Impact of pragmatic infelicities
to curriculum and
methodology
Dr George Ypsilandis [email protected]
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
&
Catholic University of Eichstatt + Ingolstatt
The overview
• Offer working definitions of pragmatics and
identify the problem
• Present the speech act that served the
purpose of data collection
• Discuss the raised questions in terms of:
• Language teaching situation: set up
• Target language: content and curriculum
• Delivery: Teaching methodology
• Reaction to diversity from the norm: Error
correction
Working definitions: The pragmatic level
Works with units of language above the sentence level
(Communicative Competence, Symbolic-Cultural competence
/awareness/expertise or The art of accommodation)
Investigates structuring principles other than the
grammatical ones within a certain communicative event
Claus et al. (1984).
Relates more to speakers intentions rather than
sentence meanings
Pragmalinguistic failure
“…pragmatic failure is an area of cross-cultural communication
breakdown…” which “…occurs when the pragmatic force
mapped by a speaker onto a given utterance is systematically
different from the force most frequently assigned to it by native
speakers of the target language, or when speech act strategies are
inappropriately transferred from L1 to L2” Thomas (1983)
NOTICE: Here it is described as a purely transfer problem
“At the pragmalinguistic end we are dealing with (mistaken)
beliefs about the language”
Riley (1989)
“… results from a failure to identify or express meanings
correctly”
Riley (1989)
The first study James,
Scholfield and Ypsilandis ’92
Greeks writing in English for an English
scholarship
Registered reactions of English natives
A number of infelicities have been
registered and analysed
Users of a language to construct sentences that
accurately describe their intentions which further
match receiver’s norms or are part of his
awareness spectrum.
The true problem may be seen as
Maintaining his/her
personality in another
language
This personality be
accepted or
understood in the L2
Why letters of application for a scholarship?
From: Carl James, University of North Wales, Bangor
Area of linguistic
ability
Self Advertising: Most
of us have or will need
to make use of.
Realistic situation for
our sample: Students
Benefits of this research
• Inter-Cultural understanding
• Increase awareness of the other
Language teaching situation:
set up
Initial distinction between
Foreign Language
environment
The love of the country
its literature, music, etc
Second Language
environment
These may not exist
KEY WORD: SELECTION
KEY WORD: NEED
Seek educational or
professional development
This may have been done
not by selection but by need
Use the language for international
communication
-
Language teaching situation:
set up
Personal or social factors, The Schumann's (1997)
Foreign Language
environment
-
Second Language
environment
nesting patterns
transition anxiety
creation of desire to maintain a personal agenda
relations with the native speakers
+
+
+
+
• Less frustration more wiliness to learn about the TL
pragmatics and culture
• Enriching their views of life vs attempt for acculturation
The content: Target language
English vs Another Lang.
English
A minority language
International language
Non native with Non native
Native non Native
What English?
Map of Englishes
Non of this
What English? (social ladder)
Same here
PROTOCOLE LETTER consisted of 10 Parts
I'm writing in connection with the "travel scholarships" that your organisation
offers to students that study in British Universities.
First of all, I would like to congratulate you on this initiative of yours and
secondly to express my concern to take part in this competition. I know that the
number of awards is very limited and that it will not be a very easy task since
there would be many candidates to compete with
By the way I am a very hard working student and I strongly believe that I
consider myself a good candidate for this award.
I speak four languages - English, French, Chinese and Greek -and therefore, I do
not have problems in socialising with other people. Also, I hold one degree
already in Social Policy with specialisation in Clinical Justice; now, I'm in my final
year in the Sociology and Linguistics joint honours degree at the University
College of North Wales.
Moreover, I have just started taking courses in computer wordprocessing.
Actually, to tell the truth, I find this quite hard and I'm thinking of postponing it for
the time being.
Your scholarship is my only chance to make a study visit to the U.S.A. since my
financial state would not permit me to do such a thing at my own expence.
Finally, I have to admit making a study visit to the U.S.A. is my sole opportunity
to complete my research on Crime and Deviance; data from the U.S.A. would
be very helpful for this.
I am sure you will take my application into serious consideration and I hope you will
not refuse me the chance of a lifetime.
I’d be very grateful if you could send me a leaflet about the universities that the
study visits include. I enclose a postal order for £5 to cover the mailing expenses.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation, I am looking forward to hearing from
you as soon as possible.
NNS evaluating Greeks writing in English
(James, Scholfield and Ypsilandis`94)
Evaluate each sentence in a Likert scale in terms of
Acceptable Neutral Unacceptable
PART
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
NSs
+ -
-
-
-
-
-
-
+
-
NNs
+ x S +
-
S X X +
+
KEY
+ = considered acceptable, - = considered unacceptable
S = neutral judgment, X = NNSs were divided
NNS evaluating Greeks writing in English
(James, Scholfield and Ypsilandis`94)
Evaluate each sentence in English and their own language
Acceptable Neutral Unacceptable
TLE
VERSION
Gr
Sy
Po
Port Fr
OL VERSION Gr
Sy
Po
Fr
Ge
Port Ge
Implications to Language Teaching
Quirk (1981) proposes English for International
Communication (Nuclear Engl.)
