Stephen van Vlack
Sookmyung Women`s University
Division of English Language and Literature
English in the Era of Globalization
Fall 2007
Week 11, Day 1 - Answers
Kecskes and Papp (2000) Chapter 7
1. What is pragmatic transfer and how can it be stimulated?
In order to understand pragmatic transfer we first need to understand what pragmatics is. A person`s pragmatic skill relates to how they actually use the language they speak. Pragmatics relates to how a person uses language to achieve certain purposes, whether these be communicative or cognitive. Now, it should also be clear, and we have stated it earlier in this course, that language is deeply connected to culture. How, why, when, where, as well as the specific forms used by language are all determined by the culture in which the language is used. Use determines usage. Pragmatics is the skill that allows us to produce comprehensible language as well as understand all language use. In a very real sense we use our language to make sense not only of language but of the world itself. Our L1, then, determines our world view, the way we understand the world to work, the way we interpret things in the world.
Now, some of the ways in which language is used (pragmatic skills) will be universal. Some pragmatic skills apply to all languages because all human cultures, and languages as well, are much more similar than they are different. Pragmatic skills, therefore, are prone to transfer. What generally happens is that the pragmatic skills of the L1 are transferred onto the L2 usage and with little difficulty. In fact, it has been argued in Kecskes and Papp (2000) as well as Kasper and Rose (2002) that pragmatic skills are the easiest to transfer among all the linguistic skills because of their real world nature. This does not mean that there are not many language specific elements of pragmatics, but it is more universal, than lexis for example.
The more universal nature of pragmatic skills means that they should be easy to activate for transfer. But activation requires language use, not even authentic language use initially, but really any kind of language use, even reading can be used to develop pragmatic skills. We saw in this class how reading skills can transfer. As we look below at how pragmatics relates to actual writing then this will become clearer.
2. What is pragmatic competence and how does it relate to norms of conversation?
As mentioned above, pragmatic competence is the ability to use language effectively in the real world, both for production and reception. Now, in order to do this there are universal ideas such as the idea that all instances of language use (language use events) have a purpose and a meaning. So, for example, if I walk into the classroom and scream something like, `that`s it` all of you are going to start looking around desperately to find out what I might be talking about. It is your universal pragmatic competence telling you that I wouldn`t say something unless there was a good reason, therefore you must find the reason.
Now, there are also language or culture specific norms which should be followed for effective communication and/or interpretation. For example, how one apologizes in Korean and English varies a bit. In Korean silence is an accepted norm for apology, while it is not in English. Norms determine how people within a specific cultural group approach certain situations and how they can deal with them effectively through the use of not only certain forms but of strategies and these differ quite a bit from language to language/culture to culture. Once we take all these different norms of language use together we can begin to understand how it is through pragmatics that we not only understand how language could also come to understand the world. This should be obvious because language is always used in context. We do things with language. Language is a way that human beings, and only human beings, deal with life on a very general basis. Linguistic behavior and social behavior are really different sides of the same coin and it is in this way that our knowledge of linguistic pragmatics really determines how we view what is normal in the world.
3. How is written discourse related to thought and why is this important for language development?
As mentioned above, language becomes not only the way one uses language itself, but the way one perceives and interprets the world. Language is the way we think. Our logical structure is reflected in and affected by the language we use. The easiest way to deal with this is by simply looking at how different speakers of different languages go about writing. Studies have shown that different languages, based not only on their structure but also on their cultural norms, go about organizing their writing in different ways. Here of course we`re talking about more formal types of writing in longer texts.
These systematic differences were shown in studies of how students of diverse language backgrounds structure their written discourse. Think about your own experience in learning how to write formally in English. I am sure you have had and maybe even continue to have difficulties in writing well in English and not just because of grammar and vocabulary. Based on my own experience as a teacher of English writing/composition in Korea I can tell you that the students really do come with a different logic. They bring with them the norms of Korean discourse to English and even more. Because writing, on an even grader and much more controlled scale than speaking, is about problem solving how a person approaches an empty piece of paper is determined by much more than just the linguistic forms they are going to use. There are strategies for how they suppose to fill that paper up. This is how pragmatics works in writing and I am sure all of you have felt it..
