Hymes (1974) has proposed an ethnographic framework which takes into account

the various factors that are involved in speaking. An ethnography of a communicative

event is a description of all the factors that are relevant in understanding
how that particular communicative event achieves its o!ectives. "or convenience#
Hymes uses the word $%&A'()* as an acronym for the various factors he
deems to e relevant. +e will now consider these factors one y one.
,he Setting and Scene ($) of speech are important. $etting refers to the time
and place# i.e.# the concrete physical circumstances in which speech takes place.
$cene refers to the astract psychological setting# or the cultural definition of the
occasion. ,he -ueen.s /hristmas message has its own uni0ue setting and scene#
as has the %resident of the 1nited $tates. annual $tate of the 1nion Address. A
particular it of speech may actually serve to define a scene# whereas another
it of speech may e deemed to e 0uite inappropriate in certain circumstances.
+ithin a particular setting# of course# participants are free to change scenes# as
they change the level of formality (e.g.# go from serious to !oyful) or as they
change the kind of activity in which they are involved (e.g.# egin to drink or
to recite poetry).
,he Participants (%) include various cominations of speaker2listener#
addressor2addressee# or sender2receiver. ,hey generally fill certain socially specified
roles. A two3person conversation involves a speaker and hearer whose roles
change4 a 5dressing down. involves a speaker and hearer with no role change4
a political speech involves an addressor and addressees (the audience)4 and a
telephone message involves a sender and a receiver. A prayer oviously makes
a deity a participant. (n a classroom a teacher.s 0uestion and a student.s response
involve not !ust those two as speaker and listener ut also the rest of the class
as audience# since they too are e6pected to enefit from the e6change.
Ends (&) refers to the conventionally recogni7ed and e6pected outcomes of an
e6change as well as to the personal goals that participants seek to accomplish on
particular occasions. A trial in a courtroom has a recogni7ale social end in view#
ut the various participants# i.e.# the !udge# !ury# prosecution# defense# accused#
and witnesses# have different personal goals. 8ikewise# a marriage ceremony
serves a certain social end# ut each of the various participants may have his or
her own uni0ue goals in getting married or in seeing a particular couple married.
Act sequence (A) refers to the actual form and content of what is said9 the
precise words used# how they are used# and the relationship of what is said to
the actual topic at hand. ,his is one aspect of speaking in which linguists have
long shown an interest# particularly those who study discourse and conversation#
and it is one aout which ( will have more to say in chapter 1:. ;thers too#
e.g.# psychologists and communication theorists concerned with content analysis#
have shown a similar interest. %ulic lectures# casual conversations# and cocktail
party chatter are all different forms of speaking4 with each go different kinds of
language and things talked aout.