Giving directions as a speech event : a cross-cultural study of English and Emirati Arabic

255 Pages·2002·9.5 MB·English

by  Taylor-Hamilton, Carrie Anne, 1957-

GIVINGDIRECTIONSASASPEECHEVENT:
ACROSS-CULTURALSTUDY
OFENGLISHANDEMIRATIARABIC
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CARRIEANNETAYLOR-HAMILTON
ADISSERTATIONPRESENTEDTOTHEGRADUATESCHOOL
OFTHEUNIVERSITYOFFLORIDAINPARTIALFULFILLMENT
OFTHEREQUIREMENTSFORTHEDEGREEOF
DOCTOROFPHILOSOPHY
UNIVERSITYOFFLORIDA
2002
Copyright2002
by
CarrieAnneTaylor-Hamilton
ToAlexandra,whomIlovemorethanlinguistics
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Fewdoctoralstudentsarefortunateenoughtohaveacommitteethatisashelpful,
knowledgeable,andcongenialasminehasbeen. Dr.DianaBoxerhasbeeneverythingI
couldeverhavewantedinachairandamentor. Herencouragementandgoodadvice
keptmegoingevenwhileIwasoverseasandprospectsoffinishingseemedremote. I
havegreatlybenefitedfromworkingwithherandlearningfromher,andIcannotthank
herenoughforthetimeshehasspentwithme. Ihavethedeepestprofessionaland
personaladmirationforher.
Dr.AidaBamiawasofinvaluablehelpwiththeArabicpartofthisdissertation,goingfar
beyondthecallofdutyinherhelpwiththetransliterationandinterpretationoftheArabic
languagedata(althoughItakeallresponsibilityforanyincorrectinformation). Ihave
alsoappreciatedherfriendshipandourmanywonderfulconversationsonArabculture. I
wouldliketogivehermythanksforbeingsopatientwithmylackofknowledgeofthe
Arabiclanguage.
IwouldliketothankDr.JoaquimCampsforhishelpwiththestatisticalpartofthis
research. Iverymuchappreciatedhisguidanceinthisarea. Dr.AllanBumsgavemea
greatdealofadviceandfeedbackonhowtogoaboutconductingethnographicresearch.
Iamverygratefulforhisinsightandexpertise. Dr.AnneWyatt-Brownhasprovidedme
withvaluablefeedbackonmywritingandonmanyoftheideaswithinthisdissertation.
Sheandherhusband,Dr.BertramWyatt-Brown,werealsoofgreathelpinallowingme
tostayintheirhomewhenIreturnedinthesummerfromtheUAE. Iwouldalsoliketo
thankDr.J.C.CasagrandeforsittinginonmydissertationinDr.Wyatt-Brown’s
absence.
TherearemanypeopleintheUAEwhosehelpIneedtoacknowledge. Firstand
foremost,IwouldliketothankRobinStarkandMikeDaviesforbeingincredibly
supportiveofmyresearchwhileIwasworkingatADMC.StephenMunnswasagreat
helpwhileIwasatADWC,andhewasespeciallyunderstandingwhenitwastimeforme
tocomehomeandfinishthis. MounaA1Kousi,DineLahcen,andAbdulkarimArikat
wereofinvaluablehelpingatheringtheArabicdata,andmydebttothemisenormous.
MycolleaguesatbothADMCandADWCwerewonderfulaboutgivingdirectionsinto
mylittletaperecorder,andIcertainlybenefitedfromdiscussionsofmyresearchwith
them. ThanksalsogotoAhmedKendil,whodidtheoriginaltransliterationoftheArabic
data,andtoWafaaKendil,whohelpedmetounderstanddirectiongivinginArabic.
IwouldalsoliketoexpressmydeepappreciationtoallofthewonderfulHCTstudents
whoparticipatedcheerfullyinthisstudy. Specialheartfeltthanksgotothefourstudents
IV
whohelpedmewiththeethnographicinterviews. Thesefourtookhoursoftheirown
timetogivemeaninsideglimpseoftheirworld,andIdeeplyappreciatetheirkindness.
