Candidates will be expected
to have studied in detail texts and data exemplifying language use and issues, and to have studied the relevant theory and research.
In preparing this topic area candidates should study: the forms and functions of talk; registers and styles of writing; historical and contemporary changes, where appropriate. In particular, they should examine:
- everyday functions and activities (e.g. the role of interpersonal language)
- discourse features.
Forms and functions of talk
In studying language and occupation, you should consider particular forms (instruction, interview, discussion, conference, briefing, appointing, disciplining) in relation to their functions. We can understand forms
in an explicit sense as those kinds of activity that we can name (job interview, team briefing, disciplinary tribunal, conference, marriage ceremony) orin a looser descriptive sense (discussing a problem, telling a manager about an incident, asking an expert for guidance).
You should also look at how speech interactions reveal hierarchies, and changing attitudes to these. Do not assume that greater explicit courtesy is shown to those of higher status - often the reverse is true. In a school, senior managers will address the cleaners, lunchtime supervisors and clerical staff as “Mr.” or “Mrs.” while using first name for an established teacher. To address someone by surname (family name) only is usually a mark of great familiarity (and thus of closeness, even friendship). It is common in the UK among those who have attended independent (public) schools or held commissions (served as officers) in the armed services.
You should be aware of phatic tokens. These are ways of showing status by orienting comments to oneself, to the other, or to the general or prevailing situation (in England this is usually the weather).
Special lexis and meanings
Almost every occupation has its own special lexicon - a vocabulary that is specific to the occupation generally (the legal profession, the Merchant Navy, teaching) or more narrowly to the particular solicitors' practice, ship or school. That is, there will be
- forms used only in the occupation, or
Examples of special lexis
Rather than making a collection, which will gather dust and go out of date, you can find examples more or less as and when you need them. How? By looking at junk mail, local free sheet newspapers, the business section ("Yellow Pages") of a phone directory, or by tuning into specialist TV and radio broadcasting channels (from BBC Parliament to Simply Jewel). A very easy way, that enables you to find passages of text in their raw or natural condition, is to search the Web, using a search term that names or describes an occupation. The extract below comes from the Web site of the North Texas Blacksmiths Association - which I found by entering the term "blacksmiths" into a search engine. The passage comes from an article about a lightweight coal forge (designed to be portable, for "remote demo locations").
Conversational maxims
The “success” of a conversation depends upon the various speakers' approach to the interaction. The way in which people try to make conversations work is sometimes called a co-operative principle. We can explain this by four underlying conversational rules or maxims. (They are also named Grice's maxims, after the language philosopher, H.P. Grice.) They are the maxims of quality, quantity, relevance and manner.
- Quality - this means that speakers should tell the truth, not say what they think false, or make statements without evidence.
- Quantity - this means that speakers should be as informative as is required for conversation to proceed; say neither too little, nor too much.
- Relevance - this means that speakers' contributions should relate clearly to the purpose of the exchange.
- Manner - this means that speakers' contributions should be clear, orderly and brief, avoiding obscurity and ambiguity.
