117 ways of life. This is why discourse varies for instance with the context in which it is practiced. We can therefore on the basis of this identify various kinds of discourse. The classroom discourse, which takes place between the teacher and the pupils is characterized by certain discursive practices that set it apart from other kinds of discourse. For instance, the classroom culture demands that the teacher initiate the lesson and the pupils
respond to their initiation, while the teacher gives the feedback see Unit 10). The culture of some discourse types demands strictly that turns are properly taken, while others do allow interruption. A group of people who have the same ethnic background share and express the same culture when they participate in discourse. That is why the Yoruba culture constrains the speaker to behave in a particular way when they practice their discourse. For instance the norms for greeting differs form one language to another. In Yoruba , the norm is that a younger male person prostrates when greeting adults, while a younger female person kneel when greeting adults.
From our discussion so far, we have seen that cultural practices are closely intertwined with discursive practices. Cultural practices are sometimes expressed verbally, like in the Yoruba use of the honorific forms
é or
èyin for adults or people they are not too familiar with. Culture can also be expressed in discourse non-verbally through gestures. For instance, gaze direction.
In the Yoruba culture, young persons being scolded are not expected to look straight into the eyes of the adult who is scolding them. Likewise, young children are not expected to stay where adults are discussing or even contribute to the discussion.
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