Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Region I
Division of Ilocos Sur
NARVACAN NATIONAL CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
Zone IV Paratong, Narvacan, Ilocos Sur

Oral Communication in Context

Quarter 2 – Module 2

Understanding Speech Context, Speech Style, Speech Act

and Communicative Strategy

Factors affected by a shift in Speech Context, Speech Style, Speech Act, and Communicative
Strategy

Language Form This refers to the formality or informality of the language used and it involves the
choice of words and how sentences or utterances are structured.

Formal language is used when talking with professionals or persons in authority

in a formal, official or ceremonial occasion, situation, gathering or event. Talking
with a lawyer, a doctor or even with your teacher often creates a formal
ambiance in communication.

Informal language, on the other hand, is used without much consideration to

rules of convention or etiquette. It is casual and mostly not well-thought-of or
prepared because it is used to communicate with people with whom you have
close association with like parents, siblings and friends.
Duration of This refers to the amount of time a conversation takes between and among
Interaction communicators.
Relationship of This refers to the speech style used by the speaker suited to his/her relationship
Speaker to the person with whom he/she is communicating. Styles can be classified as
intimate, frozen, consultative, casual or formal.

Intimate style – the speaker talks to family members, best

friends or romantic partners. This may comprise private conversations or

personal interactions.

Frozen – the speaker addresses an audience in a formal gathering such as

ceremonial events, Eucharistic celebrations or even court hearings. The style is
“set” or “fixed” and thus, it rarely or never changes. Audience feedback is not
required.

Consultative – the speaker communicates with a person whom he/she may have
to clarify things, discuss a problem, or seek advice.

Casual – the speaker shares close and personal information with friends,
classmates or colleagues. This ordinarily occurs in everyday life.

Formal – the speaker has to deliver a pre-planned or written speech to address

a crowd of people such as giving opening remarks during a seminar, or the
president making a public announcement or delivering SONA.
 Role and This refers to the role and responsibility of the speaker which will depend on the
Responsibility of purpose and context of communication.
Speaker
The speaker may be a person who gives information and additional knowledge
to another person or an audience, someone who convinces others for a cause or
an individual who provokes laughter for diversion and fun. Hence, his
responsibility depends on his purpose for communication which may be to
inform, to persuade, or to entertain
Message This involves the content of the message. The message may be facts, opinion,
feelings, order, suggestions, and questions.
Delivery This refers to the manner of delivery involving verbal and nonverbal cues made
by the speaker. Delivery can be classified as:

 extemporaneous – speaking with limited preparation

and guided by notes or outline;
 impromptu – speaking without advanced preparation or unrehearsed
speech;
 memorized – planned and rehearsed speech;
 manuscript – reading aloud a written message.

Communicative Competence
In order to achieve communicative competence, we must consider the following: speech context,
speech style, speech act and communicative strategies.

A. Speech Context
This accounts for the background and purpose of a discourse. Speech context assumes a more or
less direct relationship between situational, societal, political or cultural “environment” in which the
communication transaction occurs. The type of audience, circumstances and setting are taken into
consideration.
Speech context may be intrapersonal, interpersonal and public. Intrapersonal communication is a
communication with oneself. It is the basic form of communication where the ‘self’ is the only consideration.
This is true in moments of self-reflection or introspection when you contemplate and internalize things that
happened or may happen, or maybe think of what may be done to solve a personal problem.
Sharing your experiences with a friend or discussing a topic within a group are examples of
interpersonal communication. This kind of communication involves the transmission of messages that is
deliberately extended to others.
Public communication addresses a large number of people. For example, when you discuss to a
large group online about the effects of Covid19 and the precautionary measures in the time of pandemic,
you engage in public communication. In this way, you communicate to a crowd of online viewers and so
your message may be heard by many. Another example of public communication is a preacher
passionately delivering a sermon and a leader emphatically persuading the people to support a cause in a
mass gathering.
As communication changes its context, language form, choice of words, delivery, and duration of
interaction are some of the factors that may also change. Various speaking engagements will always
entail different environments, situations, or circumstances. The people that we talk to, the physical setting
we find ourselves in, and the circumstances that surround the communication transaction may alter. And
when it does, we as speakers may incorporate the necessary changes in order to adapt to the changed
context.
 B. Speech Style
Another factor that affects the attainment of communicative competence is speech style. A person
may choose what style or form of language to use in communicating with others; however, personal
preferences may not work at all times. There are controlled instances when one may just go with the flow
of the communicative process because that is what is required in the situation.
Speech style has the following types: intimate, casual, consultative, formal and frozen. Intimate
communication happens between or among family members because they are bound by close affinity.
There are things that are kept only within themselves which other people do not or cannot know. Intimate
communication may be private or confidential.

Friends and acquaintances often use casual communication. They feel comfortable and at ease
with one another. They have no inhibitions to share their feelings because they consider their friends next
to their family. They laugh without ceasing over not-so-funny things and at times, not even getting sensitive
to one another’s criticisms.

Consultative means of communication is giving pieces of advice as in a guidance counselor and a

client who needs it. This can be between a doctor and his patient or parents who consult with a teacher
about their child’s academic performance.

