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Discourse Structure of Direction Giving: Effects of Native/Nonnative Speaker Status and Gender
Author(s) -
PEARSON BETHYL A.,
LEE K. SAMUEL
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
tesol quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.737
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1545-7249
pISSN - 0039-8322
DOI - 10.2307/3587371
Subject(s) - linguistics , psychology , first language , sociology , communication , philosophy
This article tests the effects of native/nonnative (NS/NNS) English‐speaker status and gender on the structure of directions issued by native speakers of English. By extending the scope of earlier studies, this paper confirms that direction giving on the U.S. university campus is highly conventionalized (Scotton & Bernsten, 1988). At the same time, it argues that NS/NNS status and gender systematically influence a small range of linguistic choices in the exchange. Specifically, direction givers do make coordinated speech modifications, i.e., use certain features of foreigner register to NNSs in this conversation type, but these adjustments do not match earlier findings (Varonis & Gass, 1982). In addition, gender of both the direction giver (Scotton & Bernsten, 1988) and the direction seeker influence the structure and content of the discourse. The joint effects of these variables also play a relevant role. ESOL instruction can benefit, it is argued, by understanding the components of this discourse patterning.