lecture12context1.ppt

For example, a judge addressing the jury or pronouncing sentence in English will use the graphic medium, as far as grammar and vocabulary are concerned, even though his utterance is transmitted along the vocal-auditory channel (and conforms to the phonological structure of the phonic medium). His utterance will be in a formal style, and it may contain elements peculiar to his particular role and status. 5)The participants must know how to make their utterances appropriate to the subject-matter; and the importance of subject-matter as a determinant in the selection of one dialect or one language rather than another in bilingual or multilingual communities That plant is an eyesore. If the conversation in which his utterance occurs is concerned with the layout or appearance of a garden it will presumably be taken to have a different meaning from the meaning that the same utterance would have in a conversation devoted to the architectural merits of a group of factory buildings. 6)The participants must know how to make their utterance appropriate to the province or domain to which the situation belongs. The term domain is taken from Fishman (1965), who defines a domain as a cluster of social situations typically constrained by a common set of behavioral rules and relates it to those generally termed spheres of activity which have more recently been independently advanced by others interested in the study of acculturation, intergroup relations and bilingualism. Fishman (1965) relates the concept of the domain of language-behaviour, on the one hand, to subject matter, and on the other, to locale and role-relations. He points out that most major social institutions are associated with a few primary locales. For example, the domain of the family is primarily associated with the home; the domain of religion is primarily associated with the church; the domain of employment is primarily associated with the office or factory; and soon. Wi