Ethnography, Linguistics, Narrative Inequality: Toward an Understanding of Voice by DellHymesReview by: Karen E. JohnsonThe Modern Language Journal, Vol. 81, No. 2 (Summer, 1997), pp. 263-264Published by: Wiley on behalf of the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers AssociationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/328801 .

Accessed: 28/06/2014 10:04

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

Wiley and National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations are collaborating with JSTOR todigitize, preserve and extend access to The Modern Language Journal.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 91.223.28.188 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 10:04:58 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Reviews 263

proficiency is the topic of the final essay in the book. Judith Cox and Dominique Linchet describe a foreign language across the curricu- lum program at Birmingham Southern College, in which students may take a cellular-molecular biology course in French and a modern Ger- man history course in German. Although the program is perhaps still too young to provide conclusions, it offers fertile ground for future research.

In general, the book is conscientiously edi- ted. It suffers somewhat, however, from a title (imposed upon it perhaps by the title of the conference program) that the editor does not explain well enough in his remarks to mean- ingfully link the essays contained therein. Finally, this reviewer offers, more as a profes- sional observation than a criticism of the book, that the "1995 SCOLT Advisory Board of Indi- vidual Sponsors" (pp. 89-91) would be enhanced by the inclusion of the names of many more active researchers and scholars in second lan- guage acquisition and learning, especially those employed in SCOLT's geographical area, than it presently includes. The absence of such names implies-accurately or not-possible disapproval of the scholarly efforts of the orga- nization and of its publication series and, for those who know the field and its research, reduces the impact the series could have in the profession.

DAVID P. BENSELER Case Western Reserve University

ETHNOGRAPHY

HYMES, DELL. Ethnography, Linguistics, Narrative Inequality: Toward an Understanding of Voice. Lon- don, Taylor & Francis, 1996. Pp. xiii, 258. $24.95, paper.

I recently attended a doctoral defense in which the candidate described himself as an ethnogra- pher and his research methodology as eth- nography. After 15 weeks as a participant- observer in an elementary English as a second language (ESL) classroom, he claimed that his data enabled him to understand this classroom from the perspective of its participants, and that he had gained insights into the shared social meanings of the language used between this teacher and her students. If Dell Hymes had attended this defense, he would have disagreed.

In part 1 of his book, Ethnography, Linguistics, Nar- rative Inequality: Toward an Understanding of Voice, Hymes claims that most, if not all, classroom research is not ethnography. He argues that classrooms are not studied long enough, not compared to other classrooms, not studied within the social, political, economic, and his- torical contexts in which they exist, and that there is no sustained cooperation between classrooms and those who study them. If, on the other hand, ethnographic research is cumula- tive, comparative, comprehensive, and coopera- tive, in other words all of the above, then it can change society and schooling as we know it. Without these, Hymes protests, such research is useless to schools.

In part 2, his condemnation of classroom research and his criticism of traditional linguis- tic inquiry continues as Hymes argues for a comprehensive sociology of language, one that integrates the fields of sociology, social psychol- ogy, education, and anthropology for the pur- pose of developing an understanding of and an appreciation for the linguistic repertoires of speech communities, and for the actual commu- nities of speakers who use them. Hymes illus- trates this point in part 3 through a detailed examination of the structure and function of oral narrative in Native American, African American, and university communities. He characterizes oral narrative as a mode of fram- ing and expressing one's experiences that is universal to human communication. When oral narrative is discouraged in schools and other institutions, those who come from communities where oral narrative plays a central role in cul- tural expression and shared social meaning are denied an essential means of expression. In effect, Hymes claims, schools discount what children know because they express it in narra- tive form. However, if teachers know how oral narrative functions in their students' commu- nities they may be better able to take advantage of such competencies within the classroom.

