ch1: Speaking in its Cultural Context

Came to Teamsterville to study "the community's places for speaking." "To know these patterns [of spoken life], and to know the life they constituted for those who lived it..." Sought to discover "how it is that speaking is a radically cultural mode of communicative activity." took 3 yrs. speech community: "a universe of discourse with a finely organized, distinctive pattern of meaning and action." found a focus on ethnicity, location of residence, and place in social hierarchy. P's job was to supervise neighborhood youth; did this by talking to them; resulted in P being seen as a "queer." P had to change his methods to deal with the boys.

3 yrs of immersion in Teamsterville gave the perspective to study the Nacirema in So Calif & Pacific Northwest. The Nacirema emphasize the uniqueness of each individual: contrasts with Teamsterville. Studied dinnertime conversations. Found de-emphasis on role ("father") and status. Key cultural ideas: self, relationship, work, openness, growth, communication. Contrast between individualized and ethnic/role/etc identities.

ethnography of speaking. speaking is "culturally shaped and constituted." ethnography=process of understanding this, and the writing of reports on it. naturalistic method, with detailed notes on who, how, what, with whom, on what topic, etc. 2 types of statements generated: (1) existence: what is there to be observed, (2) pattern: frequencies, associations of phenomena. both types of statements are first based on observation, and then tested with further observation (discovery and justification).

culture=a "socially constructed and historically transmitted pattern of symbols, meanings, premises, and rules." [social fact] symbol="vehicle for conception." premises about existence and values. rules are normative prescriptions. a culture conceptualizes certain things, gives symbols for those concepts, establishes beliefs & values, and prescribes or forbids actions. every speech community has its own culture.

By comparing various ethnologies, one seeks a generalized understanding of "speaking as a universal feature of society."

an assumptive foundation.

speaking is structured. always a structure to speaking: "who speaks, to whom, in what language(s), through which channels, on what occasions, in what settings, for what purposes, in what sequences of action, and with what instrumentalities." can describe all this with rules. "structured" does not mean "determined" -- can violate, revise, etc, rules.

speaking is distinctive. speaking once taken for granted by assuming that it's just a means of transmitting information. this is not necessarily its main function. may, eg, function to link people, as in Teamsterville. to understand spoken life, must first understand its place in its distinctive culture. Hymes (1962) makes two assumptions: (1) speaking varies across cultures, (2) speaking is a metaphor for life in its culture. So can understand a culture by understanding speaking in it. Speech communities have both a social pattern of language and an ideology about communication.

speaking is social. speaking links people socially; makes the private public (Ong). each particular episode of speaking makes a particular social link. one displays membership in a social group by communicating according to its norms. "Speech is both an act of and a resource for 'membering.'" each culture has a code, which is related to but not the same as a social group.

the discursive force of common culture. communication is not the only important facet of cultural and individual life, but it is important -- more important than often seen. "The ethnographer is always cncerned to inquire into how speech enters ito a particular life and society, what its situated distinctiveness is." "...every cultural way of speaking is a distinctive answer to the questions (1) What is a person? (2) What is society? and (3) How are persons and societies linked through communication?" Eg: Teamsterville: person is comprised of role identities [social facts], and individuals linked in terms of solidarity and honor (=promote social values of hierarchy and community). Nacirema: individuals psychologically unique and independent, linked by autonomous actions, and the ultimate value is dignity.

ch 2: Place and Personae in Teamsterville Speaking

Diff cultures place diff values on talk (v. silence, violence, physical contact, etc.). Tville has a cultural (tho tacit, unwritten, maybe inarticulable) valuing of talk's appropriateness in male role enactment. Manliness a common theme of talk in Tville. Tville marks both personae and places appropriate for talk. 'scenes and stages for dramatic action' - P takes dramatistic metaphor. place=setting, but also social place and/or place of an idea in the culture and/or [topoi] for ideas. therefore, place includes persona. places for talk="a major unifying perception" for the culture. 4 features of "place" in Tville: a native place term, kind of setting indexed by the term, personae reqd to create a scene, and how scene+persona creates an occasion for talk.

