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English Structures
Pragmatics
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Pragmatics v. Sociolinguistics
| It is easy to become confused about the difference between pragmatics and sociolinguistics. It might be helpful to explore the differences a little bit.
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Pragmatics has to do with the way
language use and meaning are tied to the context/situation. Part of that context may include social issues, but it also includes the individual, particular level, and the universal level. Sociolinguistics, however, deals with how language
differs in direct relationship to the existing social groupings and
subgroupings of the native speaker society.
That is, sociolinguistics focuses on how certain native speakers of a language talk differently from other users of the langauge because of the spcial groups they belong to. Pragmatics focuses on how all native speakers of a language make sense out of the language by using connections to the context around them.
In producing language, one may select a sound, a word, or a form in relationship to two factors: the immediate context (including the people) and what social groups the people involved belong to.
The first is pragmatics, the second is sociolinguistics.
Again, pragmatics focuses more on the ways all native speakers do something, sociolinguistics focuses more on how subgroups do things.
The following example illustrates the difference in focus between a pragmatic study of langauge forms and a sociolinguistic study of language forms.
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Example
- Pass the salt.
- Would you pass the salt?
- Pragmatics: Native speakers of English
can select either option at the family dinner table. Both the imperative
form and the question form act as requests; one is more polite than
the other.
- Sociolinguistics: Women are more likely
to use the question form than the imperative form.
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Pragmatics is an inherent part of a language system: how the language
relates to the context in which it is being used.
Vocabulary and sentence structure have features that allow users of
a language to relate their linguistic forms to the context. |
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Teaching Language |
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| Teach deictic words in context since that is where their meaning
comes from.
When teaching proforms, practice having students find the referent: does
the proform point forward or backward?
Teach them to look backward for most English proforms. |
| Actively teach the concepts in Grice’s Cooperative Principle,
especially when teaching public speaking and writing.
The Manner maxim might be the hardest to control, but Quantity can also
be difficult.
Grice didn’t write this into his maxims, but later notes it deserves
attention: politeness.
Actively teach the differences in politeness associated with different
ways of saying things. |
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| End of Lesson |
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American Sign Language The sign language used by the deaf community in the United States.
Test of English for International Communication. A standardized exam for Educational Testing Services that is intended to determine the general capability of an NNSE to use English to conduct business. It is used by some businesses, predominantly in Asia, in hiring.
Test of English as a Foreign Language. A standardized exam from Educational Testing Services that is intended to determine the general capability of an NNSE to use English as the language of insruction .It is used as an admissions requirement by most US universities and colleges for international students.
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. A term that encompasses both TEFL and TESL. It is the name of the professional organization to which many teachers belong. TESOL the organization has many regional affiliates both in the US and abroad.
Teaching English as Second Language. Refers to the activity of teaching the English language as a tool necessary for some daily task like instruction, shopping, or interpersonal interactions.
Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Refers to the activity of teaching the English language as an intellectual, academic pursuit to non-native speakers of English.
Native Speaker of English. Refers to a person who acquired English in infancy and young childhood as a first language.
Native Speaker. Refers to a person whose relationship to a language is that it was encountered in infancy and young childhood as the dominant language of the environment.
Non-Native Speaker of English. Refers to a person who didn't acquire English as a first language, but came to it after another language was established.
Non-Native Speaker. Refers to a person whose relationship to a particular language is that he/she didn't encounter it while initially acquiring language, but came to it after another language was established.
Limited English Proficient. An adjectival phrase used to refer to the same students as ELL refers to. LEP is falling into disuse as it focuses attention on student deficiency rather than on the positive attribute of learning. Is being replaced by ELL.
Second Language. Refers to any language gained subsequent to the first or native language. It is acquired or learned secondarily to the native language. Doesn't refer to the ordinal numbering of languages, only to the relationship of a particular language to a persons native language.
First Language. Refers to the language that an individual encounters as an infant and young child; a persons native language.
English for Specific Purposes. Refers to the goal of learning English to use it for highly focused activity, such as for business or for aviation communication.
English as a Second Language Program. refers to a school program that is purposefully structured to provide instruction on the English language to NNSEs. An ESL program does not typically include instruction in any other subjects than English. An ESL program may be a component of a larger ELL program at a school.
English as a Second Language. Refers to the subject matter of the English language and the methodology for teaching the English language to non-native speakers. ESL makes no reference to the subjects other than English, but it is not methodology alone either, it refers to teaching the English language as content area. Typically, ESL refers to the study of English in a country where it is used for at least one daily task, such as instruction, interpersonal relations, or shopping.
English Langauge Learner Program. Refers to a school program that is purposly structured to provide instruction on the English language and instruction in other content areas to English Language Learners.
English Language Learner. Refers to students who are in the process of learning English, whether they are in ESL classes exclusively or a combination of ESL classes and other subject area classes.
English as a Foreign Langauge. Refers to the study of English as an intellectual, academic pursuit, not a a language whose use is necessary or desirable for daily life, although it may be used as a research tool. Typically, EFL is the study of English in a country where English is not a language of instruction or daily interactions, such as in Italy or in Saudi Arabia.
English for Academic Purposes. Refers to the goal of learning English to use it as the language of instruction for other subject areas.
Refers to a school program that is purposely structured so that students will use two languages on a daily basis.
Refers to the use of two languages in any capacity on a daily basis. A bilingual person uses two languages on a daily basis--for work and at home, perhaps, or for different subjects at school. Can also refer to the ability to use two languages, even if not used daily.