In essence, Hymes's criticisms of educational research and educators stem from the inability to see oral narrative as a valuable human resource that can be exploited for what it can bring to and do for schools and society. Ethnopoetics, that is, the study of oral narrative as a culturally orga- nized mode of expression, can not only help us to understand the stories told by members of a community, but also enable us to understand the people who tell and hear the stories, and to understand what happens to narrative compe- tence within our schools and our society.

This content downloaded from 91.223.28.188 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 10:04:58 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

264 The Modern Language Journal 81 (1997)

The residual message that weaves through this collection of 10 papers, written, presented, and, in some cases, revised by Hymes over the past two decades, is that while linguistic theory may claim that all language is equal, in reality, all language is not equal. Hymes claims, "how- ever much all language may be the same from certain standpoints, it does not count as the same in life" (p. xii). Therefore, he argues that it is the role of ethnographic linguistics to uncover the actual inequality that exists for some languages and, more importantly, to determine the cost such inequalities exact on those who speak them.

Although readers will come away from Hymes's book with a more insightful and comprehensive understanding of voice, they should be fore- warned that this book is a collection of papers given at different times, to different audiences, for different purposes. If readers take Hymes's own stance, then they must recognize that lan- guage can be understood only in terms of its use. This, of course, requires readers to recog- nize with whom it is used, where, when, and why. Thus, the footnotes given at the end of each chapter will be helpful in this regard. In addition, because many of the chapters were originally delivered as lectures, Hymes assumes readers have a great deal of prior knowledge about the research and researchers he men- tions. Despite such minor distractions, which are often found in collections of published essays, there is much to be learned from this book. For teachers and researchers who are fas- cinated by language and its uses, it is not enough to recognize the potential equality of all language. Instead, ethnographic linguistics must explore the relationship between lan- guage, speech communities, and social inequal- ity in cumulative, comparative, comprehensive, and cooperative ways, if the resulting under- standings are to make a significant contribu- tion to equality and opportunity for all people. Our understanding of voice must not be limited by our methodologies, our ignorance, or our inability to recognize the actual inequalities and notjust the potential equalities. For Hymes, this is where ethnographic linguistics can and should make a difference for our schools and our society.

KAREN E. JOHNSON The Pennsylvania State University

ESL

CLARKE, MARK, BARBARA DOBSON, & SANDRA SILBERSTEIN. Choice Readings. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996. Pp. xxi, 271. $15.95, paper.

The authors of Choice Readings, a book that is intended for intermediate-level adult or sec- ondary English as a second language (ESL) or English as a foreign language (EFL) students, "believe that reading is an active, problem- solving process" (p. i). To demonstrate this commitment, the authors immediately direct students to complete a multiple-choice activity on the text's purpose on the first page of the preface. This text presents two major kinds of units-odd-numbered units that address skill- building exercises and even-numbered units that focus on allowing students to interact with longer texts. The longest of the passages, how- ever, is slightly less than four full pages. The skills exercises contain nonprose reading tasks (such as maps, tables, and forms), word study, sentence study, paragraph reading, and dis- course study. The text also contains an answer key and a sample week's lesson plan. The ac- tivity types tend to be somewhat typical of most recent ESL reading texts with fairly frequent exposure to skimming, scanning, thorough comprehension, and critical reading tasks. I found myself attracted to the visuals as well as the passages. The authors provide many dif- ferent photographs, line drawings, and fram- ing devices. They also include a wide array of passages ranging from popular science and lit- erary excerpts to advice columns and geog- raphy.

The primary virtue of this text is its flex- ibility, as it provides various readings and exer- cises to serve many different purposes. I hon- estly cannot think of a particular type of reading task or reading purpose that is not represented in one way or another in this text. The most obvious drawback (and I consider it to be a minor one), is that the text appears to be written by a committee and thus sometimes offers disjointed progressions. Overall, how- ever, I consider this text to be a valuable resource with a great repertoire of texts and activities. The passages hold the reader's attention and the activities are generally enter- taining and thought-provoking. I would rec-

This content downloaded from 91.223.28.188 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 10:04:58 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions