22 Measuring language ability and making decisions

2.3.1.1 Setting
Setting is the physical and temporal characteristics that form the backdrop to lang-
uage use. When we walk into a room, for example, we take note of the furnishings,
the placement of windows, the colours, the lighting, decorations, and so on. We also
note the temperature, the time of day, and perhaps the season of the year. These
characteristics influence to some degree the way we use language: a comfortable,
homelike, and familiar setting versus a more stark, austere, and alien setting will
certainly affect our language use. More broadly, an office, a place of worship, a
football stadium, and a classroom are all settings that we associate with differing
language use.

2.3.1.2 Participants
It is well known that we use language differently when talking with our grandmoth-
ers than when talking with close friends than when talking with business associates.
We speak differently to those of higher social status than we do to those who may be
our social equals. The number of people involved in the interaction also influences
the type and amount of language we use. In writing, our intended audience will make
a difference to how we construct the message. Even in receptive language use, listen-
ing or reading, the identity of the speaker or author will influence how we interpret
the communication.

2.3.1.3 Ends
Here Hymes referred to communicative goals or intentions. Why are we writing
or listening; what do we hope to accomplish? The participants in a communica-
tive setting might share communicative ends, as when working together to solve
a mutual problem, but might also have differing goals in mind, as in business or
political negotiations, for example. It is also possible that participants might have
different goals unbeknownst to each other – what we refer to as ‘talking at cross pur-
poses’ – or that the goals are unclear to at least one of the parties involved, resulting
in some degree of disfluency no doubt.

2.3.1.4 Act sequence

In order to get the A in SPEAKING , Hymes was forced into some rather opaque ter-
minology. Act sequence refers to both the content of the message and to the way it
unfolds, the sequence of ideas. For example, one might write about yachting by first
describing the many pleasures to be enjoyed at the helm of a large craft – the gentle
rocking of the waves, the sun, the seabirds, fresh air, and so on – and only come to
the dangers of storms and heavy seas towards the end of the piece, particularly if the
intent was to encourage more people to go out and buy a yacht. We typically employ
a temporal sequence for a set of instructions: first insert tab A into slot B; next fold
along dotted line C – D. The ordering of ideas is a key part of effective language use.

2.3.1.5 Key
The tone or manner in which we convey a message might vary in a number of ways. We
might describe an event angrily, admiringly, humorously, or altogether dispassionately.