collection & analysis of data. 20 months, 1969-1970 (social worker), then 9 months, 1971-1972 (fieldwork exclusively). did PO and interviewing. followed Hymes' research model. some tape recording. both spontaneous & elicited statements used. focused esp on out-of-role behavior, but not exclusively.

speaking "like a man." tacit understanding on 3 types of situation. (1) those marked for much male talk. social identities must be symmetrical: age, ethnicity, sex, occupational status, location of residence. longtime friends. boys on street corner, men in corner taverns: turfs. (2) those in which minimal talk is expected. identities not symmetrical: diff sex, age, etc., incl boss. (3) those in which talk is proscribed and other expressive activity is required. when a man must exert power over another: note that talk expresses solidarity, so is clearly inappropriate when threatened, since would undercut anything said. talk asserts symmetry, physical action (re?)asserts asymmetry. (a) responding to an insult (to self, wife, girlfriend): boys on a bus said that the man was expected to hit anyone insulting his wife & became agitated about being outside of Tville as a result of the social worker's hesitation about this (feared he would not fight to protect them). however, when a peer does the insulting, talk is a potentially effective response: can insult back, etc. (b) influencing behavior of a status inferior (child): social worker dealing sympathetically with undisciplined boys; John, a male adult, did three things: (i) dismissed notion that social worker was gay (b/c married), suggested he hit the boys, offered to do it for him (with parent's permission); (ii) tried to rationalize social worker's behavior (would be illegal to hit the boys); (iii) decided that social worker was a saint, and transcended ordinary expectations. (c) asserting self in economics or politics. few of the Tville men work in occupations which involve much verbal facility or interaction. when talk of some sort is apparently needed, the Tville man "uses connections" - gets someone else to intervene (priest, shop steward, precinct captain). possessing a lot of connections is manly. note that talking at work would violate norms about talk with outsiders or status superiors. note that use of intermediaries is implicit in Catholicism. sequence is: solidarity with intermediary, intermediary talks with outsiders, status superiors. P noted that when boys signed up for the settlement house, they always brought another boy who already belonged, and who did the talking.

places for speaking. talk is appropriate in "the neighborhood." defined by streets and blocks, though the defns vary from person to person. 10 blocks is about the limit. also a social boundary, which is used to deal with visitors: they must be placed by ethnicity, status, place of residence, etc., to determine if they are appropriate talk partners. even people within the physical neighborhood (Mexicans, "hillbillies") aren't appropriate. P noticed some breakdown of ethnic barriers among Germans, Italians, Poles, Lithuanians, but still "a sharp sense of difference." In 19th C, homes were tightly organized by these ethnicities within the present neighborhood; still somewhat true. participants are sensitive to the "worth" of their speaking style: not as good as North Siders, but better than hillbilllies, Mexicans, & Negroes; all based on comman of Standard English. betters are both resented & respected for speaking styles. this "linguistic insecurity" leads to hypercorrection in other cultures, but not Tville. effort to speak Standard English seen as flight from neighborhood. a local politician [Mayor Daley?] refused to take speech lessons at NWstern on grounds that he'd be socially expelled. students from Tville are very insecure about their English in college. other speaking places within the neighborhood: (a) "the street" (=street, sidewalk, porches). mostly male territory. porches at ground level, easy to talk with neighboring porch. socialize in front of houses, not behind. few side or back yards. 7-10 people per porch; 160 per side of street. no air conditioning. (b) "the corner" will be the turf of a particular group of boys. men use the corner tavern as a surrogate, and shift there in early adulthood. boys identify themselves by reference to their corner ("the 33rds"). a stranger's visit is a challenge to turf; some (Mexicans) not permitted, and may have to fight. others who "belong" to the neighborhood can pass, though. the corner develops loyality, solidarity, notion of boundaries. implies a preference for "restricted code" (Bernstein) based on shared experience. (c) front porch used mainly by girls and women, tho men use it too. women expected to be in home and kitchen. women see neighborhood as smaller than men and boys do. girls need permission to leave the home, must be supervised and give full reports. very limited social interaction in winter. a local lawyer couldn't participate fully in social life b/c he didn't have a front porch on his house.

fieldwork as intercultural communication. chance of misunderstanding high: middle class does talk in intimate places, esp the home; sees "no communication" in Tville. need to find the places for talk before one can find the talk. place & persona must match for talk to happen: Mexicans walking through a corner invite visual scutiny, but not talk. scene & persona not really separable. bowling trophies in front windows of funeral parlors: b/c part of neighborhood, scene for day long wakes, owned by someone who "belongs;" thus the parlor participates in the neighborhood.

conclusions. delicate sense of place in Tville. people must be located in their place, both physically and socially. speech (or not-speech) signals that one knows one's place. the scene-persona conjunctions lead to understandings about how "talk has its place."

ch. 3: Mayor Daley's Council Speech

rhetorical situation: a Teamsterville native (Daley) replies to criticisms by a non-Tville opponent. Focus is on clash of cultures.

the speech & its reception. July 1971, Daley appoints Thomas Keane to Zoning Bd of Appeals. Keane had little experience, but was "well connected" through his political father. Richard Simpson, a U of Il-Chicago prof & alderman, "remarks" about nepotism in his poli sci class and in the council meeting. Daley speaks 5 minutes: NYT calls it a "wild outburst of temper." Daley wins vote, 45-2 (P says the 2=Daley losing iron grip). data: P got audio tape from Studs Terkel, who broadcast it on WFMT-Chicago. audio quality poor, but P has transcribed 90%. P looks to newspapers for help, but notes that they have the time wrong (actually 8 minutes on the tape) & other errors as well. summary of speech: poem about sons, attack on universities, denies elder Keane consulted, says fine boy Polish-American with a great mother, attacks universities, implies Simpson doesn't have son, appeals to fear that relatives can never hold public jobs, attacks universities (pp. 44-47). 4 responses: (1) another alderman defends universities immediately after Daley & Sun-Times says Daley should be more open to opinions of the young. (2) speech characterized as "tirade," Daley criticised for losing temper. (3) psychological analyses of Daley: over-worked, poem really about Hitler. (4) defenses of Daley. P says speech defective in style, logic & pronunciation & is "disingenuous." but all irrel to real analysis, which requires ethnographic view.

an ethnographic interpretation. Tville in Bridgeport, a few blocks from Daley's home. Tville natives regard Daley as one of their own b/c kept neighborhood speech, didn't move, worked for the neighborhood. 2 key cultural motifs: (1) gender. male & female distinctly different; males have larger boundaries, etc. mothers supposed to work to avoid trouble & step in to minimize it (eg, a fight that gets out of hand). (2) place. boundaries imp; also imp to locate people within space. 3 aspects of Daley's speech: (1) symbols & meanings. agents in speech: mother, professor & mayor. poem announces theme that mothers raise sons to be men & take their place in society. code of social determinism in Tville: should strive, but not overstep. Keane's mother taught him well. Mayor should act in his own interests, not altruistically, & requires loyalty from others and extends it himself. honorable to appoint the son of a friend. so both the mother & the mayor are promoting society. professors are evil: pollute young minds. in speech, professor is opposed to "mother" and mayor, opposing Daley's god terms. prof is ignorant, just a talker, while Daley acts: raised sons, governed well. Daley is constructive, prof not. prof is cowardly & naive. (2) the speech as event. in Daley's ancestral home in Ireland, there is a ritual: drunk men exchange insults, escalate to threats, one "takes off his cloak" (meaning that he is out of control & committed to fight), then one of the mothers intervenes to stop it. this is similar to Tville episodes of fighting. in the speech, Daley's turf has been invaded, he is required to take off his cloak, he resents the prof hiding behing the cloak of the university, but the symbolic presence of a mother prevents a real fight. note that Daley is supposed to lose his temper. (3) the structure of honor. two clusters of honor variables: (a) instrumental (politics, economics): power, wealth, magnanimity, loyalty, and precedence (one helps one's own kind). (b) moral-experssive: sense of shame, glory, courage, excellence in debate & war, and piety. Daley acts within this code of honor, and charges that the professor doesn't. note that this code of honor conflicts with the code of dignity (=individuality, imp of the person not the group, equal opportunity, shared power, fairness, self-worth, right to well-being without having to ask for it). professor seems to act from the code of dignity.

conclusions. newspaper accounts missed all this, & so called it a tirade. an imp contribution of this chapter is the code of honor, which illuminates the culture's views of person, society, & strategic action. a person acting in this code is a persona, and takes on a specific identity. the code lays out possible courses of action that can/must be taken. Daley's code relies on "connections" as a means of action; another means of action is "election contests" [like fights?]. another is compromise, in which the more powerful win in proportion to their power. one can collaborate with one's own, but not communicate openly with outsiders.

