Hi Martin and everybody--
Martin wrote,
> As I can read Welsh, I had no problem in reading this non-standard
> English. Her communication to me was competent but to others it could be a
> complete mystery. Where do I draw lines?
What lines? Why can't these "others" talk with the girl? By the way, I read
the girl's writing well without Martin's translation into Standard English.
In my classes, my grad and undergrad students write on the class interactive
Internet webtalks. The rule is that you can write in whatever way as soon as
others can understand you. However, others have also responsibility to ask
for clarifications or explanations. So, I guess my answer is that "lines"
can be drawn and re-drawn by the participants as they participate in
meaningful (for them) communication. In his case, competence is a
relationship among participants and a property of a person.
What do you think?
Eugene
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Martin Owen [mailto:mowen@rem.bangor.ac.uk]
> Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2000 10:57 AM
> To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> Subject: RE: lects
>
>
> ematusov@UDel.Edu writes:
> >Our mainstream culture is a culture of understanding and fluency.
> >Understanding is considered to be non-problematic, expected, and normal.
> >Non- and mis-understanding is abnormal and dysfunctional. If I understand
> >correctly Jay, he calls for destroying the normalcy of fluent
> >understanding
> >and for expecting non- and mis-understandings (and cultural mastery of
> >dealing with them). If my understanding of Jay is incorrect, feel free to
> >attribute the statement to me :-)
> >
> >What do you think?
> >
> >Eugene
>
> This morning I was in a school where the natural mode of communication is
> Welsh. I I collected a bit of language use from a predominantly Welsh
> speaking child. In Bart Simpson mode she was writing out a punishment
> note, which for a reason I have yet to discover, was in English. As you
> will see her writing may at first appear to be completely odd. However
> Welsh, unlike English, is written phonetically (using the Welsh phonetic
> values for the alphabet).
>
> Her writing (in Welsh phonemes) is completely understandable:
>
> To: " Why I have to behave responsibly in lessons" , she replies:
>
> "so wi can lyrn in lesyns and bihef wen tetys tel ys to lisyn" and " we
> haftw bihef and lisyn o wi get a row ol the taim if we dont lisyn".
>
> I translate:
> "So we can learn in lessons an behave when teachers tell us to listen" and
> "we have to behave and listen or we get a row all the time if we don't
> listen."
>
> As I can read Welsh, I had no problem in reading this non-standard
> English. Her communication to me was competent but to others it could be a
> complete mystery. Where do I draw lines?
> Martin
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