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Language and Occupation (building on social groups) (Functions of…
Language and Occupation
(building on social groups)
Functions of Occupational Language:
Instruction
Interview
Conference
Briefing
Appointing
Disciplining
Internal/External Language
Language interactions may occur between, or among those within a given occupation or between those inside and outside (customers, clients and the general public).
Whether the interaction is internal or external will significantly affect their language.
Exclusive Language
Some uses are exclusive because they shut out people who do not know them.
An example of when this happens is when doctors share a common lexicon i.e ECG.
Neologisms
Some occupations are notorious for promoting neologisms.
These may be used for competition or individual advancements i.e mcnuggets.
Hierarchies and Terms of Address
Do not assume that greater explicit courtesy is shown to those of higher status- it is often the reverse.
To address someone by surname only is usually a mark of great familiarity.
It is common in the UK to address those who have attended independent schools or held commissions or worked in services by their last name.
Titles
We express status through: titles, first names and last names, i.e Miss, Mr and Mrs.
They also include honorific titles that express a relationship between speaker and listener, chief guv, boss.
Terms of Address
We abbreviate some terms of address in writing but not in speaking, for example Mr- Mister.
If one speaker uses TLN and the other uses FN this shows a difference in status.
Lexis
Almost every occupation has its own lexicon specific to that occupation. This is common lexicon with different meanings.
Codes
These are often understood by the staff. They are explicitly pragmatic and rely on shared understanding, for example: code yellow.
Giles Accommodation Theory
convergence and divergence to help understanding, for example doctors to patients.
Swales Discourse Communities
They have members who share common goals and communicate internally using specialised lexis and discourse.
Koester's phatic talk
Importance of phatic talk as it leads to relationships with colleagues. He claimed 'solidarity was an important feature in the work place.