19 Wrap-Up
Discussion
At the beginning of this chapter, you placed yourself on a scale similar to the one below.
Read the descriptions on the left and the right.
Count how many points are most true for Claire, Leela, and Officer Mills.
Place (Claire), (Leela), and (Officer Mills) on the scale.
Discuss whether Gilles’ speech matches that of the others.
Are there any similarities?
Are there any differences?
Share your opinion about possible reasons for these speech patterns.
Add Gilles to the scale.
Discuss any patterns you see in how Canadians usually speak or write about rules.
| Fair rules are the same for everyone and every situation. I follow the same rules with everyone. Rules are not personal. The more important the rule is, the more direct I will be. To avoid conflict, I’m comfortable telling people if they aren’t following the rules. |
To be fair, rules and obligations change depending on the person, the context and the relationship. I adjust the rules depending on the person. Rules are personal. The more distant, important, or delicate a relationship is, the softer or more indirect I will be. To avoid conflict, I might not say anything if someone breaks a rule. |
Reflection
In this chapter, we
- recognized how obligations affect directness
- compared how speakers communicate personal or impersonal obligations in talking and writing
- identified rules (formal obligations) and social conventions that are personal or impersonal
- looked for patterns in communication when speakers or writers try to obligate others to follow rules
- adjusted how we speak and write to announce, discuss, or enforce rules.
The writing and speaking activities gave us ways to adjust our use of English. Observing how people in our community talk and write and trying to use new words from this chapter has reinforced, or strengthened, our vocabulary outside class.
Think of some people in your community who you communicate with in English. Think of times you’ve had to talk about rules, responsibilities, and obligations or times you’ve had to enforce a rule. Keeping your own experiences in mind, think about and discuss the following questions:
- How is the way you feel about rules and obligations similar to or different from other people you’ve communicated with? Do you talk about rules and obligations in the same way as others in the community? Do some kinds of rules or obligations seem more important to some people than others?
- What kinds of rules are the most important to you—official rules or unwritten social and cultural rules? How do you talk about them? How can you communicate to others how you feel about rules?
- How do others in your community communicate when someone has broken a rule? Do people talk more or less about rules than you do? Is your style similar to or different from others in your community? How do you feel or respond if you notice differences?
- What might be the consequences of not following social or cultural rules? What happens if you or someone else is unable to enforce a rule? How can this affect your relationships with others in the community?
- Thinking of your own communication style when you talk about rules and obligations, how do you want people to think or feel about (perceive) you when you write and speak? How do other people talk about official rules and unwritten rules? How do you talk about these different rules? What could you adjust about your speaking or writing to make talking about rules more successful?