abstract considerations about it and centered more on
the actual use of written and spoken language; for them the nature of written language is a
product of the functions it serves in language use.
Josef Vachek supported the idea that the written form should be at the center of linguistic
study. He thinks that speech and writing have complementary language functions. The
spoken form carries out dynamic functions, and the written static ones and the difference in
function makes it impossible to say the same thing in a different medium, for it would lead
to a merely phonetic transcription, which has nothing to do with writing.
M. A. K. Halliday, in his book Spoken and Written Language, follows this same line. He sees
them both as emanating from the same source, the underlying language system, and he
focuses on their differences in form and function. He considers the development of writing
systems as the product of changes in society, so the functions of writing were not intended
to replace those of speech; speech and writing serve different purposes and this leads to
structural differences. There are also other differences due to their intrinsic nature; he
considers speech as a process and writing as a product, what leads to further divergence
between them.

3.1.3. Supremacy of writing

Brian Stock in The Implications of Literacy suggests that the advent of writing in oral cultures
can break their patterns of behavior, while Linnea C. Ehri suggests that the influence of print
on our language perception is similar to that of calendars and clocks on our perception of
time.
In general, what lies at the back of all these ideas is that writing is the necessary prerequisite
for analytic thought, and that logical thought can only be carried out in literate societies;
but, though this was an important tendency, it seems to have passed in favor of the more
logical idea that the need for literacy is part of the development of a society which puts it
into contact with new experiences and modes of thought.

Today, a compromise exists whereby vocal and visual language are generally considered as
two equal but very different means of communication. However, any study of language
must first consider speech.

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4. ELEMENTS AND RULES GOVERNING ORAL DISCOURSE
This section will be divided into two sections, first, linguistic elements at work and non-
linguistic elements. Secondly, rules of oral discourse focussing on rules of use, rules of usage
and conversational studies as conversation is the prime manifestation and realization of oral
communication.

4.1. ELEMENTS GOVERNING ORAL DISCOURSE.

Elements governing oral discourse are approached in terms of a communicative event,
which is described as a sociocultural unit where linguistic and non-linguistic elements must
be taken into account. Moreover, communicative behavior is not limited to the creation of
oral texts, as in actual communicative situations, verbal communication is aided by
paralinguistics, kinesics and proxemics as we shall see.

4.1.1. Linguistic elements.

Regarding the linguistic level in oral discourse, the phonological system is involved and is
concerned with the analysis of acoustic signals into a sequence of speech sounds, thus
consonants, vowels, and syllables. At this level, we find certain prosodic elements which
provide us with information about the oral interaction. Thus, stress, rhythm and intonation.
Also, routines are to be dealt with, but in a further section (Halliday 1985).
Regarding STRESS, it is present in an oral interaction when we give more emphasis to some
parts of the utterance than to other segments. It is a signalling to make a syllable stand out
with respect to its neighbouring syllables in a word or to the rest of words in a longer
utterance. We may establish a distinction between two types of stress markers, thus
primary stress and secondary stress within the same word. Primary stress is the main marker
within the word and secondary stress is a less important marker.
Foreign language learners must be concerned with the relevant role of primary stress, as a
change of stress within a word may change the whole meaning of it. For instance, a word
like record may change its meaning from verb to noun if a student does not apply the right
primary stress on it. The concept of emphasis is closely related, then, to stress. Emphasis is
essential in an oral exchange of information as it gives the message a non-literal meaning,
providing foreign language students with a choice to highlight the information they may
consider important at the speaking act.
Another important element which characterizes oral interaction is RHYTHM, which is
determined by the succession of prominent and non-prominent syllables in an utterance.
We will observe a quick and monotonous rhythm if prominent and non prominent syllables
take place in short equal units of time, though not easy to find in authentic speech. On the
contrary, rhythm will be inexistent and chaotic if longer and irregular units of time take
place in an utterance or speech act.
Then, we may observe that the term establishes a relationship between accents and pauses,
which, used properly, contribute to keeping attention by allowing voice inflection, change of
intonation and change of meaning. Pauses may be characterized by being predictable or not
with a rhythm group. Thus, they coincide with the boundaries of the rhythm groups by
fitting in naturally, or break them as it happens in spontaneous speech. Predictable pauses
are, then, those required for the speakers to take breath between sentences or to separate
grammatical units, and unpredictable pauses are those brought about by false starts or
hesitation.

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The third prosodic element is INTONATION which is characterized in general terms by the
rising and falling of voice during speech, depending on the type of utterance we may
produce. In case of statements, we will use falling intonation whereas in questions we use
rising intonation. As we will see, intonation and rhythm play an important role when
expressing attitudes and emotions.
As a general rule, speakers use a normal intonation when taking part in an oral interaction,
but depending on the meaning the speakers may convey, they will use a different tone
within the utterance. The tone is responsible for changes of meaning or for expressing
special attitudes in the speaker, such as enthusiasm, sadness, anger, or exasperation. Three
types of intonation are involved in a real situation. Thus, falling and rising tones, upper and
lower range tones, and wide and narrow range of tones. Respectively, they refer first, to
certainty, determination or confidence when we use falling tones in order to be conclusive
whereas indecision, doubt and uncertainty is expressed by means of rising tones to be
inconclusive.
e.g.
I'll do it ^
I'll do it .....if you help me

Secondly, excitement and animation on the part of the speaker is expressed by upper range
tones whereas an unanimated attitude corresponds to lower ranges. Finally, in order to
express emotional attitudes, we use a wide range of tone whereas in order to be unemotive,
we rather use a narrow range tone.

4.1.2. Non-linguistic elements.

As they speak, people often gesture, nod their heads, change their postures and facial
expressions, and redirect the focus of their gaze. Although these behaviors are not linguistic
by a strict definition of that term, their close coordination with the speech they accompany
suggests that they are relevant to an account of language use, and also, can occur apart
from the context of speech, spontaneous or voluntarily.
Conversational speech is often accompanied by gesture, and the relation of these hand
movements to the speech are usually regarded as communicative devices whose function is
to amplify or underscore information conveyed in the accompanying speech. According to
one of the icons of American linguists, Edward Sapir, people respond to gesture with
extreme alertness, in accordance with an elaborate and secret code that is written nowhere,
known to none, and understood by all (Sapir 1921). Gestures are then, to be classified in
different types, such as emblems or symbolic gestures as essentially hand signs with well
established meanings (thumbs-up and V for victory, pointing, denial, and refusing).
In contrast, we may find simple and repetitive rhythmic hand movements coordinated with
sentence prosody, called batons, as using head and shoulders. Also, unplanned gestures that
accompany spontaneous speech, called gesticulations, representational gestures, or lexical
movements, related to semantic content of speech in order to describe things like size,
strength or speed.
Concerning FACIAL EXPRESSION, it deals with an automatic response to an internal state
although they can be controlled voluntarily to a considerable extent, and are used in social
situations to convey a variety of kinds of information (smiling and happiness). Changes in
addressees' facial expressions allows the addressee to express understanding, concern,

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agreement, or confirmation where expressions such as smiles and head nods as considered
as back-channels.
In relation to GAZE DIRECTION, a variety of kinds of significance has been attributed to both
the amount of time participants spend looking at each other, and to the points in the speech
stream at which those glances occur, such as staring, watching, peering or looking among
others. As proximity, body-orientation or touching, gazing may express the communicators'
social distance, by means of looking up to or looking down to.
The primary medium by which language is expressed, speech, also contains a good deal of
information that can be considered non-verbal. A speaker's voice transmits individuating
information concerning his or her age, gender, region of origin, social class, and so on. In
addition to this relatively static information, transient changes in vocal quality provide
information about changes in the speaker's internal state, such as hesitation or interjections.
Changes in a speaker's affective states usually are accompanied by changes in the acoustic
properties of his or her voice (Krauss and Chiu 1993), and listeners seem capable of
interpreting these changes, even when the quality of the speech is badly degraded, or the
language is one the listener does not understand.

4.2. RULES GOVERNING ORAL DISCOURSE.

According to the Ministry of Education, since Spain entered the European Community, there
is a need for learning a foreign language in order to communicate with other European
countries.
Within this context, the Spanish Educational System, within the framework of the
Educational Reform, establishes a common reference framework for the teaching of foreign
languages, and claims for a progressive development of communicative competence in a
specific language.
Educational and professional reasons justify the presence of foreign languages in the
curricula at different educational levels. Students, then, are intended to be able to carry out
several communication tasks with specific communicative goals within specific contexts. In
order to get these goals, several strategies as well as linguistic and discursive skills come
into force in a given context. Therefore, a communicative competence theory accounts for
rules of usage and rules of use in order to get a proficiency level in a foreign language within
the framework of social interaction, personal, professional or educational fields.
Then, rules of usage are concerned with the language users' knowledge of linguistic or
grammatical rules (linguistic or grammatical competence) whereas rules of use are
concerned with the language users' ability to use his knowledge of linguistic rules in order to
achieve effectiveness of communication, that is, discourse, sociolinguistic and strategic
competences. As the main aim for students is to improve their educational and professional
life from a global perspective, rules involve two different implications, thus, the
achievement of communication effectiveness, and their appropriateness in specific social
and cultural contexts.
Summing up we can affirm that knowing a language, this is, having competence in a
language in order to communicate effectively goes beyond the mere knowledge of the
underlying system of rules (traditionally known as grammar) but also implies the knowledge
of certain rules of use that would allow the speakers to communicate effectively in actual
communication in different contexts.

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 4.2.1. Rules of usage.
As we have previously seen, language is the principal vehicle for the transmission of cultural
knowledge, and the primary means by which we gain access to the contents of others'
minds. It is also considered as the ability to speak and be understood by others. This involves
an ability to produce and therefore, understand the same sounds produced by others. The
ways languages are used are constrained by the way they are constructed, particularly the
linguistic rules that govern the permissible usage forms, for instance, grammatical rules.
Language is defined as an abstract set of principles that specify the relations between a
sequence of sounds and a sequence of meanings, and is analysed in terms of four levels of
organization. Thus, the phonological, the morphological, the syntactic, and the semantic
levels which, taken together, constitute its grammar.
Firstly, the phonological system is concerned with the phonological knowledge a speaker
has in order to produce sounds which form meaningful sentences. For instance, an analysis
of an acoustic signal into a sequence of speech sounds, thus consonants, vowels, and
syllables, will allow the speaker to distinguish plural, past, and adverb endings, as well as to
recognize foreign accents that are distinctive for a particular language or dialect or produce
voiced or voiceless stops, fricatives or plosives sounds in their appropriate contexts.
Besides, when learning a foreign language, speakers may be aware of the variety of sounds
the human vocal tract is capable of producing selecting language's phonemes, or
elementary units of sound according to how speech sounds occur and how to follow regular
rules in the target language.
Secondly, the morphological system is concerned with the way words and meaningful
subwords are constructed out of these phonological elements. Morphology involves internal
structures by means of which the speakers are able to recognize whether a word belongs to
the target language or not.
This is achieved by means of morphological rules that follow a regular pattern, such as
suffixes and prefixes. These rules that determine the phonetic form of certain patterns, such
as plural, regular simple past or gerunds, are named morphophonemic rules, as they are
applied by both morphology and phonology. Therefore, when a non-native word is added to
the target language, they do it by means of morphological rules which belong to that
vernacular language, such as derivation, compounding, blending or back-formation.
Thirdly, the syntactic system is concerned with that part of grammar which stands for
speakers' knowledge of how to structure phrases and sentences in an appropriate and
accurate way to express our thoughts. As mentioned above, knowing a language not only
implies linguistic knowledge but also the ability to arrange the appropriate organization of
morphological elements into higher level units, such as phrases and sentences.
These syntactic rules permit speakers to produce and understand an unlimited number of
sentences never produced or heard before.
Finally, the semantic system is concerned with the meanings of these higher level units.
Semantics is concerned with the linguistic competence in terms of a capacity to produce
meaning within an utterance. The arbitrariness of language implies to comprehend
sentences because we know the meaning of individual words. Nevertheless, speaking a
language not only involves knowing the meaning of words but also knowing how to combine
language rules to convey meaning within an utterance. Thus, we may find rules involved in
the semantics of the sentence, such as subject-verb concord in terms of third person
singular; rules to interpret phrasal verbs within prepositional phrases; different nuances
brought about semantic fields in verbs, such as the degree of loudness when speaking
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(shouting and whispering), the time nuance when looking (watching, staring, or gazing), or
the degree of touch (stroking or hitting) among others.
However, linguistic rules do not follow a strict pattern in everyday use. We may distinguish
mainly three types of semantic rule violation. Thus, anomaly a violation of semantic rule to
create nonsense as in "Colourless green ideas sleep furiously where as we can see the words
colourless and green are incompatible; metaphors, with no literal meaning but connected to
abstract meaning; and finally, idioms, in which the meaning of an expression may not be
related to the individual meaning of its parts as it makes no sense as they are culturally
embedded, as in the expression "Pull someone's leg".

4.2.2. Rules of use.

The notion of use means the realization of the language system as meaningful
communication linked to the aspects of performance. This notion is based on the
effectiveness for communication, by means of which an utterance with a well-formed
grammatical structure may or may not have a sufficient value for communication in a given
context.
Regarding rules of use in order to get a proficiency level in a foreign language, students are
concerned with the language users' ability to use his knowledge of linguistic rules, that is,
discourse, sociolinguistic and strategic competences.
Students, then, are intended to apply their linguistic knowledge to how to construct
discourse within the textual competence according to three main rules of appropriateness,
coherence and cohesion, as main discourse devices. Considerations on this sort require a
distinction be drawn between the semantic or literal meaning of an utterance and its
intended meaning.
Concerning appropriateness, any language presents variations within a linguistic
community. Each member speaks or writes in a different way . Besides, these types of
discourse have a formal structure that constrains participants' acts of speaking and each
person chooses the language variety and the appropriate register according to the situation,
thus the issue, channel of communication, purpose, and degree of formality.
Another discourse device is coherence which deals with the use of information in a speech
act regarding the selection of relevant or irrelevant information, and the organization of the
communicative structure in a certain way, such as introduction, development and
conclusion. The amount of information may be necessary and relevant, or on the contrary,
redundant and irrelevant. Unnecessary repetition of what is already known or already
mentioned stops communication from being successful at comprehending the important
unknown parts of the speech act. Speakers are intended to select not only the structure of
the content of messages but also to organize information in a logical and comprehensible
way in order to avoid break downs in communication.
Regarding cohesion, there is a wide range of semantic and syntactic relations within a
sentence in order to relate our speech act forming a cohesive and coherent unit by means
of reference, ellipsis, conjunction, and lexical organization.. The appropriate use of these
cohesive devices such as reference, ellipsis, lexical cohesion etc, will enhance the
effectiveness of communication when grammaticality or context cannot be accounted for. It
is possible therefore to have a text without overt cohesive devices if the context of situation
clarifies the intended message.

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 4.2.3. Conversational Studies.
Conversation is the main means by which humans communicate, and is thus vital for full and
rich social interaction. It is therefore a unique for of oral interaction worth being analyzed.
An obvious definition of conversation is a process of talking where at least two participants
freely alternate in speaking as they interact with their social environment.. However, the
analysis of conversation is not a simple matter. It has been taken up by pioneering
sociologists known as ethnomethodologists.
Ethnomethodology was a sociological and pragmatic type of quantitative methods looking at
the dynamics of conversation used by agents.
1
Ethnography of communication , a concept coined by Dell Hymes. It refers to a
methodology based in anthropology and linguistics allowing people to study human
interaction in context. Ethnographers adhering to Hymes' methodology attempt to analyze
patterns of communication as part of cultural knowledge and behavior.
One of their basic premises of Hymes was that the rules of speaking cannont be listed in
abstract, on the contrary they have to be defined in relation with a particular speech
event. Every speech event , a lecture, a formal dinner, a party etc, has its own rules
associated, rules which derive from its own components. The elements or components of a
speech event according to them are:

S stands for setting and scene (physical circumstances);

P refers to participants including speaker, sender and
addresser; E means end (purposes and goals);
A stands for act sequence (message form and
content); K deals with key (tone and manner);
I stands for instrumentalities (verbal, non-verbal and physical channel);
N refers to norms of interaction (specific proprieties attached to speaking), and
interpretation (interpretation of norms within cultural belief system); G, genre referring to
textual categories.

So once the elements of a speech event have been clarified we can set out to investigate the
different rules that govern these. The existence of these rules of speaking within each
speech event does not imply that they always have to be followed. In fact, they are broken
many times in everyday conversation. However, when both parties are supposed to share
the same norms, the breaking of the rules becomes meaningful.
th
eg. In the 16 century English Literature it was customary for nobles to use "you"
reciprocally , to receive "you" from their inferiors but to address their inferiors as "thou". If a
speaker broke the rules, the rule-breaking was meaningful and so they were able to insult
their equals by addressing them as "thou"
Within a conversational analysis, we find mainly two features of conversations. First, what
we understand under the convention of turn taking. Turn taking theory notices the fact that
in conversation the roles of speaker and listener change in turns which surprisingly occurs
successively without overlaps and gaps between them. Sacks (1978) suggests that,

1
has two foci:
particularistic and generalizing. On the one hand, it is directed at the description and understanding of
communicative behavior in specific cultural settings, but it is also directed toward the formulation of
concepts and theories upon which to build a global metatheory of human communication

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historically speaking, there is an underlying rule in conversation, as Greek and Roman
societies had within an oratory discipline where at least and not more than one party talks
at a time. Except in some Latin societies where this rule is not strictly followed this rule is
widely observed and respected in most cultures.
This organized exchange of roles needs certain norms since speakers usually do not like to
be interrupted or ignored in their turns. It is for this reason that speakers/listeners make use
of certain cues in order to signal their intentions. Duncan gives a set of six possible cues to
signal our intention while taking part in conversation: intonation, paralanguage, body
motion, stereotyped expressions, drops in pitch and syntax. So for example, a simple eye
gaze to our interlocutor throughout conversation may indicate that he can now take his
turn.
For him, there are three main levels in turn-taking. The first level refers to the highest
degree of control he can select the next speaker either by naming or alluding to him or her.
In a second degree of control, the next utterance may be constrained by the speaker but
without being selected by a particular speaker. Finally, the third degree of control is to select
neither the next speaker nor utterance and leave it to one of the other participants.
Another fundamental feature of conversation is the idea of adjacency pairs, proposed by
Goffman (1976) and later developed by Sacks (1978). By this concept, a conversation is
described as a string of at least two turns. An example would be found in a question-answer
session where exchanges in which the first part of the pair predicts the occurrence of the
second, thus 'How are you?' and 'Fine, thanks. And you?' Both conversing parties are aware
that a response is required to a question. Moreover, a particular response to a given
question is expressed by means of greetings, challenges, offers, complaints, invitations,
warnings, announcements, farewells and phone conversations.
Furthermore, another contribution to conversational analysis was Grice's (1967)
Cooperative Principle. He proposed a set of norms expected in conversation, and
formulated them as a universal to help account for the high degree of implicitness in
conversation and the required relation between rule -governed meaning and force.
Therefore, Grice analyzes cooperation as involving four categories of maxims expected in
conversation. Thus, the first maxim is quantity which involves speakers to give enough and
not too much information. Secondly, within quality, they are genuine and sincere, speaking
truth or facts. The third maxim, relation, makes reference to utterances which are relative to
the context of the speech (be relevant). Finally, manner represents speakers who try to
present meaning clearly and concisely, avoiding ambiguity. They are direct and
straightforward.
Within conversational structure, another distinction is identified by Brown and Yule (1994),
and it is the one between 'short turns' and 'long turns'. They define them as follows: A short
turn consists of only one or two utterances; a long turn consists of a string of utterances
which may last as long as an hour's lecture.. .what is required of a speaker in a long turn is
considerably more demanding than what is required of a speaker in a short turn. As soon as
a speaker 'takes the floor' for a long turn, tells an anecdote, tells a joke, explains how
something works, justifies a position, describes an individual, and so on, he takes
responsibility for creating a structured sequence of utterances which must help the listener
to create a coherent mental representation of what he is trying to say. Besides, what the
speaker says must be coherently structured. Possible examples of everyday situations which
might require longer turns from the speakers are such things as narrating personal