P learns all this by applying the interpretive method: locating symbols, tracing their relations, finding virtuous & base acts in the narrative. cultural knowledge is applied to the interpretive method, to aid in understanding the symbols (mother, son, etc) and event (like the Irish ritual). this produces an understanding of the code of honor.

Notice that all this reveals many comm theory recommendations as partaking in the code of dignity, but rejected the code of honor: open comm, dialogue, equality of rights, settle by means of reason, etc.

ch. 4: "Communication" as a Nacirema Way of Speaking

Seek special meaning of "communication," as in "we don't communicate any more." focus is on interpersonal communication. Limitations: limited to interpersonal comm, limited to one meaning of "comm."

method. 1 year of fieldwork by P and Tamar Katriel. core data is on two women from Pacific Northwest: unstructured interviews, 3 day logs kept by each woman, observations of each woman. also some misc texts. focused on "comm" and related ideas: "self" and "relationship." seek a "grounded theory of 'communication' as a cultural category in the speech examined." then examined Phil Donohue transcripts which thematize "comm" as a remedy to life problems.

A reading of two lives as American texts.

informant one. M: 36 yrs old, divorced, two daughters (6 & 8). social work degree, but doesn't work outside home. M distinguishes between "small talk" (=between acquaintances) and "real communication" (=between close friends, intimate). Comm penetrates "personal space." close friends listen without criticism; other friends are just for doing things with. sees intimacy as involving both rewards and risks. M frustrated in achieving "real comm:" parents prevented expression as a child (="emotional abuse") & ex-husband worse (said ok people don't have problems & wouldn't hear the talk: this was the major problem in the marriage). M felt disconfirmed, wanted more "supportiveness." M tries hard to provide a different sort of comm for her children: supportive, open, positive self-image, avoids hassles in the morning, answers all questions fully. M feels that the world is hostile & a positive self-image is a necessary shield. M feels life is problematic because of diff life experiences that prevent people from seeing things the same way. "Comm" is both important, then, and very difficult: must bridge people's uniqueness. people can change thru "real comm" - feedback, forming identities, etc. must be "open" to a "rhetoric of conversion." "personal growth" comes thru capacity to choose self identity. comm is the "how" of the negotiated self. dialectic between capacity for change and the "core" of self. only the external parts of self are really being negotiated. need counseling to reach the core. belief in a core self generates a "rhetoric of naturalness" - public speaking teacher says 'be yourself, be natural.' should present true self in a speech.

informant two. K: 25 yrs old, single, business admin degree, works days in a health food store & 2 nights in a tavern. uses "comm" only to refer to interpersonal contact, like M; does not use it in connection with work experiences. K prides self on ability to communicate with anyone. being "open" is essential to good comm. god term is "open communication" (=M's "real talk"). K sees self and others as resources to be exploited by comm: industrial metaphor: comm both a production process and the product. self is changed thru comm; leads to "growth." lack of comm leads to stagnation. comm permits "ultimate experiences." unlike M, K sees a unified self, an open-ended identity. K says as an adolescent, she was noninteractive - in a "prison-house" - tho she knew she was really open to comm. must emancipate self from prison; comm is an "outlet" and an "escape into another [self?]." K says her family wasn't "open;" common in her parents' generation. K able to comm with her mother, but not her father. K says her mother took refuge in K b/c couldn't comm with the father. K had unhappy adolescence b/c no open family forum. highest form of comm is talk about talk. in her log, described spending first 2 hours of an eventually intimate relationship talking about how they communicate. "normal chit-chat" is K's term for what M called "small talk." purpose of the talk about talk is to anticipate & prevent "breakdowns" in comm. comm is the "how" of love & intimacy.

