Speech code theory

Speech codes theory refers to a framework for communication in a given speech community. As an academic discipline, it explores the manner in which groups communicate based on societal, cultural, gender, occupational or other factors. Speech codes theory refers to a framework for communication in a given speech community. As an academic discipline, it explores the manner in which groups communicate based on societal, cultural, gender, occupational or other factors. A speech code can also be defined as 'a historically enacted socially constructed system of terms, meanings, premises, and rules, pertaining to communicative conduct.' 'This theory seeks to answer questions about the existence of speech codes, their substance, the way they can be discovered, and their force upon people within a culture' (Griffin, 2005). This theory deals with only one type of human behavior, which is speech acts. A basic definition of speech code by sociologist Basil Bernstein is, '...a coding principle is a rule governing what to say and how to say it in a particular context'. Work by Gerry Philipsen has been influential in the development of speech codes theory. Work in the 1960s influences the theory as it stands today in the field of communication. Before speech codes theory got its name Philipsen first referred to this theory as the Ethnography of Communication. He decided to change it because he recognized that many people could not get past the idea of Ethnography as simply a research method. He was considered a naturalist who watched, listened and recorded communicative conduct in a cultures natural setting. Em Griffin stated that, 'Many people can't get past the idea of ethnography as simply a research method.' With that being said, Philipsen moved from description to explanation, resulting in him labeling his work 'speech codes theory'. Philipsen's ultimate goal was to develop a theory that would capture the relationship between communication and culture. 'The Speech Codes theory was created for ultimately two purposes. The first was to distill some of what might be learned from a large body of fieldwork research on culturally distinctive ways of speaking. The second was to provide a focus for further research and discussion. The theory was first published in prototypical form with an introduction to the concept of speech codes and a presentation of four empirically grounded principles about speech codes. It was presented as a formal theoretical statements with five empirical grounded propositions, four of which were carried over intact from the earlier version.' (Philipsen, Coutu and Covarrubias).