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experiences, participating in job interviews, arguing points of view, describing processes or
locations and so on.

5. ROUTINES AND FORMULAIC SPEECH

Man's ability to be creative with language is something obvious but there are times when he
chooses how, when and why not to be creative, to repeat what has been heard and said
many times, often in exactly the same form. It is in these situations that he uses linguistic
routines and inside them, formulaic language.
Everyday routines and formulaic speech follow a tradition on cultural studies, called
ethnography of communication. Also, they deal with the terms coined in the 1960s by the
philosopher J. L. Austin, in How to Do Things with Words (1962),
Also, according to Seaville and Troike (1982) in his work The Ethnography of
Communication,.linguistic routines are fixed utterances or sequences of utterances which
must be considered as single units, because meaning cannot be derived from consideration
of any segment apart from the whole . The routine itself, they add, fulfils the communicative
function, and in this respect is performative in nature. In order to make effective discourse
productions, learners need to approach their speeches from a conscious sociolinguistic
perspective, in order to get considerable cultural information about communicative settings
and roles. Routines are also analysed in terms of length, from single syllables to whole
sentences, such as 'See you!' and 'I am looking forward to seeing you again!' A sequence of
sentences may be memorized as fixed phrases, and consequently, some of them are learnt
earlier and others, later. For instance, the first routines a student learns in class are
commands, such as 'Sit down or stand up', requests, such as 'May I come in, please?' or Can
I have a rubber, please?'. Routines structure is mainly given by a sociolinguistic and cultural
approach to language.
Non-native speakers may not grasp the nuances regarding a certain type of utterance
patterns, such as greeting routines or phone conversation patterns, which have no meaning
apart from a phatic function and introductory sentences.
Understanding routines require a cultural knowledge because they are generally abstract in
meaning and must be interpreted at a non literal level. What we want to prevent them
being unintentionally rude or subservient. Without overstressing the constraints on
participants, it is clear that space-time loci, organisational context, conventional forms of
messages, and preceding communications, in fact all components of communicative events,
serve to increasingly restrict the range of available choices.
Thus, Holmes and Brown (1987) address three types of failure.
Firstly, a pragmatic failure which involves the inability to understand what is meant by what
is said.
Secondly, the pragmalinguistic failure which is caused by mistaken beliefs about pragmatic
force of utterance.
Finally, the sociopragmatic failure which is given by different beliefs about rights and
mentionables.
People usually reject consciously routines and rituals when they are meaningless and empty
of meaning, thus condolences, funeral rituals, weddings, masses and invitations among
others.
Another instance is brought about by Wolfson (1981) in developing sociocultural awareness.
He goes further on studying cross-cultural miscommunication in the field of compliments,
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when learners from a different cultural background do not understand certain behavior
rules from the foreign language target culture. Hence, ritual contexts involve formulaic
language with great cultural significance. The meaning of symbols cannot be interpreted in
isolation but in context. For instance, a funeral ritual is different in Europe and in America.
Both routines and formulaic speech meaning depend on shared beliefs and values within
the speech community coded into a sensitivity to cultural communication patterns.
There are many situations in our lifes when formulaic language is used. That is the case of
RITUALS . They are made up of routines but these as mentioned above are given far greater
cultural significance for being part of a ritual context. Examples of rituals include magical
encantation, religious ceremonies and so on.
The literature on cross-cultural communication breakdown is vast, as it is related to a
number of aspects such as taboos; different judgement of power and social distance
between different cultures; and different cultural values and priorities. Therefore,
developing the correct and appropriate use of these routines as part of our students
sociocultural competence must be a priority in our classes.

