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Communicative Behaviour

Communicative behaviour is basically what is communicated to the listener by the speaker. Its the impression
that they get. The speaker may be unaware of these impressions but they say a lot about a person.
1- Vocalics or paralanguage - this refers how how loud/fast the speaker talks (volume/rate), their tone and
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pitch of voice. Basically how they speak. Example?


Someone who speaks really quickly, with a high pitch during an interview can be assumed to be

nervous.
Someone who speaks my sarcastic monotone is conveying that they are bored and probably annoyed at
how stupid you are.

2- Proxemics - you know, like proximity? That's basically the speaker's use of space when they try to
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deliver a message. What do these things say about the speaker?


They stand six inches in front of you
They stay in one place when delivering a speech, gripping on to the podium as though it's the only thing
supporting them.

3- Artifacts - this refers to the speaker's use of objects to relate a message.


- a politician who is wearing your national flag as a tie pie
4- Kinesics or Body language - this refers to the speakers use of body language, facial expression, posture
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and eye contact in speech.


someone who doesn't maintain eye contact
someone who is slouching during a lecture
A speaker that has a scowl on their face during a speech

5- Chronemics - The speaker's attitude or use of time say a lot about them.
- someone who shows up an hour late to an orientation to make a speech
6- Senses - Messages can be sent through the five senses taste, touch, smell etcetera.

Functions of non-verbal communication


There are six (6) functions of non-verbal communication.
i. Substituting - is where we use non-verbal communication to replace verbal communication. Waving goodbye
instead of saying it out loud is one example of this.

ii. Reinforcement - to reinforce or complement our verbal communication. Pounding your hand onto a table
when arguing may reinforce whatever point youre making.
iii. Regulating - The regulating function of non-verbal communication is used mostly in conversation to control
the flow of messages. Raising your hand to answer or ask a question in class helps to regulate the
communication going on in the room.
iv. Contradiction - to contradict our verbal communication. The most common example of this is using vocalic
sarcasm when you say one thing, but your tone of voice says the opposite.
v. Manage Impressions - through the use of non-verbal communication. The way we dress, for example, often
coincides with the impression we want others to have of us.
vi. Establish Relationships - the wearing of a wedding band is a non-verbal indication that the person is
married.

Attitudes Toward Language


Arguments For Creole as a Language:
Creole is dynamic/human/systematic etc. so therefore it is a language and equal to Standard English.

Arguments Against Creole as a Language:

Creole is the language of the lower class, uneducated, powerless, country folk and persons whose
ancestors were slaves and indentured workers in the Caribbean.
Creole cannot be written as there is no consensus on an official written form

Creole language varies from island to island

Creole is the language of comedy, informality and humour


Arguments For Standard English:

It is internationally recognized and accepted

It is governed by grammar, phonological, syntactic and morphological rules

It can be written

It is the main language used in the media, in schools, in exams etc.

Arguments Against Standard English:

It may not be as recognized or understood in the Creole speaking community.

Code switching or adopting a variety of English spoken by others can be a sign of a lack of confidence or pride
in one's own language. You usually see this in dialogues in Paper 01/A.

Language (Dialectal) Variation

Language Variation or Dialectal Variation refers to changes in language due to various influences. These
include social, geographic, individual and group factors.
Dialect
This refers to the variety of language characteristics of a particular group of people in a given speech
community (country) or region. For example, one may refer to a Caribbean dialect as there are certain
vocabulary items and sentence structures that Caribbean countries have in common.
Creole
There is no definition of creole that is accepted by all. The meaning of the word 'creole' has changed
considerably over the years. However, it is normally used to refer to a dialect or language which results from
contact between the language of a colonizing people and the language of a colonized people. In the Caribbean,
Creole languages are as a result of contact between English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch (languages of
the colonizers) and West African languages (languages of the colonized).
Patois
Patois is a word of French origin used to describe how foreign and strange Creole languages sounded to the
speakers of European languages. Patois is used to refer to a geographical dialect which differs from the standard
language spoken in a given country. In Jamaica, for example, the word patois is used to refer to the Englishbased creole spoken. Patois carries the usual negative associations and lack of prestige which characterize nonstandard, rural or regional dialects.
Standard Variety (Eg, English, French)
This is the variety of language or dialect that is used for formal, official and education purposes. It is also used
as an instrument for mass education and communication causing it to acquire greater prestige and uniformity.
(Creoles have been observed to lack uniformity as a result of not being standardized.) Most Caribbean countries
have a European language as its standard variety for formal, official purposes and a Creole language for
informal communication amongst native, family and friends. The notable exception is Haiti where the French
Creole was made an official language alongside French.

