L'ethnographie de la communication de Dell Hymes à John Gumperz

Abstract

The ethnography of communication is a methodological tool helping to discover and to raise awareness about the multiple behavioural components, as well as a landmark in certain anthropological and ethno-socio-cultural theories. It deals with practical action, namely with all social expressions and individual behaviour and represents a « considerable practical value » for teaching/learning foreign languages and studying any type of intercultural communication. Thanks to the ethnography of communication, learners of a foreign language get a holistic vision on the set of linguistic, social and cultural behaviours. The grammar of behaviour and the grammar of language intertwine in human interactions. The article presents the evolution of the ethnography of communication from the viewpoint of its concepts: interdisciplinarity, contextualization conventions, communication skills, etc, the role of authentic data in context and in situation, the components of a conversation in the form of SPEAKING (Dell Hymes, 1972). In his turn, John Gumperz speaks about the status and the roles which depend on the context, on the verbal repertoire and on interethnicity. In conclusion, all research in ethnography of communication has a vital importance in language teaching thanks to the introduction of acting, sociological and cultural standards, as well as of the situational framework of reference which determines the diversification of language facts by richer speaking means due to the speakers' attitudes, beliefs and opinions. The article is completed by a glossary of terms used in the ethnography of communication and by a guiding bibliography in the field.