Филологические науки/

7.Язык, речь, речевая коммуникация

К.пед.наук Засименко В.В.

Херсонский государственный университет, Украина

The peculiarities of learning English speech etiquette

One of the most influential means of bringing up communication culture of teenaged schoolchildren is speech etiquette, which takes an important place in spiritual culture formation of a teenaged person, in general, and communication culture, in particular. Etiquette of each people is a specimen of respectful speech behaviour of its society and the expressive means of people’s honour and decency. But, along with it, we should point out, that spiritual values of speech etiquette are being researched by today’s science and used in school practice not up to their best. In major part of researches they touch upon the questions of bringing up the communication culture in general, but they don’t pay much attention to bringing up ethical culture of teenaged in the terms of poly-cultural surroundings, when in the most number of schools pupils study the second language – English – the language of international communication. That’s why poly-cultural upbringing is the main reason for decreasing of social tension in the society and broadens the possibilities of semi-cultural space, which is the main condition for upbringing of harmonious person. The most precise attention is required for upbringing of teenaged on the examples of speech culture and speech etiquette of native and English languages.

English people have their own cultural distinguishments and values, which they widely use in everyday life. Foreign scientists devoted a whole series of researches to the problems and questions of speech etiquette and communication culture: Brown P. Levinson S. “Politeness: some Universals in Language Usage”; Post E. “Etiquette”; Byram M. “Teaching Culture and Language: Towards an Integrated Model”.

Taking into consideration, that etiquette is one of the norms of human behaviour and takes an important role in peoples` inter-relations, we can say, that the increase of the interest to this phenomenon is connected with widening of international communications and necessity of its practical needs at the present-time period of development.

Etiquette is being explained by English researchers like:

- approved norms of behaviour and ceremonies, normal for respectful society [9; p.637];

- the system of rules and norms, which regulate social and professional behaviour of people [8; p.584];

- keeping to good manners, understanding and sympathy to the other people [6; p.1017];

- the system of private communication, able to ease communication for people and minimize conflicts [5; p.34].

It is necessary to point out that in foreign scientists` works is said: speech etiquette influences speaking person, directs his communicative activity, forms him like communicative person.

It is the most actual in teens, when schoolchildren already have the possibility to view upon the society and its phenomena and speech behaviour themselves and value them via general norms of behaviour and communication.

Taking into consideration the complication and polysemy of etiquette, scientists, particularly Bayburin A. and Toporkov A. turn our attention to its indefinite phenomenological status. They think, there can be different ways of studying it. The researchers point out communicative way (like a specific form of regulation of people’s behaviour), semiotic way (like a system of symbols) and behavioral way (like particular form of behaviour), which are closely connected in individual aspect of communication for teenagers.

Let’s look through etiquette phenomenon via communicative aspect. Etiquette is always a dialogue, not taking into account, that the persons in this dialogue can be distant in time and space. Communicative roles of teenaged pupils are mostly defined by their gender and age. To make a right choice we should account for communicative situation and its particularities, which include gender, age, confession, nationality, relations, friendship etc. Having accounted for all of these, we can coincide our status with the one of your communicator. So, some particularities in certain situation get actualized, and some – neutralized. The particular are being pointed out by schoolchildren, the higher level they are. Actually, the main purpose of etiquette is leveling the positions of both partners. This peculiarity of etiquette (like specific form of teenage behaviour regulator) makes us be more precise in choice of the ways of work with teens.

From the point of view of semiotics, etiquette is the system of symbols that have grammatical structure, which is being used for combining symbols and texts. Every set of symbols contains behaviour stereotype, which can be used in this or that situation. For example, when meeting adults or teenagers it’s necessary to choose one of the polite forms of greeting. The etiquette symbols are being put into the system. Pupil can have his or her own choice suitable for the given situation. It’s important for teenagers, as in this very age they acquire all the necessary knowledge about symbolic systems, so that it allows them to compare their native language with English.

We consider all the above ways to some extent acceptable, but it is necessary to use them in complex for better understanding of the phenomenon. Trying to view upon the meaning of speech etiquette and possibilities of its formation, we came to the conclusion, that the common notion of etiquette doesn’t show its full content. That’s why we define etiquette like combination of generally accepted norms and rules of moral behaviour in certain society that renew the best traditions of the society and regulate external character of their inter-relations.

Methodological basis of etiquette as the most effective means of moral influence upon teenaged schoolchildren is that it presents the best spiritual, cultural and moral specimen of behaviour. Due to its imaginative and sensual sphere, etiquette allows us to come through literal and moral ideas, being combined into phrases, and get touched to them. Speech etiquette is emotionally colored and spiritually high, it is being an experience of lots of people’s feelings that is why it is able to influence upon the view of schoolchildren on surrounding life, forming their inner values and position in life.

The orientation of pupils to the best specimen of moral and spiritual life foresees the actualization of the inner resources (needs, positions, motives and interests), mobilization of motivation resources. It should follow schoolchildren during all the process of studying etiquette specimen by means of native and English language: on the stage of actualization of ground knowledge it is the moral-spiritual quality, on the stage of accepting new material – it is a stimulus for the interest to moral aspect, on the stage of analysis – it is research of upbringing potential of speech etiquette, on the stage of systematization and use of knowledge – it is motivational readiness for realization of moral and spiritual ideals of English speech etiquette. The great role in cultural upbringing of teenagers by means of speech etiquette play certain conditions for widening the sphere of knowledge of teens as for moral-ethical culture and forming of adequate reaction towards upbringing influence of speech etiquette.