Being able to deal with and use the deep seeded effects of the L1 is not an easy matter. As reported in Purves (1986) students need to reach a threshold level in their proficiency before they can begin to merge systems and use a CUCB for regular production in both languages and this applies to writing as well as to speaking. Interestingly, exposure to the L2 in the L2 environment alone was not a determining factor in the development of the CUCB, but rather the amount of formal exposure to the L2 prior to exposure to the L2 environment. This is where we get the optimal transfer, as was discussed in previous chapters. We need skills to flow downhill form strong areas to weak areas. Once this CUCB is established through an intensive exposure to the L2, leading to a process of concept neutralization, then the learner will be able to make all skills available in all the different languages they have and that is exactly what we want.
Week 11, Day 2 - Answers
Sonntag (2003) Chapter 3
1. What are the main forces that the Bretons need to contend with in the preservation of their language and how are they dealing with this?
There are basically three things which the Breton movement needs to contend with. They are:
The French Government
The main force or at least the most directly confronted, and for that reason the easiest to deal with, force they need to contend with is the French government. This is because the French government has long be touting the idea that the French language represents the French State. Since the French Revolution the French government has been pushing the idea that there is one language of France and that it is through this glorious language that France will achieve not only unity (which is also the main concern of the US as we read last week) but also grandeur. In France there is no room for other languages because if other languages exist and are supported by the state then that will entail a weakening of the French language itself, the symbol of the country. A weakening of the French language of course is, by definition, a weakening of the French state. While in a globalized world this may seem like an outdated concept it is obvious that this concept is still alive and well in France as a result of even recent laws passed to protect the French language against incursions from English. In such a context there is little room for linguistic pluralism, such as now and only recently exists, for example, in neighbouring Spain which has a quite similar language profile to France. It would seem then that this overall policy of the French government has in a way of forced the Breton people to take drastic measures including violence because the only way for them to survive as an individual people under such conditions will be to break away from French government control, which we have seen amounts to gaining linguistic control.
Globalization
Globalization itself, with its tendency to neutralize a lot of the more individual aspects of different societies, poses a serious threat to any kind of society on the brink of disaster. In order to understand this we need to think a little bit about what it might be like to live in a minority society. For us, members of strong, robust societies, we see globalization as a tool for us to enhance our society and achieve societal goals. Because we all come from societies with strong economies and a strong linguistic background and feelings of societal membership we do not worry overly much about some of the marginal effects of neutralization, because we know our society will endure even though it might change a little bit. When you get up in the morning and come to school, looking around you never wonder about whether any of this will survive into the future or whether your children or grandchildren will be able to enjoy the world in the same way that you do. For people in robust societies survival as a given. Now, this is definitely not true for people in minority societies. These people live on the brink of disaster. When they wake up in the morning and look out their window they need to wonder whether any of their society will survive intact into the next generation. And, sadly, the answer is often a definitive no (We saw this looking at the pitiful numbers of many of the speakers of Canadian and American aboriginal languages. It is clear from these numbers that the societies definitely will not make it into the next generation.). Maybe the best way to think about a minority society as to think of it as a society which is extremely ill because they certainly are extremely fragile. When you are ill or fragile any small thing has a huge effect on you. This is why globalization is such a threat to the small, highly marginalized, and therefore fragile societies. The neutralization effects of globalization could simply neutralize any of these societies right out of existence, and it certainly does and is currently doing so. We discussed the example of Ireland (Republic) and the abysmal failure of the government to universally revive the Irish language after independence was won despite efforts to do so. This is simply a part of globalization. If the Irish language had been replaced by, for example, Swedish and not English it probably would have revived rather nicely because neither language is particularly useful on the global scene, but there is no way that Irish can compete with English the very language of globalization. So, if anything puts the death blow it won`t be the British themselves but globalization. In the very same thing very well may happen in Brittany.