similarities. people occupy a personal space which can be penetrated by comm. each person unique; this is a key resource for comm. comm = growth, not stagnation. needed for personal identity. self image tied to image of ability to comm. both seek control over life. meta-comm is preventive medicine.

the semantic dimensions of "communication." 2 clusters of terms. (1) real comm, really talking, supportive comm, open comm, comm about self or relationships. (2) small talk, normal chit-chat, mere talk. dimensions which distinguish these clusters: close/distant is spatial. implies penetration of personal spaces. making the private public implies closeness. mere talk implies keeping one's distance. supportive/neutral refers to degree of supportiveness of other. give positive evaluation of other as a person (not necessarily of all of other's actions). unconditional positive regard. opposite is not negative comm, but just the absence of any commitment to positive evaluation. openness is willingness to acknowledge other's identity, to change perception of other, to understand other's view of self. negotiated selves, emergent realities. mere talk governed by conventions, not personal relations. conclusion: "comm" is close, supportive, open; mere talk is distant, neutral, routinized.

"communication" as interpersonal "work." "comm," "self" and "relationship" constitute a domain of meaning, or a cultural category. all these are things that should be discussed in this culture, and made to "work" by means of "work" on them. "work" is a key metaphor; mostly machine-based, but also other industrial metaphors are used, such as "invest," "contribute." these lead to organic metaphors, such as "growth" and being "alive." interpersonal life is the object of work and technique (other ways of viewing it: family domain, etc.) M judges herself by the quality of her relationships, K by the quality of her communication. self has components, which can be worked on. comm competence=capacity for close, supportive, open speech=capacity to work on self and relationships. must be an on-going activity, else stagnate. concept of "comm" also permits people to absolve self of responsibility for personal failures: all due to lack of comm, or lack of work on relationship. thus failures don't imply anything wrong about self.

the "communication" ritual. (ritual is P's metaphor.) comm ritual=sequence of episode in which real comm is done. ritual reaffirms the sacredness of "self." P uses Hymes as a guide to the components of an episode. (1) topic. = problems arising re: self and the world. self & world have negotiated definitions. comm is the solution to the (interpersonal, not intrapersonal) conflict between personal uniqueness & need for intimacy. brooding is not acceptable. (2) purpose. = to resolve sense of problematicity by affirming identities & creating intimacy. not a problem solving episode in the sense of having a specific problem to solve: should expect problems to emerge during the talk. (3) participants. potentially, everyone considered to be an intimate. they will see your problem as partly their problem: no imposition. will regard the comm ritual as legitimate. (4) act sequence. (a) initiation: an intimate announces a problem which requires comm & requests the comm. (b) acknowledgment: addressee acknowledges the problem, its legitimacy & the need for comm; they accept the need to comm now & quit anything else. (c) negotiation: problem formulated, examined from diff perspectives, implications explored. self-disclosure by initiator, empathic listening from others. initiator shows openness. (d) reaffirmation: remove threats implied by having taken different perspectives in negotiation phase; show value of relationship. (5) setting must be appropriate for talk, permit privacy. (6) norm of interaction. comm should be initiated when a personal or social problem is felt. initiation should be accepted by the other. strong norm to enact the sequence. if no open comm, also no self or love: not to admit one has problems is obviously to suppress them, since problems are inherent to life. if nothing is happening in one's life, one is dull & one's life is boring & stagnant (implies particular problems for long term relationships, such as marriages). one informant says marriage prevents one's search for self. absence of the ritual can be a problem. note that a person engaged in the ritual is not obliged to appear happy, as is required in "mere talk." the ritual is the only place to find self and love.

on being "in touch" with Phil Donohue. PD show partakes of this meaning of "comm." insists on the ritual. show deals with problems that seem insoluble to some, but which PD's guests have solved. ex-abusers are on the show, not abusers. promote the "rhetoric of conversion." emotions are thematized, climate is supportive, people are open & sharing, problems are provocative, solution is always comm. comm is efficacious: it heals problems. guests often appear with their intimates (eg, whole family of abused child). people "testify" to power of comm. PD himself embodies the value of comm & is an icon for it (as is the show); PD displays his own conversions (eg, about women being people, too).