Slang
This is a popular, fashionable use of words and phrases which may be either old words given new meaning or
completely new words. In the same way that fashion changes, so do slang expressions. Slang is a normal part of

everyday speech but may not be acceptable in certain formal settings. When used in formal writing, in
particular, these expressions should be put in inverted commas (For e.g, 'wicked'- Jamaican slang for
good/amazing, 'off the chain'-American slang for exciting/good)
Foreign English
This refers to varieties of the English language spoken by persons not from ones country.
Rasta English
This refers to a special variety of English indigenous to Jamaica, spoken by a religious group of persons called
Rastafarians. This variety differentiates itself from standard and non-standard English by use of different,
specialized vocabulary items. The psychology of 'no contradiction' extends to all aspects of a Rastafarian's life,
including language. Hence because it sounds contradictory for oppress -/up-res/ to mean held down in life,
Rastafarians refer to this verb as downpress. Likewise instead of participation -/part-icipation/ to mean being
fully involved they refer to this noun as fullticipation. The language is also characterized by use of 'I' to signify
positivity and the importance of the individual in relation to another, so instead of 'You and I', Rasta would refer
to us as 'I and I' to signify that we are both equal in importance. Irie, refers to a good vibe and Ital food refers to
food considered good for the body (i.e, Vegetarian based food).

Language Registers
An acrolect is a register of a spoken language that is considered formal and high-style.
Mesolect refers to a register or range of registers of spokenlanguage whose character falls somewhere between
the prestige of theacrolect and the informality of the basilect. Mesolectic speech, where it is distinguished from
acrolectic speech, is often the most widely spoken form of a language, generally being used by lower and lowermiddle classes.
A basilect is a dialect of speech that has diverged so far from the standard language that in essence it has
become a different language. A basilect represents the opposite end of the scale of linguistic formality from
an acrolect. Basilects typically differ from the standard language in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar,
and can often develop into different languages.

Language Registers

There are five language registers or styles. Each level has an appropriate use that is determined by differing
situations. The appropriate language register depends upon the audience (who), the topic (what), purpose (why)
and location (where).
1.

Static Register

This style of communications RARELY or NEVER changes. It is frozen in time and content. e.g. the Pledge
of Allegiance, the Lords Prayer, a bibliographic reference, laws .
2.

Formal Register

This language is used in formal settings and is one-way in nature. This use of language usually follows a
commonly accepted format. It is usually impersonal and formal. A common format for this register are
speeches. e.g. sermons, rhetorical statements and questions, speeches, pronouncements made by judges,
announcements.
3.

Consultative Register

This is a standard form of communications. Users engage in a mutually accepted structure of communications.
It is formal and societal expectations accompany the users of this speech. It is professional discourse. e.g. when
strangers meet, communications between a superior and a subordinate, doctor & patient, lawyer & client,
lawyer & judge, teacher & student, counselor & client,
4.

Casual Register

This is informal language used by peers and friends. Slang, vulgarities and colloquialisms are normal. This is
group language. One must be member to engage in this register. e.g. buddies, teammates, chats and emails,
and blogs, and letters to friends.
5.

Intimate Register

This communications is private. It is reserved for close family members or intimate people. e.g. husband &
wife, boyfriend & girlfriend, siblings, parent & children.

Evaluating Reliability and Validity

In evaluating sources there are two elements reliability and validity. For a data source to be accurate and
credible high levels of reliability and validity is the aim. Both elements are equal in importance in judging
the accuracy and credibility of a source.
Reliability Can the source provide the data?
For a source to be reliable we must evaluate the ability of the source to provide the information. We are looking
at the question Is it likely that this source can provide this data?
The issue is therefore authority. To evaluate authority we can look at several aspects of the data source.
Author - Is the author an expert in the field? What qualifications do they have? For example an article on a
website about HIV+ written by medical doctor might have more authority than one written by some one without
qualification.
Professional standards. Does the author have certain professional standards? The example of a doctor
immediately comes to mind. Similarly academic writers who are published in academic journals or books have
to conform to standards and have their work checked by other academics. Journalists mostly operate within a
professional approach especially large international newspapers such as the New York Times or the Guardian
(UK)Authority can mean expertise.
Publisher Is the publisher reputable? Academic publishers need to maintain their reputation for accurate
factual information so they also have editors to ensure a high standard. Other publishers such as newspapers,
magazines etc need to avoid legal action for libel (telling lies about someone) so also should be careful to print
the truth.
Organisation or Institution If the data is from an organisation, for example the United Nations, we need to
evaluate their reputation and their role or responsibilities. For example statistics on the economy from the East
Caribbean Central Bank would come from a highly reliable source as the bank use the statistics to conduct the
very important business of issuing bank notes and controlling the money supply in the region.
Research method Could the research method chosen generate the data necessary? For example in researching
teen pregnancy would carrying out an interview of an expert generate the data needed or would questionnaires
of teens be a better choice.
Validity Is the data true?
A source could have high levels of reliability. For example, academic research published in an academic journal
by the leading expert in the field however the data may have a low level of validity in that it might be very out
of date. Equally it may be possible that a source might not be considered highly reliable for example an intenet
site which does not have the name of the author, organisation who maintains the site etc however the data is still
true or valid.
In evaluating validity we need to look at accuracy and bias.
To evaluate accuracy we can look at several aspects of the data
Currency When was the data published or gathered? Could the information be out of date? For example
statistics on rates of HIV+ infection will need to be up to date to be accurate.
Relevance Does the information relate to the circumstances you are applying it to? For example, will research
carried out in the United States apply to the Caribbean?

