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SUMMARY/OUTLINE

The Communication Process. The Functions of Language. Language in Use.

The Negotiation of Meaning

1. The Communication Process 2.3. Jakobson’s model

„„ It is the most widespread of the functional theories.

1.1. Definition of Communication „„ It adds three more functions to Bühler’s proposals, and
links the linguistic functions to the elements of the process
„„ There have been several attemps to define communication, of communication:
but it is a slippery concept. Nowadays, Semiotics is the −− Phatic
discipline focused on human communicaton. −− Poetic
„„ Communication is not exclusive to humans. Within human −− Metalinguistic
communication, it can be verbal or non-verbal.
2.4. Desmond Morris
1.2. Types of Communication
„„ Information talking
„„ According to the exchange of information flow: one-way/ „„ Mood talking
two-way.
„„ Exploratory talking
„„ According to the systems of signs: verbal/non-verbal. The
„„ Grooming talking
latter includes visual, aural, tactile, olfatory and gustatory
signs.
2.5. James Britton
1.3. Language and Communication „„ Expressive

„„ One of the major functions of language is being the „„ Transactional: informative/conative

essential tool for communication in humans. „„ Poetic
„„ Though not exclusive to humans, natural human language’s
linguistic sign shows specific traits: linearity, arbitrariness 2.6. M.A.K. Halliday: Functions and
and double articulation.
Macrofunctions
1.4. Elements of the Communicative „„ He distinguishes three major macrofunctions: Ideational,
Interpersonal and Textual.
Process
„„ Within these macrofunctions, we find seven language
„„ There have been many models proposed, according to functions:
different linguistic backgrounds. −− Instrumental
„„ The most relevant are: −− Regulatory
−− Saussure: speaker/hearer, signified/signifier. −− Interactional
−− Bühler – Speaker, Addressee and Objects and states. −− Personal
−− Heuristic
−− Imaginative
−− Informative
2. The Functions of Language
2.7. Hymes’ Communicative Taxonomy
2.1. Malinowski „„ Expressive
„„ Pragmatic (active/narrative) vs. ritual. „„ Directive
„„ Referential
2.2. Karl Bühler „„ Poetic
„„ Phatic
„„ Referential
„„ Metalinguistic
„„ Expressive
„„ Contextual
„„ Conative
„„ Metacommunicative

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2.8. Brown and Yule 3.3. Conversation Analysis

„„ Transactional vs. Interactional „„ Turn-taking strategies.
„„ Adjacency Pairs.
2.9. Recent approaches: CEFR’s „„ Overall organization: opening, sequences, closing.
Functional Competence
3.4. The Cooperative Principle
„„ Imparting and seeking factual information
„„ Expressing and finding out attitudes „„ The CP and the four maxims of quantity, quality, manner
„„ Suasion and relevance.
„„ Socialising
„„ Structuring discourse
„„ Communication Repair 4. The Negotiation of Meaning
The following diagram shows the correlation of language
functions according to major authors:
4.1. Concept of Meaning
Bühler (1934) Jakobson (1960) Hymes (1969) Halliday (1976)
„„ Meaning is a difficult concept to define. There have been
Expressive Emotive Expressive Personal many definitions according to the main tenets of each
Phatic Phatic Interactional linguistic or philosophical current.

Representational Referential Referential Representational

4.2. Negotiation of Meaning
Poetic Poetic Imaginative
„„ With the study of language in use since the 1960s, meaning
Conative Conative Directive Regulatory
has come to be understood as having two components:
Metalinguistic Metalinguistic −− Central/semantic: the meaning of a word or utterance in
the linguistic system, which can be analyzed in terms of
Contextual Heuristic
lexical fields and minimal units.
Metacommunicative −− Marginal/pragmatic meaning: the actual meaning
conveyed by a word or utterance in the context of use, in
real communication.
„„ Negotiation of meaning is necessary when learners engage
3. Language in Use in communication, since their knowledge of the linguistic
„„ The term language in use refers to the study of language in system is deficient.
interaction, in conversation
4.3. Communication Strategies
3.1. Notion of Context
„„ They are used in conversation between learners or between
„„ Malinowski: context of situation. learners and native speakers, in order to overcome
obstacles in communication.
„„ Firth: the context of situation includes abstract categories
related to the relevant kinds of interaction: status of
participants, type of discourse, personal interaction and 4.4. Socio-cultural factors
type of speech.
„„ Negotiation of meaning may also be necessary according
„„ Halliday: field, tenor and mode.
to differences in the cultural background of speakers:
„„ Hymes: speaking model. −− Dialects
−− Register
3.2. Speech Act Theory −− Denotation/connotation

„„ Austin’s definition of speech act.