6. STRATEGIES IN ORAL COMMUNICATION

In this section we address the fourth area of Communicative Competence. In the words of
Canale (1983), strategic competence is the verbal and nonverbal communication strategies
that may be called into action to compensate for breakdowns in communication due to
performance variables or due to insufficient competence.
This is quite a complex area but in a simplified way we can describe it as the type of
knowledge which we need to sustain communication with someone. This may be achieved
by paraphrase, circumlocution, repetition, hesistation, avoidance, guessing as well as shifts
in register and style. According to Canale and Swain (1980), strategic competence is useful in
various circumstances as for instance, the early stages of second language learning where
communicative competence can be present with just strategic and socio-linguistic
competence. However, oral communication strategies are not exclusive to second language
learners, but also widely used in our own mother tongue.
Communication is quite often not unproblematic due to different reasons, lack of linguistic ,
sociolinguistic or sociocultural knowledge etc. The interlocutors, once engaged in
communication and faced with difficulties can decided to abandon their communicative
encounter or otherwise consider using a varied range of strategies that despite of their
linguistic , sociolinguistic or sociocultural competence will allow them to continue and
communicate effectively. Thus, Savignon (1983) notes that one can communicate non-
verbally in the absence of grammatical or discourse competence provided there is a
cooperative interlocutor. Besides, she points out the necessity and the sufficiency for the
inclusion of strategic competence as a component of communicative competence at all
levels as it demonstrates that regardless of experience and level of proficiency one never
knows all a language. This also illustrates the negotiation of meaning involved in the use of
strategic competence. So when meaning is not clear, asking for clarification by linguistic or
non linguistic means implies the use of a communication strategy that involve negotiation of
meaning.
Another criterion on strategic competence proposed by Tarone (1981) is for the speaker to
recognize a meta-linguistic problem and use strategies to help getting the meaning across.
Tarone includes a requirements in these cases for the use of strategic competence: The
speaker must be aware that the linguistic structure needed to convey his meaning is not
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available to him or to the hearer. Strategic competence is essential in conversation in order
to overcome breakdowns and difficulties in communication. Thus it strategic competence
must be part of the speaker's communicative competence.

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brown, G. & G. Yule Teaching the Spoken Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1983
Brown, G. and G. Yule.. Discourse Analysis. CUP, 1983
Crystal, D. Linguistics. Harmondsworth, England. Penguin Books, 1985. Goffman,
E. Forms of Talk . Philadephia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1981
Halliday, M. A. K. Explorations in the Functions of Language. London: Edward Arnold, 1973.
Rivers, W. Teaching Foreign-Language Skills. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1981.
Saussure, F. Cours de linguistique generale (Course in General Linguistics, trans. Roy Harris,
1983).
New York: Philosophical Library, 1916.
Halliday, M. A. K. Explorations in the Functions of Language. London: Edward Arnold, 1973.
Halliday, M.A.K.. An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Edward Arnold, 1985
Rivers, W. Teaching Foreign-Language Skills. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1981.
Halliday, M. Learning How to Mean. London: Edward Arnold, 1975.
Hymes, D. Foundations in Sociolinguistics: An Ethnographic Approach. Philadelphia:
University of Pennsylvania Press, 1974.
Hymes, D. On Communicative competence. Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1972.
Lee, James F. & VanPatten, B. Making Communicative Language Teaching Happen. New
York: McGraw-Hill, 1995.

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