Communicative Competence

?What is Communicative Competence

Hymes
The ability to interpret messages and negotiate
meaning within specific contexts.

Savignon
An interpersonal construct examined by means
of overt performance of two or more people
in the process of communication.
James Cummins (1980)

Cognitive/Academic Language Proficiency

CALP Context
•Surface features of language Reduced
•Focus on form
•Used for classroom exercises

•Communicative capacity of language

•Focus on meaning
Context •Used for daily interpersonal exchanges
Embedded BICS
Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills
Canale & Swain

Grammatical
Competence
•Lexical items
•Morphology
•Syntax
•Semantics •Sociocultural rules
•Phonology •Understanding social context

Strategic Competence 4 Sociolinguistic Competence

Verbal/nonverbal strategies to
compensate for breakdowns
Competence

•Ability of connecting
Discourse

due to performance variables

or insufficient competence sentences
•Intersentential Relationships
Bachman (1990)
l e ct
Morp ary
i a
holog
•D
ster ss

ology
Graph gy
g i
ul
e
•R alne ferences

olo
Vocab

t u r
x
Synta REMEMBER •Na ral Re
Phon
u
• Cu l t
Sociolinguistic
y

Locutionary act: Performance of an utterance

Grammatical Competence
“It’s cold in here.”
Competence

Competence
Illocutionary act: Intended meaning

Language
[The windows is open. So I should close it.]
Organizational Competence
Perlocutionary act: Consequences of the Pragmatic
utterance Competence
(whether intended or not)
[Someone closes the window.]
Textual
Illocutionary
(Discourse)
Competence
Competence
•Coh
esion u n c ti ons
•Reht p u l a tive F
orical •M an i
u nc t ions
Organ
izatio e u r i stic F unctions
n •H tive F
g i n a
•Ima
Strategic Competence
Knowledge Structures Language
(of the world) Competence

Strategic Competence

Psychophysiological
Mechanisms

Context of Situation
Language Functions

Purposes we accomplish with language:

REQ
t i n g UE
s ta STIg
in N G
d
gre

on
p
e

s
re
ti n
g
 Halliday’s 7 Functions
Certain events happen
1- Instrumental !Go out
Particular conditions change
Control of events
2- Regulatory If it’s not cold, stay outside.
Setting rules

Conveying facts and knowledge

3- Representational Yoghurt is white!
Representing reality as it is
To establish & maintain contact What’s up dude?!!
4- Interactional Knowledge of slang, jargon, jokes…

5- Personal To express feelings and emtions Oh dear! I feel so blue today! 

6- Heuristic Seeking answers (usually in the form Where do babies come from?!!!
of questions)
To create ideas and imaginations
7- Imaginative “Love is metaphysical gravity.”
Going beyond the real world
Functional Approach

 Notional-Functional syllabuses

Notion Function
Notion is referred both to abstract Functions correspond to what we
concepts such as existence, space, already
time, quantity and quality talked about Language Functions i.e.
instrumental, representational, etc.
Discourse Analysis

The exa
mi
relation nation of the
shi
and fun p between form the
ctions o d
f langua s e bey
o n
ge.
l a ng uag
It’s c e.
n te n
se

Withou
t the pra
context gmatic
s of disc
commu ou
nication rse our
ambigu s would
ous. be
Conversation Analysis
Attention Getting It’s the first rule that children learn.

Topic Nomination Speakers do it after securing hearer’s attention.

Topic Development Speakers do it after securing hearer’s attention.

Turn Taking Set of culturally oriented rules to communicate properly.

Clarification Is usually manifested in forms of Heuristic functions.

Repair From indirect signals to outright corrections (strategic competence)

Shifting and Avoidance They are effected through verbal and nonverbal signals.

Interruptions They are a form of attention getting.

Topic Termination It’s an art of finishing the conversation which is hard even for
native speakers!
Grice Maxims
Say only as much as necessary. .Say only what is true

Quantity Quality

Relevance Manner

Say only what is relevant. Be clear!

Contrastive Rhetoric

Naturally occuring discourses, usually written,

across different language and cultures.
Pragmatics

Sociopragmatics Pragmalinguistics

The interface between The intersection of

pragmatics and social pragmatics and linguistic
organization. forms.

e.g. e.g.
American: What an unusual Tu and vous in French. In
necklace. It’s beautiful. English there’s only “you” for
Samoan: Please take it! both formal and informal. But
in French they use plural “you”
to address an individual
politely.
Pragmatics

Language and Gender

 Girls produce more “standard” language than

boys.
 Men Interrupt more than women.
 Men and women use different syntactic and
phonological variants.
Discourse Styles

Sets of conventions for selecting words,

phrases discourse, and nonverbal language in
specified contexts.
Discourse Styles
The language of speaking for a large
ORATORICAL Style audience. There may be some
interactions sometimes.
The language of speaking for a larger
audience in which the magnitude of the DELIBERATIVE Style
crowed doesn’t let interaction.

A formal dialog with careful choice of

CONSULTATIVE Style words, such as a doctor-patient
conversation.

Language of friends, colleagues, and

family members. CASUAL Style

Complete absence of social inhibitions

INTIMATE Style usually between very close friends.
 Nonverbal Communication
CLOT
Kinesics
ag e HES
a n gu Artifacts
d y L
Bo

To uching Eye
Kinesthetics Contact

Physic
Proxemics Sm
a l Dista e lli
nc e Olfactory ng
Recap Quiz

Give the Four types of communicative

competence (1-4)
Name the five discourse styles (5-9)
Give your own definition of communicative
competence (10)