Even, Yet, and Still

Even, Yet, and Still Even, Yet, and Still Even, Yet, and Still By Maeve Maddox Until recently I thought that the pleonasm even still was to be found only in the uncertain writings of college freshmen. Then I read this in the current issue of my favorite writers magazine: Traditionally published books get the nice displays, posters and extra attention from store managers. Even still, many of the titles end up in the bargain bin. I did a Google search and found millions of examples of the wretched expression. It seems to be especially popular in the titles of songs, poems, and blogs. Here are some examples: . even still, Id happily do it all over again. even still, Safari sucks. Even still we lose our way Is Anyone Even Still Blogging Anymore? At the risk of beating a dead horse, Ill try to explain why even still does not belong in careful writing. As adverbs modifying comparatives, the words are virtually interchangeable: She is even happier today than she was yesterday. She is still happier today than she was yesterday. Fans want still more details of their favorite celebrities. Fans want even more details If the expression is intended to mean still, then still is enough: Is anyone still blogging? If it is intended to mean yet, then yet or one of its synonyms should serve: nevertheless, however, notwithstanding: Nevertheless, Id happily do it all over again. Notwithstanding, Safari sucks. Nevertheless, we lose our way. That being said, sometimes the words even and still can come together correctly when the even is being used as an intensifier and the still is an adverb of time: Do they even still make Zima? Why Hilary is even still in the race†¦. Finally, heres a dilly of a headline that Ill leave to our readers to sort out: Yet Even Still More U.S. Presidential Election Maps Already Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Idioms About Numbers5 Lessons for Mixing Past and Present Tense10 Functions of the Comma

Understanding Communicative Competence

Understanding Communicative Competence The term communicative competence refers to both the tacit knowledge of a language and the ability to use it effectively. Its also called  communication competence, and its the key to social acceptance. The concept of communicative competence (a term coined by linguist Dell Hymes in 1972) grew out of resistance to the concept of linguistic competence introduced by Noam Chomsky. Most scholars now consider linguistic competence to be a part of communicative competence. Examples and Observations Why have so many scholars, from so many fields, studied communicative competence within so many relational, institutional, and cultural contexts? Our hunch is that scholars, as well as the contemporary Western societies in which most live and work, widely accept the following tacit beliefs: (a) within any situation, not all things that can be said and done are equally competent; (b) success in personal and professional relationships depends, in no small part, on communicative competence; and (c) most people display incompetence in at least a few situations, and a smaller number are judged incompetent across many situations.(Wilson and Sabee) By far the most important development in TESOL has been the emphasis on a communicative approach in language teaching (Coste, 1976; Roulet, 1972; Widdowson, 1978). The one thing that everyone is certain about is the necessity to use language for communicative purposes in the classroom. Consequently, the concern for teaching linguistic competence has widened to include communicative competence, the socially appropriate use of language, and the methods reflect this shift from form to function.(Paulston) Hymes on Competence We have then to account for the fact that a normal child acquires knowledge of sentences not only as grammatical, but also as appropriate. He or she acquires competence as to when to speak, when not, and as to what to talk about with whom, when, where, in what manner. In short, a child becomes able to accomplish a repertoire of  speech acts, to take part in speech events, and to evaluate their accomplishment by others. This competence, moreover, is integral with attitudes, values, and motivations concerning language, its features and uses, and integral with competence for, and attitudes toward, the interrelation of language with the other code of communicative conduct.(Hymes) Canale and Swains Model of Communicative Competence In Theoretical Bases of Communicative Approaches to Second Language Teaching and Testing (Applied Linguistics, 1980), Michael Canale and Merrill Swain identified these four components of communicative competence: (i) Grammatical competence includes knowledge of phonology, orthography, vocabulary, word formation and sentence formation.(ii) Sociolinguistic competence includes knowledge of sociocultural rules of use. It is concerned with the learners ability to handle for example settings, topics and communicative functions in different sociolinguistic contexts. In addition, it deals with the use of appropriate grammatical forms for different communicative functions in different sociolinguistic contexts.(iii) Discourse competence is related to the learners mastery of understanding and producing texts in the modes of listening, speaking, reading and writing. It deals with cohesion and coherence in different types of texts.(iv) Strategic competence refers to compensatory strategies in case of grammatical or sociolinguistic or discourse difficulties, such as the use of reference sources, grammatical and lexical paraphrase, requests for repetition, clarification, slower speech, or problems in addres sing strangers when unsure of their social status or in finding the right cohesion devices. It is also concerned with such performance factors as coping with the nuisance of background noise or using gap fillers.(Peterwagner) Resources and Further Reading Canale, Michael, and Merrill Swain. â€Å"Theoretical Bases Of Communicative Approaches To Second Language Teaching And Testing.† Applied Linguistics, I, no. 1, 1 Mar. 1980, pp. 1-47, doi:10.1093/applin/i.1.1.Chomsky, Noam. Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. MIT, 1965.Hymes, Dell H. â€Å"Models of the Interaction of Language and Social Life.† Directions in Sociolinguistics: The Ethnography of Communication, edited by John J. Gumperz and Dell Hymes, Wiley-Blackwell, 1991, pp. 35-71.Hymes, Dell H. â€Å"On Communicative Competence.† Sociolinguistics: Selected Readings, edited by John Bernard Pride and Janet Holmes, Penguin, 1985, pp. 269-293.Paulston, Christina Bratt. Linguistics and Communicative Competence: Topics in ESL. Multilingual Matters, 1992.Peterwagner, Reinhold. What Is the Matter with Communicative Competence?: An Analysis to Encourage Teachers of English to Assess the Very Basis of Their Teaching. LIT Verlang, 2005.Rickheit, Gert, and Hans Strohner, edi tors. Handbook of Communication Competence: Handbooks of Applied Linguistics. De Gruyter, 2010. Wilson, Steven R., and Christina M. Sabee. â€Å"Explicating Communicative Competence as a Theoretical Term.† Handbook of Communication and Social Interaction Skills, edited by John O. Greene and Brant Raney Burleson, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003, pp. 3-50.