Manual for Students

parallel to the other’s right side, leads to favorable perception of communicators and positive speech; a person who displays a forward lean or a decrease in a backwards lean also signify positive sentiment during communication [6, p. 204]. Posture is understood through such indicators as direction of lean, body orientation, arm position, and body openness.

Gesture is a non-vocal bodily movement intended to express meaning [ibid., p. 275]. They may be articulated with the hands, arms or body, and also include movements of the head, face and eyes, such as winking, nodding, or rolling ones’ eyes. The boundary between language and gesture, or verbal and non-verbal communication, can be hard to identify. Although the study of gesture is still in its infancy, some broad categories of gestures have been identified by researchers. The most familiar are the so-called emblems or quotable gestures. These are conventional, culture-specific gestures that can be used as replacement for words, such as the handwave used in the US for “hello” and “goodbye”. A single emblematic gesture can a have very different significance in different cultural contexts, ranging from complimentary to highly offensive. Another broad category of gestures comprises those gestures used spontaneously when we speak. These gestures are closely coordinated with speech. The so-called beat gestures are used in conjunction with speech and keep time with the rhythm of speech to emphasize certain words or phrases. These types of gestures are integrally connected to speech and thought processes. Other spontaneous gestures used when we speak are more contentful and may echo or elaborate the meaning of the co-occurring speech. For example, a gesture that depicts the act of throwing may be synchronous with the utterance, “He threw the ball right into the window”. Gestural languages such as American Sign Language and its regional siblings operate as complete natural languages that are gestural in modality. They should not be confused with finger spelling, in which a set of emblematic gestures are used to represent a written alphabet. Gestures can also be categorised as either speechindependent or speech-related. Speech-independent gestures are dependent upon culturally accepted interpretation and have a direct verbal translation. A wave hello or a peace sign are examples of speechindependent gestures. Speech related gestures are used in parallel with

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verbal speech; this form of non-verbal communication is used to emphasize the message that is being communicated. Speech related gestures are intended to provide supplemental information to a verbal message such as pointing to an object of discussion.

Paralanguage (sometimes called vocalics) is the study of nonverbal cues of the voice. Various acoustic properties of speech such as tone, pitch and accent, collectively known as prosody, can all give off non-verbal cues. Paralanguage may change the meaning of words. The linguist George L. Trager developed a classification system which consists of the voice set, voice qualities, and vocalization [9, p. 17 – 21]. The voice set is the context in which the speaker is speaking. This can include the situation, gender, mood, age and a person’s culture. The voice qualities are volume, pitch, tempo, rhythm, articulation, resonance, nasality, and accent. They give each individual a unique “voice print”. Vocalization consists of three subsections: characterizers, qualifiers and segregates. Characterizers are emotions expressed while speaking, such as laughing, crying, and yawning.Avoice qualifier is the style of delivering a message – for example, yelling “Hey stop that!”, as opposed to whispering “Hey stop that”. Vocal segregates such as “uh-huh” notify the speaker that the listener is listening.

3.5 The Relative Importance of Verbal

and Non-Verbal Communication

An interesting question is: When two people are communicating face-to-face, how much of the meaning is communicated verbally, and how much is communicated non-verbally? This was investigated byAlbert Mehrabian and reported in two papers. The latter paper concluded: “It is suggested that the combined effect of simultaneous verbal, vocal, and facial attitude communications is a weighted sum of their independent effects – with coefficients of .07, .38, and .55, respectively”. This rule that clues from spoken words, from the voice tone, and from the facial expression, contribute 7%, 38%, and 55% respectively to the total meaning, is widely cited. In reality, however, it is extremely weakly founded. First, it is based on the judgment of the meaning of single taperecorded words, i.e. a very artificial context. Second, the figures are

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obtained by combining results from two different studies which maybe cannot be combined. Third, it relates only to the communication of positive versus negative emotions. Fourth, it relates only to women, as men did not participate in the study [6, p. 365].

Since then, other studies have analysed the relative contribution of verbal and non-verbal signals under more naturalistic situations. Argyle, using video tapes shown to the subjects, analysed the communication of submissive / dominant attitude and found that non-verbal cues had 4.3 times the effect of verbal cues. The most important effect was that body posture communicated superior status in a very efficient way. Thus, the relative importance of spoken words and facial expressions may be very different in studies using different set-ups.

When communicating, non-verbal messages can interact with verbal messages in six ways: repeating, conflicting, complementing, substituting, regulating and accenting / moderating [6, p. 75]. Repeating consists of using gestures to strengthen a verbal message, such as pointing to the object of discussion.

Verbal and non-verbal messages within the same interaction can sometimes send opposing or conflicting messages. A person verbally expressing a statement of truth while simultaneously fidgeting or avoiding eye contact may convey a mixed message to the receiver in the interaction. Conflicting messages may occur for a variety of reasons often stemming from feelings of uncertainty, ambivalence, or frustration. When mixed messages occur, non-verbal communication becomes the primary tool people use to attain additional information to clarify the situation; great attention is placed on bodily movements and positioning when people perceive mixed messages during interactions.

Complementing – accurate interpretation of messages is made easier when non-verbal and verbal communication complement each other. Non-verbal cues can be used to elaborate on verbal messages to reinforce the information sent when trying to achieve communicative goals; messages have been shown to be remembered better when non-verbal signals affirm the verbal exchange.

Substituting: non-verbal behavior is sometimes used as the sole channel for communication of a message. People learn to identify facial expressions, body movements, and body positioning as corresponding

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with specific feelings and intentions. Non-verbal signals can be used without verbal communication to convey messages; when non-verbal behavior does not effectively communicate a message verbal methods are used to enhance understanding.

Non-verbal behavior also regulates our conversations. For example, touching someone’s arm can signal that you want to talk next or interrupt.

Accenting / Moderating: non-verbal signals are used to alter the interpretation of verbal messages. Touch, voice pitch, and gestures are some of the tools people use to accent or amplify the message that is sent; non-verbal behavior can also be used to moderate or tone down aspects of verbal messages as well. For example, a person who is verbally expressing anger may accent the verbal message by shaking a fist.

SUMMARY

–In this chapter we looked at conversation and identified five stages that are especially important. We looked at conversational management (issues involved in initiating, maintaining and closing conversations) and at the skills of conversational effectiveness;

–conversation consists of five general stages: opening, feedforward, business, feedback and closing;

–peoplemaintainconversationsbytakingturnsatspeakingandlistening. Turn-maintaining and turn-yielding cues are used by the speaker; turnrequesting, turn-denying and backchanneling cues are used by the listener;

–you can close a conversation using a variety of methods. For example: reflect back on conversation as in summarizing, directly state your desire to end the conversation, refer to future interaction, ask for closure, and / or state your pleasure with the interaction.

PRACTICE

ØSummary of Conversational Skills

Check your ability to apply the following skills. You will gain most from this brief exercise if you think carefully about each skill and try to identify instances from your recent communication experiences in which

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you did or did not act on the basis of the specified skill. Use a rating scale such as the following: 1 = almost always; 2 = often; 3 = sometimes; 4 = rarely; 5 = almost never.

________	a) follow the basic structure of conversations but
deviate with good reason;
________	b) regulate feedback in terms of positiveness, person

and message focus, immediacy, self-monitoring, supportiveness as appropriate to the situation;

________	c) initiate conversations with a variety of people with
comfort and relative ease;
________	d) maintain conversations by smoothly passing the
speaker turn back and forth;
________	e) recognize when conversational repair is necessary
and make the appropriate repairs in a timely fashion;
________	f) close conversations with comfort and relative ease;
________	g) apply the specific skills of interpersonal

communication mindfully, flexibly and with cultural sensitivity, and metacommunicate as appropriate;

________ h) use the skills of conversational effectiveness (openness, empathy, positiveness, immediacy, interaction management, expressiveness, other-orientation).

ØThe Language of Conversation

Match the terms listed here with their definitions. Record the number of the definition next to the term.

_____ excuse

_____ disclaimer

_____ business

_____ turn-yielding cues

_____ feedforward

_____ backchanneling cues

_____ altercasting

_____ conversation

_____ immediacy

_____ phatic communication

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1)an interaction in which speaker and listener exchange their roles nonautomatically;

2)a form of conversation repair;

3)information that tells the listener about the messages that will

follow;

4)a statement that aims to ensure that your message will be understood and will not reflect negatively on you;

5)a conversation stage during which the major purpose of the interaction is accomplished;

6)cues that tell the listener that the speaker has finished and wishes to exchange the role of speaker for the role of listener;

7)a kind of feedforward in which you place the listener in a specific

role;

8)cues through which the listener communicates information back to the speaker without assuming the role of speaker;

9)messages that open the channels of communication;

10)the joining of speaker and listener.

ØThink Critically about the Following Questions:

1.Consider your typical everyday conversation, does it always take place in the 5 steps mentioned above? Recall some examples from your everyday communication.

2.Is it possible to change our ways of communicating? If yes, then in what way? If no, then why?

3.Can you give an example of a situation in which you experimented with ways of communicating different from your usual?

4.Are interpersonal conversation skills related to relationship success – to success as a friend, lover, parent, etc.? If yes, then in what way?

5.How is effective teaching related to the use of feedback and feedforward?

REFERENCES

1. Axtell R. E. Do’s and Taboos of Hosting International Visitors / Roger R. Axtell. – New York : Wiley, 1993. – P. 86.

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2.DeVito J. A. Human Communication: The Basic Course / Joseph A. DeVito. – New York : HarperCollins, 1994. – P. 178.

3.Dictionary of Media and Communication Studies / Ed. by James Watson and Anne Hill. – London : Routledge, 2003. – P. 234 – 238.

4.Longman Dictionary of Mass Media and Communication / Longman Series in Public Communication / Ed. byTracy Daniel Connors. – Longman Publishing, 1982. – P. 102.

5.Ma R. The Role of Unofficial Intermediaries in Interpersonal Conflicts in the Chinese Culture / Ringo Ma. – Communication Quarterly. – 1992. – No. 40. – P. 269 – 278.

6.McLaughlin M. Conversation: How to Talk Is Organized / Margaret McLaughlin. – Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1984. – P. 12 – 275, 365.

7.Rundquist S. Indirectness: Gender Study of Flaunting Grice’s Maxims / Suellen Rundquist. – Journal of Pragmatics. – 1992. – No. 18. – P. 431 – 449.

8.Tannen D. Talking from 9 to 5 / Deborah Tannen. – New York : Morrow, 1994. – 376 p.

9.Trager G. L. The Typology of Paralanguage / George L. Trager. – Anthropological Linguistics. – 1961. – No. 3. – P. 17 – 21.

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PRAGMATICASPECT

OFLANGUAGE COMMUNICATION

Language	is as much, if not	more,
a mode of	action as it is a	means

of conveying information (John L. Austin).

All linguistic communication involves linguistic acts. The unit of linguistic communication is not, as has generally been supposed, the symbol, word, or sentence, or even the token of the symbol, word, or sentence, but rather the production or issuance of the symbol or word or sentence in the performance of a speech act (John Searle).

Overview

The chapter is aimed at evoking general understanding of the core assumptions, concepts, and issues typically covered in the field of pragmatics.After dealing with the material readers must be able to analyze presuppositions, implicatures, deixis and speech acts; learn how meaning and communication are related to texts and contexts; learn about the relationship between language form and meaning and how they (separately and together) are related to communicative and contextual meaning; become aware of the challenge of relating the philosophical bases of pragmatics to linguistic theories, and the related challenge of assessing theories through empirical modes of inquiry.

Topics covered include: Pragmatics as a Separate Branch of Linguistics; Syntax, Semantics and Pragmatics; Cooperation; Implicature; Cooperative Principle; Speech Acts and Events; Felicity Conditions; Speech Act Classification.

Key words: Pragmatics, Cooperation, Implicature, Maxims of Pragmatics, Communicative (Speech) Acts and Events.

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4.1 Defining Pragmatics

Pragmatics is concerned with the study of meaning as communicated by a speaker (or writer) and interpreted by a listener (or reader). It has, consequently, more to do with the analysis of what people mean by their utterances than what the words or phrases in those utterances might mean by themselves [7, p. 12]. Pragmatics is the study of speaker meaning.

This type of study necessarily involves the interpretation of what people mean in a particular context and how the context influences what is said. It requires a consideration of how speakers organize what they want to say in accordance with who they’re talking to, where, when, and under what circumstances [ibid., p. 12]. Pragmatics is the study of contextual meaning.

This approach also explores how a great deal of what is unsaid is recognized as part of what is communicated [ibid., p. 13]. We might say that it is the investigation of invisible meaning. Pragmatics is the study of how more gets communicated than is said.

As the result we have got the question of what determines the choice between the said and the unsaid. The basic answer is tied to the notion of distance. Closeness (physical, social, conceptual) implies shared experience. On the assumption of how close or distant the listener is, speakers determine how much needs to be said [ibid., p. 14]. Pragmatics is the study of the expression of relative distance.

These are the four areas that pragmatics is concerned with. To understand how it has got to be that way, we have to briefly review its relationship with other areas of linguistic analysis.

One traditional distinction in language analysis contrasts pragmatics with syntax and semantics [8, p. 23]. Syntax is the study of the relationships between linguistic forms, how they are arranged in sequence, and which sequences are well-formed. This type of study generally takes place without considering any world of reference or any user of the forms. Semantics is the study of the relationships between linguistic forms and entities in the world; that is, how words literally connect to things. Semantic analysis also attempts to establish the relationships between verbal descriptions and states of affairs in the world as accurate

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(true) or not, regardless of who produces that description [4, p. 213 – 223]. Pragmatics is the study of the relationships between linguistic forms and the users of those forms. In this three-part distinction, only pragmatics allows humans into the analysis.

The advantage of studying language via pragmatics is that one can talk about people’s intended meanings, their assumptions, their purposes or goals, and the kinds of actions (for example, requests) that they are performing when they speak. The big disadvantage is that all these human concepts are difficult to analyze in a consistent and objective way.

Example (1) is just such a problematic case. We understand what the speakers say, but we have no idea what is actually communicated:

(1) Her: So – did you?

Him: Hey – who wouldn’t?

Thus, pragmatics is appealing because it is about how people make sense of each other linguistically, but it can be a frustrating area of study because it requires us to make sense of people and what they have in mind.

4.2 Cooperation and Implicature

In much of the preceding discussion, we have assumed that speakers and listeners involved in conversation are generally cooperating with each other. Let us think in terms of a prototypical conversation. Such a conversation is not a random succession of unrelated utterances produced in turn by participants of communicative act: a prototypical conversation has a general purpose, and the contributions of the participants are related both to one another and to the overall aim of the conversation [6, p. 11]. By participating in a conversation, a speaker implicitly signals that he or she agrees to cooperate in the joint activity and agrees to follow the rules of conduct, which are called Cooperative Principle. It sounds as following: make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose of the talk exchange in which you are engaged [9, p. 53].

This principle is elaborated by means of a set of maxims, which express what it means to cooperate in a conversational way [10]:

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