ABSTRACT
This approach, introduced in the 1950s and early 1960s by D.Hymes and J.J.Gumperz (see also Pike 1954), is concerned with the analysis of language use ( usage vs use) in its sociocultural setting. In contrast to the then popular linguistic theories of structuralism and transformational grammar, this approach is based on the premise that the meaning of an utterance can be understood only in relation to the ‘speech event,’ or ‘communicative event,’ in which it is embedded (see Hymes 1962). The character of such speech events (e.g. a sermon, a trial, or a telephone call) is culturally determined. It is believed that the rules governing language use can be established by systematic
field work).
