Unit13AdaptationTheoryContents13.1Adaptability,variability,andnegotiability13.2Languageuseaschoice-making13.3Context:yetanewaccount13.4Languageuseasadynamicprocess13.1Adaptability,variabilityandnegotiabilityAdaptationtheory:ashortenedtermforPragmaticsasaTheoryofLinguisticAdaptation,proposedbyJefVerschueren13.1Adaptability,variabilityandnegotiabilityAfundamentalquestiontheAdaptationTheoryraisesiswhatandhowlanguagecontributestolifeandsurvival.Theansweristhatlanguageisanadaptablemeansofhumanlifeandsurvival.13.1Adaptability,variabilityandnegotiabilityInadaptationterms,languagehasbeenadaptedtoitsuser’sneedofcommunicativesuccess,whichisessentialtothegoaloflifeandsurvival.13.1Adaptability,variabilityandnegotiabilityDefinedasthestudyoflinguisticadaptationoradaptability,pragmaticsisnecessarilyadisciplinethatundertakestheanalysisofverbalcommunicationasaformofadaptationvitaltolifeandsurvival.13.1Adaptability,variabilityandnegotiabilityTheadaptabilityoflanguageisembodiedinitsvariability(变异性)andnegotiability(商讨性).13.1Adaptability,variabilityandnegotiabilityByvariability,Verschuerenmeans“thepropertyoflanguagewhichdefinestherangeofpossibilitiesfromwhichchoicescanbemade”.13.1Adaptability,variabilityandnegotiabilityBynegotiability,herefersto“thepropertyoflanguageresponsibleforthefactthatchoicesarenotmademechanicallyoraccordingtostrictform-functionrelationships,butratheronthebasisofhighlyflexibleprinciplesandstrategies”.13.1Adaptability,variabilityandnegotiabilityAdaptabilityreferstothepropertyoflanguagewhichenableshumanbeingstomakenegotiablelinguisticchoicesfromavariablerangeofoptionsinsuchawayastoapproachpointsofsatisfactionforcommunicativeneeds.13.1Adaptability,variabilityandnegotiabilityItisthevariabilityandnegotiabilityoflanguagethatmakeitsadaptabilitypossible.Theserelatednotionsmustbeinvokedtounderstandthedynamicprocessofchoice-makingcharacteristicsoflanguageuse.13.2Languageuseaschoice-makingTalkingorusinglanguageexpressivelyand/orcommunicativelyconsistsofconstantlymakinglinguisticchoices,consciouslyorunconsciously,forlanguage-internal(i.e.structural)and/orlanguage-externalreasons.13.2Languageuseaschoice-makingA.Thesechoicesaremadeateverypossibleleveloflinguisticstructure.B.Thesechoicesalsoinvolvecommunicativeorpragmaticstrategies.C.Thesechoicesaremadewithvariousdegreesofconsciousness.13.2Languageuseaschoice-makingD.Notonlydospeakersmakelinguisticchoices,buthearersalsochoosehowtointerpretutterancesproducedtothem.E.Choicesaremadeevenwhentheoptionsareavailabletothemarenotfullysuitable.13.2Languageuseaschoice-makingF.Choicesaremadefromoptionsthatarenotequivalent.G.Choicesaremadeinsuchawaythatchoicesevoketheirnon-selectedalternatives.13.2Languageuseaschoice-makingSomeconspicuousadaptationfeaturesdeserveourspecialattention.E.g.themarkeduseofsomeformsofaddress,code-switching,indirectspeech,andsoon.13.3Context:yetanewaccountThecommunicativecontextthephysicalworldthesocialworldthementalworldtheutterertheinterpreterThelinguisticcontext13.4LanguageuseasadynamicprocessTheadaptationtheoryallowsfouranglesofinvestigation,namelythecontextualcorrelatesofadaptability,structuralobjectsofadaptability,thedynamicsofadaptability,andthesalienceofadaptationprocesses.13.4LanguageuseasadynamicprocessThesefouranglescanbeincorporatedintotheanalysisofanyadaptivelinguisticbehavior,asshowninFigure2onp.179.