Discourse Patterns in First Language Use at Hcme and Second Language Learning at School: an Ethnographic Approach

Literature Z 38

literacy (Scribner and Cole,1981). Snow (1984) reviews studies on the
Contextuallzedzdecontextualized distinction and concludes that

Despite the wealth of speculation [on such distinction], only very
little evidence is available to confiris the claim that skills with
the two language types are separable. (Snow, 1984:15)

In my opinion, the fact that all definitions of ^,decontextuallzatlon^,, in
all their nuances, rest on a basic differentiation between utterance and
text of the sort proposed by Olson makes the definition difficult and the
issue of the transition to∕acquisltion of literacy rather confused. If one
takes as starting point a discoursal∕pragmatic approach to language and
stresses the similarities rather than the differences between spoken and
written forms, the text vs. utterance distinction may be dropped in
favour of that of discourse-as-a-process vs. text-as-a-product (Brown and
Yule,1983). In this perspective, what is studied is

... the record (text) of a dynamic process in which language was
used as an instrument of communication in a context by a
speaker∕writer to express meaning and achieve intentions
(discourse). (Brown and Yule,1983:26)

This model applies to both written and oral language:

... participants' prior knowledge ... powerfully influence their
interpretations of discourse and hence the connections which they
perceive, and impose, on a stretch of speech or a piece of
writing. ... In written  language,  knowledge  of genre  and  of

communicative intentions  form an  important  framework  for an

audience's expectations and Inferences. (Collins and
Michaels,1986:209)

The model of conversation ... is a co-operative venture in which
the participants seek to increment the commonly-accepted set of
propositions by contributing further propositions that are
relevant to it. (Verth,1981:134)

The observations by Snow presented above now sound more to the point, as
the connection between oral and written language is clearer: they both
rely on interpretation of Information provided by the context, by the
background knowledge and by the particular cohesion devices used.

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