NE = ‘culture free as calculus, with no literary, aesthetic, or
emotional aspirations’
Fishman = “without love, without sighs, without tears and
almost without effect of any kind”
Colourless
language?
The content: Target language
English vs Another Lang.
English
A minority language
International language
Non native with Non native
Native non Native
What English?
Map of Englishes
Non of this
What English? (social ladder)
Same here
The Spread of English in the World (Svartik, Jan and Geoffrey Leech,
2006)
Dο Users of English have to
conform to English
pragmatics or would it be
safer to maintain their own?
Would that language be
English? Is that a vicious
circle?
World Englishes (anglospeak.png)
DarkANSWER
Blue: English
an official
language
orTHAT
majority
IF THE
IS YESis
THEN
THERE
IS A FEAR
THElanguage
JUICE OF OUR
WORLD
SOME THINK
IT IS OUR
INCLINATION
TO SEE
THINGS IN A
Light(WHICH
Blue: English
is an official
language
but minority
language
DIFFERENT WAY MAY BE LOST)
Three Circles of English, (Kachru, 1992)
The content: Target language
English vs Another Lang.
English
A minority language
International language
Non native with Non native
Native non Native
What English?
Map of Englishes
Non of this
What English? (social ladder)
Same here
Implications to Syllabus
Own idiolect in L1
which
distinguishes a
person in a group
Wish to be the
same person
when in L2
Which Social genre (Social Ladder)
Implications to Teaching
Methodology
IMPLICIT
COST EFFECTIVE
OFFENCE GIVEN AND TAKEN
EXPLICIT
“studial capacity” Palmer `92
“ersatz” native speaker Cook `93
ETHICAL QUESTIONS
KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED
Clearly the questions are many and at this stage I believe each one
would have to provide an answer for him/herself.
Error correction: One Suggestion
by Jenny Thomas
Pragmalinguistic Failure
Sociopragmatic Failure
3 PROBLEMS WITH THIS
Misformulated
Misused
APPROACH
Teacher corrects
straightforwardly
Teacher points out and
discusses
(a) No instructions for non clear-cut, mid-scale
instances: corrections on the spot-no source book
(b) Should the learner know about this or teacher
centred (decide/correct)
(c) What pedagogic input should there be in cases of
doubt? Is there a test?
A TEST
Pragmalinguistic Failure
Misformulated
e.g. NP, this N of yours
has deprecatory overtones as in
This cat of yours has killed my canary,
PARAPHRASE
the semantic
paraphrase your cat has none.
The studies
• James, C. Scholfield, P.J. & Ypsilandis, G.S. (1992) "Communication Failures
in Persuasive Writing: Towards a Typology" Yearbook of English Studies Vol.3
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
• James, C. Scholfield, P.J. & Ypsilandis, G.S. (1994) "Cross-Cultural
Correspondence: Letters of Application" World Englishes Journal Vol.13, 3.
Blackwell Publishers.
• James, C., Scholfield, P.J. and Ypsilandis, G. (1994). “Cross-cultural
correspondence: letters of application” republished by the TRINITY COLLEGE
DUBLIN: Centre for Language and Communication Studies
• Psaltou-Joycey, A. & Ypsilandis, G.S. (2000) “Contrastive Discourse in Greek
Application Letter Writing” Proceedings of the International Conference on
Greek Linguistics, University of Cyprus, Cyprus.
• Ypsilandis, G.S. (1994) "Logomachia: Persuasive Strategies in Letters of
Application" in Douka-Kabitoglou, E. Logomachia: Forms of Opposition in
English Language/Literature.
Recent studies
Greeks writing in English
Direct Strategies
Strategy
Employed
Language Used
Quasilogical
Argumentation
Egocentric Language Don´t impose on
AV
your hearer Grice
(1973)
e.g. “I strongly
believe” “Iconsider” “I
am”
Affective Appeal
Charged language
e.g. “your schlsp is
my only chance” “I
hope you will not
refuse to me”
Give hearer option
Grice (1973)
Direct Demands
e.g. “I am sure… did
convince you…”
Don´t impose on
your hearer Grice
(1973)
Quasilogical
Argumentation
Pragmatic
Failure
Greeks writing in English
Indirect Strategies
Strategy
Employed
Language Used
Pragmatic
Failure
Quasilogical
Argumentation
Extensive reference
to their qualifications
e.g. “I speak… I
have… I am..”
Be as informative as
is required but no
more than that Grice
(1973)
Quasilogical
Argumentation
Charged language
e.g. “It (schlsp) will
give me the chance
to complete my
research”
Don´t impose on
your hearer Grice
(1973)
Use of
complimentary and
anticipatory
expressions
Charged language
e.g. “Thank you in
advance” “I would
like to congratulate
you”
Display of manners
Don´t impose on
your hearer Grice
(1973)