conclusions. P has found a meaningful way to hear "communication" in the Nacirema context. =speech that shows mutual self-disclosure, positive mutual regard, openness to conversion, negotiated identities. close, supportive, open. is the work required for the dialectic between "be yourself" and "be who you want to be." a solution to the cultural conflict beween self and community. self is the highest good, but is changeable. interpenetration of life spaces needed. leads to growth. comm is the solution to problems in self & relationships. the means for love & self. the comm ritual thematizes human separation & solves it thru obeisance to negotiation of self. (cf prayer) PD an evangelist. PD's success shows that this view of comm is intelligible to many. the competent adult does ethnography on own self.

ch 5: Joanna Kramer's Identity Crisis

Victor Turner shows that public myths & personal stories are interdepedent: myths are intelligible only if they resonate with private experience, and myths can be used as resources to understand own life. study of myths is also a study of their culture. one can identify a culture's code by finding common elements in myths & private stories.

Kramer Versus Kramer (movie: 1979) was a compelling myth at the time the ethnographic data for chapter 4 were collected. movie held to be "realistic." plot: Joanna leaves Ted and son Billy; Joanna & Ted divorce, Ted getting Billy; Joanna comes back after 15 months and sues for custody of Billy; Joanna wins; Joanna decides to let Ted keep Billy.

key agonistic scenes dues to tension between Joanna's abandonment of Billy, and Ted's "growth" from traditional uninvolved father to liberated involved one. Joanna "asserts" self (having broken from conventional role to "work" on self), Ted "grows." Felt conflict over custody due to both of them having "grown" and become "competent" to raise Billy.

Joanna argues in court that her marriage harmed her "self" to the degree that she broke down. Causes: Ted's refusal to let her pursue a career "stifled" her, and did not "communicate" with her about it. Resolution: Joanna goes to California, meets a man who "communicates" with her, and permits reconstruction of her "self." Like Odyseus, Joanna goes on an odyssey (California) and receives a ministry (communication) which prepares her to reclaim her entitlement (Billy) through a trial in which she proves her worthiness. Her prize is to win in court, not to take Billy.

Joanna's account is understandable (though not by everyone) by means of a code of dignity. dignity (intrinsic worth by virtue of human life) constrasts with honor (worth due to place in society). dignity code implies that self must be permitted to grow; society retards such growth through socialization. communication is the means by which the "person" is emancipated from social forces and grows continually; this is the great life work, and a moral imperative.

Ted stifled Joanna by insisting that she stay in a social role. Note how this constrasts with the code of spouses who stay together only because of religious requirements: they value the sanctity of marriage (social role) more than the sanctity of self. Ted denied "choice" to Joanna, but this ability was restored in California, and she "freely chose" to seek custody of Billy in NYC. Ted's answer in court is that he, too, has "grown," and developed a more "competent" "self."

Honor code orients to social roles. Dignity code values "relationship" more than society. "relationship" is reified (as is "self"): one can speak of a "relationship" failing, without reference to the people involved in it: blame is placed on relationship, not persons. a relationship requires a "commitment." (in other cultures, union is seen as a social fact, not dependent on selves for its creation; cf Preamble to Constit: "we the people, in order to form a more perfect union..."). In court, Joanna blames the relationship between her & Ted - not herself - for the failure. a major issue in the trial is whether Joanna can "commit" to Billy: very little talk of "duty." thus, "commitment" is thematized and made problematic: in another code, commitment would be taken for granted. In the dignity code, however, commitment is a "choice" related to "growth." a choice is always precarious, because can be taken back.

"communication" is also thematized as both a problem between Joanna & Ted, and as a potential resource for personal and relational growth. Ted refused to enact the "communication ritual" (ch. 4). Ted refused to be close, supportive, and flexible with Joanna. Joanna's victory in court is a symbolic victory: an endorsement of her claim that Ted had stifled her self.

code of the myth of dignity: key terms: self, choice, growth, difference (between people), relationship, commitment, and communication. primacy of self over society. choice neccessary for growth, which is necessary to counter society. social union only possible if selves make commitments to relationships by means of communication. selves must be continually "worked on." anything thwarting this process is "evil."

ch. 6: Speech Codes in Two Cultures

Bernstein studied coding principles (="a rule governing what to say and how to say it in a particular context"). elaborated coding principle=use novel, complex means to comm intent; comm unique personal meanings; adapt to listener as a unique person. restricted coding principle=rely less on verbal comm; rely more on presumed shared context; emphasize ratification of shared understandings about status. Not the only two codes, but elaborated assoc with middle class in GB, restricted with lower working class. P also sought speech codes, but more exploratory & ethnographic. code="systems of symbols & meanings, about the cultural domain of 'communication.'" codes are resources. code implies defn of person, relationship, how comm links people. "a distinctive way of being, saying, and hearing." this chapter generalizes & abstracts the Tville & Nacirema codes.

the code of honor. =worth of individuals. built of heritage, residence, & past valor. treats people as social categories (eg, male). concept of honor differs from culture to culture. involves reputation, virtue, conformity, respect; all apply community's ideals to the individual. Achilles ( Iliad) stubbornly refused to re-enter war b/c Agamemnon had taken Achilles' war prize concubine, until his friend Patroclus was killed; then Achilles re-enters with a vengeance. Seems odd today, but consisistent with Greek culture, which had two clusters of value words: (a) instrumental (power, wealth, magnanimity, loyalty, precedence) (b) expressive (shame, glory, courage, excellence, piety). 4 aspects of honor: based on individual accomplishments only as viewed through cultural lens; an individual possession, quantifiable; gains & losses of honor very imp to sense of integrity; society is more imp than individual wishes, as in Julius Caesar when Brutus kills his friend in the interest of the state. in The Virginian, the V finally decides to duel Trampas b/c T has said V was a thief & everyone had heard this; V does this in spite of threat from fiancee to call off wedding. V must defend his integrity to have any, and also must act according to the standards of his community. notice that in code of honor, the individual is defined as a role, not as a unique individual. the key roles vary from community to community. notice, too, that society is prior to, & more important than, the individual. role of comm is to put people into their social places. code of honor similar to Weaver's conservative rhetoric, which has three key premises: hierarchy (some things better than others), memory (to judge conduct, must know how such things have been judged in the past), and status (each person has a proper place). Tville partakes of code of honor. much emphasis on place and role. Tville man's reputation affected by others' view of his women (just like Achilles). P reports that Tville boys hurl offensive insults about cleanliness to Tville girls: this teasing warns the girls that they must remain pure. college grads from Tville are worried that they will sound too refined in Tville, and uneducated on campus: point is that individual must see self through lens of Tville. Mayor Daley's speech displays proper roles of men & women, valorizes society, emphasizes various sorts of membership and accomplishments.

the code of dignity. =worth of individual due to being a person. uniqueness prized. intrinsic humanity, apart from memberships. self more imp than society. comes from manner, not acheivements: an inner quality. self determines actions, not the other way around. every person deserves respect. naming & forms of address display informality or formality (eg, Mr. Jones v. Bill, tu v. vous). modern European cultures are turning away from the formal form of address, due to rise of ideology of dignity & equality. The Married Woman's Name, Mrs. Wm Jones, expresses subservience & violates dignity. The Married Woman's Name illustrates code of honor. code of dignity implies that code of honor is unnatural & immoral: evil to prevent growth of individual identity. individual more imp than society, so the former must be reinforced. comm ratifies the self; ideal form is dialogue. code of dignity related to Weaver's notion of modern rhetoric, which has three key presmises: equality (all things of equal value), presentism (decide based on the now, not on the past), process (one must constantly refine one's identity). Nacirema subscribes to code of dignity. god terms are self, comm, relationship, growth, choice. a relationship is organic: can live, die, grow, kill something else (eg, M's & Joanna Kramer's marriages), without implying any personal fault. the social rules for conduct of the code of honor are replaced by the general maxim, "communicate truly," in the code of dignity; roles much more forceful in code of honor. sometimes Nacaremians complain they don't have clear scripts. they do still have some myths, however: Kramer v. Kramer is one.

conclusion. codes of honor & dignity abstracted here from Tville & Nacirema. can be generalized even further.