Data collection Was the data collected by reliable methods? Was it accurately recorded?
Sample size Was the sample size large enough for generalisation to be accurate? For example if a newspaper
article has only interviewed one person in a large crowd can we assume that all the points of view are
represented? Similarly with social research the sample size is vital to judging whether the data is representative
of the population as a whole.
Replicable Do other sources have similar information? Would another similar piece of research have the same
result? This is particularly relevant to sources such as the internet which lack references.
To evaluate bias we can look at:
Representation Does the sample include all the variables within the population such as age, gender, social
class, religion, education level which might affect response? Even with a large sample if the sample is not
representative then bias in the data will occur.
Cultural bias Has the data been collected by someone of the same or a different culture. For example, an
Western researcher may misinterpret a non-Western culture and be biased due to racism or other factors.
Similarly when researching within ones own culture, being subject to the same values and beliefs as the subjects
may cause one not to question certain responses. For example when evaluating religious or other beliefs.
Political bias Is the data being presented from either a right wing or a left wing perspective. The conservative
agenda (e.g. free market economics, personal liberty above all other rights and fundamental religious views)
will differ from the liberal agenda (e.g. some control of the market for social gain, social control for the good of
society, religious tolerance for different views).
Social bias Aspects such as gender, race, age and social class may affect the presentation of data. For example
a womens perspective on sexual equality may differ from a mans views.
Faulty research methods Even the best academic researchers can make mistakes and inexperienced
researchers such as a student may have issues with poorly designed and executed questionnaires and interviews.
Mistakes within the research method inadvertently cause bias. This is why academic research is reviewed by
several other academics to evaluate the methodology and avoid bias in the conclusions or faulty conclusions.
Aim of the source in presenting the data The reason for the data being presented will have an effect on bias.
For example a Government might present certain statistics on economic performance if they are favourable and
might avoid others. Whilst the data is valid, there might still be bias in that other relevant information is not
present. If the sources aim is persuasive again there may be bias. For example commercial sites wishing to sell
products.

Writing an essay for the exam

Requirements
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Writers purpose, main point


Organizational strategies and language techniques
Appropriateness of tone, language, vocabulary
Language registers
Relationship between use of language and context
Effectiveness of medium, channels and presentation modes
Communication challenges, barriers and facilitators
Information relayed, provided, understood
Social status, attitudes to language
Social tension: verbal and non-verbal
Strategies that attract/encourage
Language varieties

Guidelines
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Word limit: 350-500 words


Format of an essay: introduction, body (answers to questions), conclusion
Conclusion: how effective were strategies and techniques, answers not limited to what questions
required, was the authors main point and purpose clear and easy to understand?, did the author manage
to educate/inform/convince etc., what else could the author have done
Give examples and details from extract
Use quotation marks when repeating authors words
Give each essay a title
A review/analysis and not a summary

Techniques used by author


Tone
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Authors style of writing shows how he/she feels about the subject of the piece
Quality of voice to express purpose
Can be sarcastic, playful, ironic, informed

Authors Main Idea


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What piece is about


Never a verb: WRONG The main idea is to inform
RIGHT The main idea is that students
Authors Purpose/Intent

Stated as verb
What the writer wants to happen as a result of reading
A shift from point A to point B
To inform, to educate, to criticize, to analyse

Organisational Strategies and their function


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Examples/Quoting from sources: credible and valid information


Statistical information/data: credible, easy to understand
Sequence: appreciation for a process
Cause and effect: to think
Non-emotive/academic language
Use of reputable institution: UNESCO, EPA
Factual information: true
Order of importance: for emphasis
Logical linkages: helps the flow
Compare and contrast: similarities and differences
Problems and Solutions think and be curious

Language Strategies (manipulate language to make a point) and their functions


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Repetition: emphasis
Imagery
Anecdote
Conversational tone
Humour
Rhetorical questions: put reader in ones place to make a personal connection
Figures of speech: emphasis, rhythm, highlighting, empathy

Figures of Speech
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Contrast
Irony (verbal situational, dramatic)
Comparison (metaphor, analogy, simile, personification, anthropomorphism, allusion)
Emphasis (hyperbole, repetition)
Sound (alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia)

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