TY - JOUR

T1 - Variational pragmatics in the foreign language classroom

AU - Barron, Anne

N1 - Special Issue: Pragmatics in Instructed Language Learning

PY - 2005/9/1

Y1 - 2005/9/1

N2 - Situational variation has long been an accepted form of intra-lingual variation in speech act realisations. The effect of macro-social factors, such as region, ethnic background, age, social status and gender, on intra-lingual pragmatic conventions has, however, received comparatively little attention in the study of pragmatics to date [Kasper, G., 1995. Wessen Pragmatik? Für eine Neubestimmung fremdsprachlicher Handlungskompetenz. Zeitschrift für Fremdsprachenforschung 6 (1), 69-94, 72-73]. In addition, only very limited attention has been paid to macro-social pragmatic variation in modern dialectology, a discipline which focuses on the effect of macro-social factors on linguistic choices [cf. Wolfram, W., Schilling-Estes, N., 1998. American English. Dialects and Variation. Blackwell, Malden, MA, p. 89]. Variational pragmatics is a newly established sub-field of pragmatics which aims to meet this research gap. It is situated at the interface of pragmatics and dialectology and aims at a systematic investigation of the effect of macro-social pragmatic variation on language in action [cf. Schneider, K.P., Barron, A., 2005. Variational pragmatics: Contours of a new discipline. Unpublished paper presented at the 9th International Pragmatics Conference, Riva del Garda, July 10-15, 2005]. This paper highlights the need for a focus on macro-social factors. It draws attention to the fact that the rather blinkered focus on intra-lingual variation to date has meant that in research and teaching, languages have been generally viewed as homogenous wholes, devoid of regional and social variation. By means of data from a selection of regional intra-lingual pragmatic studies, the paper attempts to highlight a number of parameters relevant to intralingual pragmatic variation. On this basis, a case is made for language teaching to include a variational perspective on conventions of language use.

AB - Situational variation has long been an accepted form of intra-lingual variation in speech act realisations. The effect of macro-social factors, such as region, ethnic background, age, social status and gender, on intra-lingual pragmatic conventions has, however, received comparatively little attention in the study of pragmatics to date [Kasper, G., 1995. Wessen Pragmatik? Für eine Neubestimmung fremdsprachlicher Handlungskompetenz. Zeitschrift für Fremdsprachenforschung 6 (1), 69-94, 72-73]. In addition, only very limited attention has been paid to macro-social pragmatic variation in modern dialectology, a discipline which focuses on the effect of macro-social factors on linguistic choices [cf. Wolfram, W., Schilling-Estes, N., 1998. American English. Dialects and Variation. Blackwell, Malden, MA, p. 89]. Variational pragmatics is a newly established sub-field of pragmatics which aims to meet this research gap. It is situated at the interface of pragmatics and dialectology and aims at a systematic investigation of the effect of macro-social pragmatic variation on language in action [cf. Schneider, K.P., Barron, A., 2005. Variational pragmatics: Contours of a new discipline. Unpublished paper presented at the 9th International Pragmatics Conference, Riva del Garda, July 10-15, 2005]. This paper highlights the need for a focus on macro-social factors. It draws attention to the fact that the rather blinkered focus on intra-lingual variation to date has meant that in research and teaching, languages have been generally viewed as homogenous wholes, devoid of regional and social variation. By means of data from a selection of regional intra-lingual pragmatic studies, the paper attempts to highlight a number of parameters relevant to intralingual pragmatic variation. On this basis, a case is made for language teaching to include a variational perspective on conventions of language use.

KW - Didactics/teaching methodology

KW - Variational pragmatics

KW - Pragmatic variation

KW - Regional pragmatic variation

KW - Pragmatic pedagogy

KW - L2 norm

KW - Second language acquisition

KW - English

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=24344509935&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/aceab9e9-9c73-38d4-83b2-f6fa232238d7/

U2 - 10.1016/j.system.2005.06.009

DO - 10.1016/j.system.2005.06.009

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 33

SP - 519

EP - 536

JO - System

JF - System

SN - 0346-251X

IS - 3

ER -