ch. 7: Speaking Culturally

book has two premises: (1) speaking is imp to lives & societies; (2) that imp is related to culture. talking is a game. "The rules of the speaking game, the object of playing it, and its meanings to its players, all of these are contingent upon the culture(s) the interlocutors use to play it with in particular times and places." (italics omitted) speaking should not be seen as culture-free; is culture-rich. 4 principles of the speech code, when seen as culture-rich.

the cultural distinctiveness of speaking. speaking is thematized differently in Tville & Nacirema. both have the same language, but have diff meanings for "comm," "neighborhood," etc. have diff rules, eg, about whether a child should be heard. Principle one: "wherever there is a distinctive culture, there is to be found a distinctive code of communicative conduct." Nacirema's "comm" has dimensions of close/distant, supportive/neutral, flexible/closed; St. Vincent, W. Indies, peasants have sensible/senseless and polite/impolite. other dimensions found elsewhere/elsewhen: contolled/uncontrolled, substantial/insubstantial. Nacirma metaphor is work; others use alimentary process, heat. in Nacirema, talk links people. in other cultures, they are already linked, and speaking only manifests that; it originates externally rather than from within the person.

the matter of talk. Principle two: "a speech code implicates a culturally distinctive psychology, sociology, and rhetoric." each code has specific goals, values. gives practical knowledge about how to feel & how to do things. displays how people are linked. "comm" linked to personhood, society & strategic action in each culture.

the meanings of speaking. concerned here with use of the speaking code. Principle three: "the significance of speaking is contingent upon the speech code used by interlocutors to constitute the meanings of communicative acts." in Tville, to speak at all to boys who need discipline is unmanly. the speech code is used to "constitute" meaning. this contrasts with Searle, who finds meaning "constituted" in a culture-free way by felicity conditions. P adds other meanings to Searle's possibilities: speaking like a man, being supportive, speaking like one of us. these are cultural experiences of meaning, & speech act theory can't account for them. each culture provides its own set of resources for experiencing meaning.

culture in speaking. Principle four: "the terms, rules, and premises of a culture are inextricably woven into speaking." this happens in four ways. (1) patterns in speaking. Hymes' speech event: "who talks to whom, in what settings, toward what ends, and about what topics." can find the pattern in ordinary appearing talk by applying Hymes' categories on purpose. (2) metacommunicative vocabularies. when people talk about talk, they inevitably display their culture. (3) the rhetorical invocation of metacommunicative vocabularies. the key terms involved in naming, interpreting, comm have rhetorical force. eg, 'my father didn't really comm with me' is an interpretation, an evaluation, of the father. (4) the use of metacommunicative vocabularies in culturally distinctive forms. 3 key forms: (a) totemizing rituals (=structured sequence of symbolic actions paying homage to a sacred object). display emotions and make the honored object explicit. the Nacirema comm ritual is an example. (b) cultural myths (=a story that helps hearers interpret their own experience, and communicate them intelligibly). Kramer v. Kramer an ex. (c) social drama (=sequence is moral challenge to another's conduct, reply/repair/denial, honor/dishonor reply, reintegrate or alienate the challenged one). force of key elements of the code is revealed in the sequence. Simpson/Daley exchange an example.

conclusion. speech codes differ from culture to culture. may be possible to show the range of such codes, or some general organization of them. maybe honor & dignity will turn out to be key ideas. P is opposed to the possibility of universal principles of interpretation. speech codes are to be found in the speaking itself. the 4 principles in this chapter are empirically well-established, but susceptible to disconfirmation in some degree. book addresses an empirical and theoretical question: "how speaking is a radically cultural medium of human communication." suggestions for the discipline of communication studies: [referential function] medium of comm does not merely carry signals, but has significance itself (speech code carries resources for both production & intepretation of communicative action); [rhetorical function] speech codes imp to issue of persuasion/coordination (names the ends & means of coordination, and offers premises one can appeal to in order to obtain cooperation); [communal function] comm creates sense of shared identity (codes of honor & dignity differ on expressing one's place in hierarchy or individual distinctiveness). critical view of comm: comm not just a way of getting the world's work done; also a means of expressing inequality.