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3.5 Ethnography of Speaking The term Ethnography of speaking was originally formulated by Dell Hymes into describe what happens whenever we engage in communication through speech. Since
the use of the term by Hymes, it has been developed to be known as a method in the social approach to language, which draws on the anthropological field of Ethnography to explain how we communicate our experiences in our cultures. The concept was redefined in 1964 as
Ethnography of Communication to include the two major means of communication speech and writing. Any speech event can be seen as comprising several components, and the analysis of these is a major aspect of an ethnography of speaking. Seven types of component or factor can be discerned.
Every speech event involves Setting/scene This refers to the time when a speech takes place and place. Scene does not only refer to the physical scene, but also the psychological setting. This includes the
nature of the communication, the degree of its formality, which is determined by the institutionalized cultural way of behaving when engaged in such kind of communication.
For instance, there are ways a priest is expected to behave when conducting a service. Informal interactions are less rule-governed when compared to formal ones.
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