Coincidence of knowledge acquiring process and studying moral-ethical values give the most evident result and helps to define the values of interrelation and inner national relations between the people (Bayburin A., Toporkov A., Trofimenko V., Volgin A., Brown P., Levinson S., Byram M., Post E.). This is ever-flowing source of folk ethics and morale, the true examples of kindness, fairness and tolerance, which is the real possibility for teenagers to develop in moral and spiritual ways following them. That is why they are subject for precise research and orientation of speech etiquette.

In spite of this, it is worth while mentioning, that human and national values of etiquette are not alternative definitions. Common human values consist of national components and are fed with them. That’s why it’s important to unite general human values with national ones for the most efficient results. The best ethnical treasures acquire true historical meaning, when they become national treasures. It should be put into schoolchildren consciousness by teachers and tutors, because to be familiar with general human values is to broaden your own possibilities for increasing your own level of behaviour.

Despite of the fact, that the main values of etiquette in native and English languages are ever-existing; speech etiquette of each people differs in its national ethnical peculiarity, which is conditioned by cultural, natural and other particulars of life. So, for the most efficient realization of upbringing potential of speech etiquette it is necessary to encount for its national specification and for not an abstract person, but a decent representative of his nation.

For effective use of etiquette forms teachers, tutors and pupils of teens should encount for the list of traces: age and gender, place, duration and time of communication, the character of inter-relations between co-speakers. Besides, the knowledge of national specification is of great importance too. Although there are many differences between speech etiquette of native and English languages, the majority of traces stay common, because they reflect general communicative culture, common for well-developed countries. Such peculiarities have to become an object for upbringing communicative culture among schoolchildren.

So, for example, there are several similar expressions for greeting a person: How do you do? Hi! Good morning! Good afternoon! Good evening! Hello! One of the most popular English greetings is: How do you do? This formal greeting is used in the situation of meeting people after both persons were introduced to each other by the third person. The greeting: How do you do? does not require any reply from co-speaker, a smile is quite enough to substitute it. This form of greeting can be used for meeting people of any age, gender, social level, it is quite multipurpose, but it’s worth while to point out its official coloring. And such greetings like: Good morning! Good afternoon! Good evening! that reflect certain time, can be used towards any person, without accounting for his or her differential features. The most wide-spread greeting is: Hello! which is being used by teens either in official communication or at home. According to the researches, greeting Hi! (shortened How are you?) is usually used while talking to close people or subordinates. So, when we compare features of speech etiquette of native and English languages, it broadens the outlook and knowledge about etiquette behaviour of the other people, and on this base increases and makes an individual level higher.

Speech behaviour is different for various people and nationalities, and it is being conditioned with such speech traces like national particulars, different speech way of thinking and different reactions, as well.

In upbringing of speech culture communication by means of English speech etiquette acquires orientation for labeled specimen of native people during communication and after that. National speech behaviour carries in itself feelings, emotions, different images and phrases. It makes him or her enjoy communication, provided native language is the leading one for pupils of the same school.

According to the conception of Safonova V. about socio-cultural treatment of speech basis, speech is not only means of communication, but the most important tool for studying world and local cultures and prospects of reaching intercultural understanding. The researcher considers that it is necessary to broaden the sphere of studies and tutorials of the English language and its influence upon teenage personality, and also fully apply tutorial potential to boost intercultural, bilateral understanding of people, national common features.

Such a way for studying foreign language creates necessary conditions for studying countries' peculiarities and culture. Usage of general human and moral-ethical values of each country is crucially important in understanding between peoples and countries, each with its own traces. That is why during studying process there should be looked through either English or native languages, where certain aspects of etiquette are being studied, but there should be one common purpose – get schoolchildren involved into the sphere of respectful communication on the basis of etiquette, approved for certain country.

So, studying the sources of the research approves that speech etiquette is the basis of intellectual speech, aimed at respectful, tolerant contact, respectful speech manner, and, in general, – at spiritual growth of nation, which is vitally important for today’s teenagers. We consider that understanding of the necessity of upbringing communicative culture among teenagers by means of English speech etiquette is a very important step on the way of increasing the level of upbringing for teenagers.

Литература:

1. Байбурин А.К. У истоков этикета: [этнограф. очерки]. / Байбурин А., Топорков А. – Ленинград: Наука, 1990. – 168 с.

2. Сафонова В.В. Социокультурный подход к обучению иностранным языкам / Сафонова В.В. – М.: Высшая школа, 1991. – 311 с.

3. Brown P., Levinson S. Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. – Cambridge, 1987. – P. 13.

4. Byram M. Taeching Culture and Language: Towards an Integrated Model // Mediating Language and Cultures. Towards an Intercultural Theory of Foreign Language Education. D. Buttjes, M. Byram (eds). – Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 1991. – P. 17-30.

5. Lakoff R. Language in Woman’s Place // Language in Society. – 1973. – №2. – P. 32-70.

6. Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture. – Lexicon Publications, Danbury, 1993. – 1150 p.

7. Post E. Etiquette. – M.: International Relations Institute Publishing house, 1961. – 117 p.

8. The New Encyclopedia Britannica. – Volume 3. – Chicago, 1988. – 982 p.

9. The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary // Revised and edited by C.T.Onions. – 1970. – 2516 p.