The President delivering his SONA and a principal presenting a school’s financial report to
teachers, parents and other stakeholders are both examples of a formal communication. This type of
communication is well-planned in terms of structure, sequence and coherence of ideas.

Finally, those activities which are not changeable in nature fall under frozen type of
communication. Saying a prayer like Our Lord’s Prayer or the Hail Mary and reciting the Patriotic Oath
during flag ceremonies are just two of the examples. These are routinely done and may only be changed
once amended in the Philippine constitution. Frozen communication is set and it is very rarely or almost
never altered.

Do you talk to your little brothers or sisters? How often do you tell your life’s stories with your
parents? Have you experienced interviewing a sidewalk vendor for an entrepreneurship class task or talk
to a doctor to clarify some medical proceedings for your Science activities?

The scenarios above will probably get you adjust your words according to the type of audience you
deal with. Your approach to the little ones will drastically change as you talk with your parents who have
authority over you. Your language will vary as you interview a sidewalk vendor and a doctor for your class
tasks.
As in context, a change in speech style also causes other factors in the communication process to
change. This is because we try to adapt our style or language form depending on the degree of formality
and familiarity that we have with our audience.

Speech act
Speech act refers not only to the utterance (Locutionary act) but also to the intention
(Illocutionary Act) and response (Perlocutionary Act) to a specific situation for an intended discourse
impact. The choice of words to use has to be considered to suit the need of the occasion or the kinds of
audience to be addressed. This is also done to help express the intention of the speaker and to elicit a
response from the listener.
In linguistics or the scientific study of language, a speech act refers not only to a word or group of
words spoken by a person but also to the action that is elicited from the audience due to the words spoken.
For example, the question, “May I use your pen?” is considered a speech act because the speaker’s desire
to use another person’s pen is expressed while also seeking permission to use it. The actual saying of the
words or the utterance of “May I use your pen?” is the locutionary act, the implied request of “Can you
hand me your pen so I may use it” is the illocutionary act, and the actual handing over of the pen as
permitted or given by the owner of the pen is the perlocutionary act.
Indeed, people may be able to accomplish many things with words and may be able to change
status, relationships, and commitments. As in single word expressions, people may make promises by
simply saying “me” or may break hearts by simply muttering “No.” Henceforth, a tactful word choice is
necessary knowing how words may easily be misunderstood. In total, speech acts are part of people’s day
to day transactions. They are commonplace. Words that we have for a specific purpose or intention have
to be expressed. Otherwise, no transaction or negotiation can occur.

Communicative strategies
You are the class president and are the one presiding a meeting. In the middle of the discussion, a
heated argument as to where the class fund goes takes place. What would you do?
To begin a conversation and keep it going, we should employ strategies that will help maintain its
smooth flow.

You may consider nomination wherein you as the class president or your classmates suggest a
topic or agenda to talk about. Nomination starts the conversation process. You also put restriction or
limitation to the topic to be discussed in order to meet the arranged and allotted time.

Turn-taking is where you employ rules of engagement regarding the procedure or sequence of
each participant’s turn to talk. This also refers to the alternate turns that speakers adapt when having a
conversation. Making sure that the discussions remain in the confines of the agenda is the next
consideration. This may be hard to achieve but topic control is possible through the cooperation of all the
attendees of a group meeting or of all participants in the discussion. Everybody should ensure that the
conversation will not veer away from what has been planned.

Topic shifting makes the transition from one topic to another occur smoothly. This happens when
one discussant manages to move to the next topic subtly. This next topic may not necessarily be the
same as the previous but definitely, it is related to it. Before the meeting is adjourned, you may repair or
fix all the problems that arouse in the course of the meeting by answering all the questions and clarifying
the attendees’ understanding of the agenda discussed. The termination is the last part of the process
where the meeting is successfully ended.

These various communicative strategies may be employed by speakers in order to keep the
conversation moving forward. Different strategies entail different word choice and language forms.
In sum, the shift in speech context, speech style, speech act and communicative strategy is
always probable. The roller coaster ride of intermingling scenarios allows causes and effects to surface
out, too. To achieve a successful communication transaction, these factors all need to be taken into
careful consideration.
From our discussions earlier, it is clear that the following elements are affected by a shift in the
communicative processes:
1. language form which could shift from formal to informal and vice versa,
2. the duration or the length of communication which could be shortened or lengthened depending
how the conversation will be maintained,
3. the relationship of the speaker to the receiver of the message that could be intimate, frozen,
consultative, casual, or formal; and,
4. the role and responsibility of the speaker, the message and its delivery which could vary
depending on the context and purpose of communication.
NAME: _______________________________________________ Score: __________________
SECTION: ____________________________________________ Date: ___________________

PERFORMANCE TASK
Observe and record at least 10 communication activities you have at home and identify its kind under
speech context, style, act and communicative strategy. An example is made for you to serve as your
guide.

Observed Statements Speech Context Speech Style Communicative

Speech Act
Strategy
Example:
“Clean your room.”,
mother told me. Interpersonal Casual Directive Topic Control

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.
9.

10.