„„ Components of speech acts: locutionary, illocutionary,
perlocutionary acts.
„„ Searle’s classification of speech acts: representatives,
directives, commisives, expressives and declaratives.

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SUMMARY/OUTLINE
Communicative Competence. Analysis of its Components
1. Communicative Competence
1.1. The Notion of Competence
„„ The notion of competence is an abstraction in language
theory which refers to an ideal speaker’s innate ability to
generate and understand utterances.
„„ Competence (linguistic) is the basic hypothesis of
Generative Transformational Grammar (Chomsky 1957,
1965).
1.2. D. H. Hymes: A Seminal Definition of
Communicative Competence
„„ The phrase communicative competence was introduced
by Dell Hymes, in the late 1960s, in order to reflect on
knowledge and use of language.
„„ The concept stood in frontal opposition with Noam
Chomsky’s use of linguistic competence. Chomsky used
it to refer to a native speaker’s implicit knowledge of the
grammatical rules governing her/his language.
„„ Hymes argued that in order to communicate effectively,
speakers had to know not only what was grammatically
correct/incorrect, but what was communicatively
appropriate in any given context.
1.3. Communicative Competence within the
New Social Approaches to Language
„„ There is a number of concepts and categories presupposed
by the notion of communicative competence: socio-cultural
context, speech community, diversity, appropriateness and
socialization.
1.4. The Influence of Communicative
Competence in other Areas
„„ The notion of communicative competence has been highly
influential in fields beyond linguistics, such as Education,
Sociology, and Psychology, and especially in language
teaching.
„„ It meant a significant turn towards communicative
language teaching, which involved the teaching and
learning of language considered to be appropriate to
specific situations, based on what speakers actually use.
1.5. The Theoretical Development of the
Notion
„„ Campbell and Wales (1970)
„„ Savignon (1972 - 1983)
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„„ Widdowson and Munby (1978)
„„ Canale and Swain (1980)
„„ Bachman (1990)
2. Analysis of its Components
2.1. Canale and Swain (1980)
„„ Their definition of communicative competence and
their categorization into four categories has been widely
accepted, and is the basis for later developments and
publications.
„„ Communicative competence is defined as the
underlying system of knowledge and skill required for
communication.
„„ Its components are:
−− Grammatical competence: mastery of the language code
(phonology, morphology, grammar, lexicon, semantics,
spelling).
−− Sociolinguistic competence: knowledge of socio-cultural
rules and rules of discourse.
−− Discourse competence: the mastery of how to combine
grammatical forms and meanings to achieve a unified
spoken or written text in different genres.
−− Strategic competence: mastery of verbal and non-
verbal communication strategies to compensate
for breakdowns in communication or to enhance its
effectiveness.
2.2. A Broader Concept of Communication
Competence: The Common European
Framework of Reference (2001)
The CEFR not only follows the conception of communicative
competence starting from Hymes, but also takes into account
factors external to language and sociolinguistics in order
to incorporate personal abilities, motivational factors and
general knowledge of the world.
It distinguishes between General Competences and
Communicative Language Competences:
„„ General Competences
−− Declarative competences
−− Knowledge of the world: locations, institutions and
organisations of a society.
−− Sociocultural knowledge: knowledge of the society
and culture of the community or communities in
which a language is spoken.
−− Intercultural awareness: knowledge, awareness and
understanding of the relation between L1 and L2
societies.
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−− Skills and know-how
−− Practical skills and know-how.
−− Intercultural skills and know-how.
−− Existential competence: the attitudes, motivations,
values, beliefs, cognitive styles and personality types
which contribute to individual identity.
−− Ability to learn
−− Language and communication awareness.
−− General phonetic awareness and skills.
−− Study skills.
−− Heuristic skills.
„„ Linguistic competences
−− Lexical competence: The knowledge of and ability to
use, the vocabulary of a language.
−− Grammatical competence: the ability to understand and
express meaning by producing and recognising well-
formed phrases and sentences.
−− Semantic competence: the learner’s awareness and
control of the organization of meaning.
−− Phonological competence: knowledge of, and skill in
the perception and production of phonemes and other
phonological phenomena.
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−− Orthographic competence: knowledge of and skill in
the perception and production of the symbols used for
writing.
−− Orthoepic competence: being able to produce a correct
pronunciation from the written form.
„„ Sociolinguistic competences
−− Linguistic markers of social relations.
−− Politeness conventions.
−− Expression of folk wisdom.
−− Register differences.
−− Dialect and accent.
„„ Pragmatic competences
−− Discourse competence: the ability of a user/learner
to arrange sentences in sequence so as to produce
coherent stretches of language.
−− Functional competence: the use of spoken discourse and
written texts in communication for particular functional
purposes.
−− Design competence: knowledge of and ability to
use patterns of social interaction which underlie
communication.