Themselves
Of course the Breton people also need to deal with themselves. There are two sides to globalization. Simple physics tells us that for every effect there is a counter effect and so it is as well with globalization. Although globalization leads to a neutralization of regional differences there is a backlash to this, not necessarily jihad, but a backlash nonetheless. Some people are bored to with globalization and as a result will go out of their way to seek out minority cultures to align themselves with. They want to feel the exotic or traditional, possibly in the knowledge that these exotic cultures will be gone as a result of globalization quite soon. The Celts provide a perfect group for Europeans to latch onto. The Celts represent an older more traditional Europe. The entire western and central European region used to be run by a giant Celtic Empire which ran from Ireland in the West through central Europe, and in somewhat dispersed pockets, all the way into what is today Western China. Many people seek to latch onto this old glory. First we would generally think of this kind of attention as being a very positive thing because it offers not only economic benefits to Celtic revival movements, but also provides a lot of media coverage and generates sympathy for their cause. From the outside it looks wonderful but from the inside it`s a bit of a disaster. It is a disaster because it becomes hard for the Breton people to define exactly who is a Breton and who isn`t. Who is the movement for exactly? Is the movement for those who want to come to Brittany and experience traditional Breton culture for a few days or is it really for the Breton people who want to live in their own traditional lifestyle or in a way somehow linked to that? And of course there are the few Breton people who benefit from this in a monetary way, thus clouding the movement even further.
2. What is the main underlying cause of the resistance of the French and the Breton against the incursion of English?
In principle, the Breton people are worried about the French language and not the English language as such. Dealing with the English language is much lower on their list of priorities, but they are worried about the neutralizing effects of economic hegemony or globalization and it is important to realize that while all developed countries have a vested interest in pushing globalization, globalization does generally wear just one face, that of the US. Floundering culture groups like the Breton are worried about having their individuality stripped away by global marketing and selling campaigns. Once this identity has been stripped away then there is no point in continuing their political struggle to bring back their language/culture. Why save the language when the culture that created it is already gone or morphed out of any recognizable shape.
Traditional identities and linguistic rights can`t be separated for minority groups. Language is the first and foremost best way of preserving culture. It is a check on rampant change. Language, as the ultimate purveyor of culture, must be preserved for a given culture to survive. Keeping the language alive and robust is the first indicator of a robust culture. We can understand how the Breton people view this as a fragile minority culture, but maybe it is hard to understand the French position.
While the Breton need their language for survival no one would ever doubt the survival of the French language. The French culture is a robust one and as such should certainly be able to handle change. But traditions die hard and the government has a had a typical knee-jerk reaction to the linguistic aspects of globalization, trying to curtail them legally, while at the same time pushing the economic aspects of globalization with all their might. This is a kind of paradox along the linguistic-economic plane which extends in to the local-global plane. Locally the French government is pushing French language hegemony crushing all diversity, while globally they are opposing English-language hegemony but pushing the idea of linguistic pluralism. The paradox is almost funny were it not for people like the Breton, or Basque, to the south, who suffer greatly under this paradox.
3. Why has McDonald`s been targeted in France, or more specifically Brittany?
The choice of the pro-Breton movement to bomb a McDonald`s was an amazing stroke of genius. First and foremost, bombing a McDonald`s will draw a huge amount of attention. It will also draw sympathy for their movement in the eyes of average French who may misconstrue their intentions. McDonald`s is a symbol. It is a symbol of the American face of globalization, and while the Breton people are not necessarily yet fearful of English incursion, they are scared of economic imperialism under this American face. The French people are not necessarily so scared of American imperialism as they are terrified of English incursion on their glorious French language and culture. The bombing of a McDonald`s marries these two concerns under one horrifically violent act. What it really does is make the French people feel that they maybe share more in common with the Breton than previously thought. By bombing a McDonald`s the Breton movement certainly generated some sympathy among the average French person for their movement. If your real enemy is too strong to attack headlong, attack her enemy. She may become a friend.