COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

Communicative Competence

Introduction

The notion of social acceptability and the correct use of language depends  on what we understand of the norms of behavior in the target language, if the goals of the language teaching are to enable the learner to communicate with both native and non-native speakers in English, then t is important that the norms of language behavior if interlocutom from a range of different cultures are also thought in the English language classroom. This means that the learners must not only be linguistically competent but also communicately competent, having “the knowledge of linguistic and related communicative convention that speaker must have to create and sustain conversational cooperation “(Gumpers 1982, p 209). The differences in accepted norms of behavior are generally reflected in speech acts.

The analysis of speech acts by Searle (1969) is of great interest in this connection because explicit criteria for the functions of speech acts by Searle (1969) is of  great interest in this connection  because ecsplisit criteria for the functions of the speech  acts are proposed.  In a speech acts in the relationship between grammatical form and communicative functions is accounted for by saying that each utterance is associated with a certain illocutionary force indicating device or illucotionary act potential (Searly, 1969). However, speech acts are not comparable across cultures (Schdmit and  Pichards, 1980). Culture-specific speech acts necessitate a familiarly with value systems. Only then can the illoticuniory force behind the speech act be understood.

Grammars of English must be made consciously aware of the differences in certain speech acts when used by native speaker of English and by second language learner of the language because the values and cultural norms underlying the English language which a non-native speaker uses are not necessarily the same as those of a native speaker. Kachru (1996,p. 97) states that the new cultures in which English has been or is in the process of being nativised have their own necessities politeness, apology, persuasive strategies, and soon. Consequently, there are many norms of speaking. Reading teachers must not only be aware of cultural and socio-linguistic differences underlying the communicative behaviors of native and non-native user of English, but also transmit such awareness to their learners. This paper argues that a higher proficiency reader can be made aware of the values and cultural norms of a specific community though studying illustration of speech acts in literary texts. It is further argued that the learner English can make use of such text to become aware of the way people of speak in different culture, even when the language used is the same, I.e English. The reading teacher’s role can and should include making language learners aware of such pragmatic differences in speech and realizations. To demonstrate how this can be done, examples of the speech act of giving and responding to compliments are given using excerpts from a literary text. A text about the experience of an American traveling in Japan provides example of differences in the way Japanese and Americans responses to compliments. These examples of are analyzed to highlight the cultural differences that underline them and suggestions are given for raising student’s awareness of these cultural differences to improve their communications competence.

Compliments

Compliment are primarily aimed at “maintaining, enhancing, or supporting the addessee’s face” (Goffman, 1967). Compliment-giving and responding behavior are used to negotiate social identities and relations. Consequently, in appropriate choice of responses can lead to a loss of face. Manes and Wolfson (1981) research the infinite number of direct realizations of a compliment and Chick (1991) investigate the many realize of the responses to compliment. Chic’s 91996) study show significant differences in the frequency and use of response strategic by different ethnic group in the University of natal, Durban Campus. For instance, the Indian sample tended to give priority to the principle “avoid self-praise” over the principle of agreeing with the Speaker “in another study, Olshtain and Weinbach (1988) looked at 330 Israell and 330 American responses to compliment and concluded that israell accepted a compliment with greater difficulty than Americas. The Americans subject were likely to say “thank you” while the israells tended to apologise or to be surprised. Thus it can be seen that in some cultures an acceptance of the compliment is the norm, while in other cultures an acceptance would signify some derogatory connotation about the interlocutor who accept the compliment.

Specifically regarding the Japanese there is prototypical agreement among researchers that common responses to compliment are denial and avoidance. Saito and Beecan’s (1977) study shows Japanese normative response to compliment is a mixture of mainly negative ways manifested by denial and avoidance, may also at times use positive responses manifested by gratitude.

There has been much interesting of pragmatic transfer of speech acts across culture, Olshtain and Cohen’s (1991) article on the teaching of speech behavior to non-native speakers of English defines a compliment as a speech act to express solidarity between speaker and hearer and to maintain social harmony. This goal will not be achieved if speakers are not aware or made aware of the variations in response patterns across cultures. For example, Saito and Beecan’s (1977) study showed that when responding to compliment, American learners of Japanese did not use avoidance as much as native speakers Japanese. This minimal use of the avoidance strategy as compared to the common use it by native speakers of  Japanese could lead to understanding, undermining the intended goal of maintaining social harmony. Findings like these demonstrate the need for teaching target language learners to recognize culturally-based differences in complimenting behaviour.

Materials and Methods

Dunham (1992) describes a series of technique for teaching complimenting behaviour, comparing how it is done in different cultures. The techniques include phrase lists and role play. However, one unmentioned technique is using selected target-language reading texts which contains extensive dialogue between member of different speech communities as a source for consciousness-raising o the many manifestations of the response patterns to compliments. Teachers can compile extracts of such dialogues comparison and discussion.

This discussion shows how excerpts from a literary text, Bicycle Days by John Bumham Schwartz, were used in the classroom with the aim of showing different speech realizations for responses to compliments by English and Japanese speakers. Of course, different books cab be used according to content and teaching goals. Regardless of which book is used, the role of the teacher is to alert and sensitize students to the differences in the communication styles and expectations of interlocutors from different cultures. As shown below, the selections the text can be used as a spring broad for further discussion and analysis. Links between such realizations and cultural norms can be made explicit by the teacher or through awareness-raising activities by students. Analysis can help learners learn to adapt their responses to a compliment in such a way that it aligns with the value systems on the interlocutor.

Analysis of Text

Examples (presented below) from Bicycle Days a record of a young American’s sojourn in the social and business worlds of Japan, show many responses to compliments both by Japanese and American interlocutors which demonstrate cultural differences in responding to compliments.

References

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