TheyshowedmetrueArabhospitalitythatIwillneverforget.
Ialsowanttothankmyparents,AnneandJimTaylor,forgivingmealoveoflearning
andfortellingmeallmylifethatIcouldaccomplishanythingIwantedtodo. My
brother,MarkTaylor,hasbeenaconstantsourceofsupportandlovethroughoutthese
yearsofwork. Mylatebrother.DaleTaylor,alwaysbelievedthatIknewmorethanI
actuallydo,andIwishhecouldbewithustoseethisfinished.
Afewotherpeopledeserveawordofthanks.IamgratefultoTandyBaileyandChan
PhilipsforinvitingmychildovereveryweekendwhileIworkedonmyresearch;to
LyndaAupouriformoralsupportwhileIwasgatheringthedata;toSteveFlocksand
KarenEberlyfortheirhelpwhenIwasbackinGainesvillepreparingformyquals;tomy
dearfriendShrimateeOjah-MarahajforhersupportduringmytripsbacktotheUS;and
toDr.JodiNelms,foryearsofadvice,help,andfriendship.
Idon’tquiteknowhowtothankmyhusband,BruceHamiltonandmydaughter,
Alexandra,fortheirloveandsupportthroughoutthewritingofthisdissertation. This
dissertationbelongstothemalso,becausetheyhavehadtogiveupsomuchtoseeitget
finished. TheyhavehadtoseefartoomanyDisneymoviesjusttogetoutofthehouseso
Icouldwork. Brucehasknownallalonghowmuchthismeanttome,butIamsureit
musthavebeenespeciallydifficultforAllietounderstandwhyhermomhadtospendso
muchtimeworking. Thetwoofyoumeanmorethananythingintheworldtome,andI
thankyouforshowingyourloveformebymakingitpossibleformetocompletethis
doctorate.
v
TABLEOFCONTENTS
page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv
ABSTRACT ix
CHAPTER
1 PURPOSEANDBACKGROUNDOFSTUDY 1
ResearchQuestions 5
OutlineoftheStudy 7
ReviewoftheLiteratureRelatedtoInterlanguagePragmatics,GivingDirections,
SpatialDescription 8
InterlanguagePragmaticsResearch:theBasisoftheResearchParadigm 9
SpeechActTheory: DefiningDirection-GivingasaSpeechEvent 21
ClarkandSearle:theSpeechActofReferring 23
GriceandtheCooperativePrinciple:AToolforAnalysis 25
Schegloff:FormulatingPlace 28
SpatialDescriptioninAnthropology 30
PlaceNames 33
RouteDescriptionandWayfindingStudiesinCognitiveScienceandCognitive
Psychology 35
Conclusion 39
2 RESEARCHMETHODOLOGY 40
PreviousWorkonMethodologies ; 40
ResearchMethods:AdvantagesandDisadvantages 42
JudgmentTasks 42
OralInterviews/EthnographicInterviews 44
TheDiscourseCompletionTask(DCT) 46
Role-plays 52
DataCollectedFromFieldNotes 53
Tape-RecordedandVideotapedData 54
WrittenText 56
TheCentralControversy:IntuitiveDataorNaturallyOccurringData? 57
Competence/Performance 57
MethodologyinthisStudy 60
vi
5
BackgroundtoDataCollection 61
DataCollectionProcedures 64
DataforthisStudy:NaturalorElicited? 69
DifferencefromNaturally-OccurringData 70
Conclusion 71
3 QUANTITATIVEANALYSISOFDIRECTION-GIVINGDATA 73
PurposeofChapter 73
Direction-GivingStrategies 75
SuccessinDirection-GivingSequences 80
SocialVariables 84
Conclusion 96
4 DISCUSSIONOFSTRATEGIES,SUCCESSRATE,ANDVARIABLES 98
Introduction 98
DiscussionofStrategies 98
DiscussionofSuccessRate 11
SocialVariables 121
Conclusion 125
5 QUALITATIVEANALYSISOFDATA 128
Introduction 128
CanonicalFormofDirections 128
DirectionSequencesfromtheLIEnglishData 133
DirectionSequencesfromLIArabicData 146
DirectionSequencesfromtheL2EnglishData 154
RelationalDirections:MoreL2Examples 161
VerbForminL2EnglishData 165
Conclusion 168
6 ETHNOGRAPHICPERSPECTIVESONSPACEANDDIRECTIONS 170
PurposeofEthnographicInterviews 170
SettinguptheInterviews 171
AnEmiratiViewofPlace:theLandmarks 173
TribalOrganizationofNeighborhoods 180
TalkingaboutGivingDirectionsandUsingLandmarks 182
TalkingaboutStreetNames... 186
DirectionGivinginHistoricalPerspective 189
Conclusion 192
Vll
7 PEDAGOGICALIMPLICATIONSANDCONCLUSION 194
ResultsandDiscussion 194
ImplicationsforTheoriesofTransferinILPResearchandtheRole
ofSocialChoice 196
PedagogicalImplications 206
ImplicationsforStudyofCultureandSpatialDescription 210
ImplicationsforCognitiveStudies 213
LimitationsofStudy 214
FinalRemarks 214
APPENDICES
A 220
B 227
REFERENCES 234
BIOGRAPHICALSKETCH 242
vm
AbstractofDissertationPresentedtotheGraduateSchool
oftheUniversityofFloridainPartialFulfillmentofthe
RequirementsfortheDegreeofDoctorofPhilosophy
GIVINGDIRECTIONSASASPEECHEVENT: ACROSS-CULTURALSTUDY
OFENGLISHANDEMIRATIARABIC
By
CarrieAnneTaylor-Hamilton
May2002
Chair:DianaBoxer
MajorDepartment:Linguistics
Recentstudiesinspatialdescriptionhaveshownthatallculturesdonot
perceiveandtalkaboutspaceinthesameway. Thisstudyexaminesthespeechevent
ofgivingdirectionsandisbasedon118samplesofaudiotapedsecond-language
secondlanguage(L2)Englishdirectiongivinggatheredfrommalenativespeakersof
GulfArabicintheUnitedArabEmirates.Additionalinformationwascollectedonsix
socialvariablesthatmayinfluencetheabilityofL2speakerstosuccessfullygive
directions.
Thestudycomparesthesedatatobaselinedatainfirst-language(LI)Arabic
andLIEnglish,collectedinasimilarfashionfrom46malenativespeakersofEmirati
GulfArabicand50maleandfemalenativespeakersofUK/BritishIslesEnglish. The
dataaresupplementedbyethnographicinterviewswithEmiratinationals,which
examinethesocial,cultural,andhistoricalcontextsofdirectiongivinginAbuDhabi.
AnalysisofthedatarevealsthatwhengivingdirectionsinL2Englishtoa
nativespeakerofEnglish,Arabicspeakerstendtooveruserelationaldirectionsand
underutilizelandmarksandstreetnamesasdirectiongivingstrategies. Analysisof
IX
someofthebaselinedatainEnglishandinArabicrevealsamuchgreateruseof
landmarksandlessrelianceonrelationaldirections. Itisarguedthattheinfrequent
useoflandmarksinthesequencesprohibitsthe“accumulationofcommonground”
thatClarkandWilkes-Gibbsclaimtobenecessaryfordiscoursetoproceedinan
orderlymanner. Theinfrequentuseoflandmarksmayreflectachoicebasedonthe
socialcontextofthedirection-givingencounter,thatis,thelackofshared
membershipneededtoformulateplaceintermsofcommonlyrecognizedlandmarks.
Theoveruseofrelationaldirectionsisatransfer-of-trainingissueduetothe
factthatmostbeginningEnglishassecond/foreignlanguage(ESL/EFL)textbooks
focusonthisstrategy,relyingonthetextbookwriter’sintuitivestereotypesof
directiongivingratherthanincorporatingtheuseoflandmarks,cardinaldirections,
anddistance/timereferences,whicharecommonlyusedinauthenticEnglishLI
directiongiving. Thefindingssuggestthatencouragingstudentstousemultiple
strategiesmayleadtomoreeffectivecommunication.
x