SILKA SAMARINDO 0713042012

NEGOTIATION MEANING

(Second Language Acquisition Assignment)

By:

SILKA SAMARINDO

0713042012

English Education Study Program

Arts and Language Education Department

School of Education and Pedagogy

University of Lampung

2011

I.                   INTRODUCTION

Negotiation of meaning is a process that speakers go through to reach a clear understanding of each other.

Negotiation process usually occur during communicative exchange in which addressee had difficulty understanding and addressor sensed this difficulty, addressor can restructure the conversation in order to make their input comprehensible to the addressee and thus allow the conversation to continue. In this restructuring, addressor could pause and question addressees as to whether they understood, or sensing confusion on the addressees’ parts, then addressor can simply repeat it. Such modification in restructuring also can be used. It would give the interlocutor more opportunities to negotiate for message meaning and would allow addressees more time to process message content and thus sort out the confusions it triggered. Addressees could restructure for clarification or through utterances seeking to confirm whether what they heard was actually what had been said.

For example asking for clarification, rephrasing, and confirming what you think you have understood are all strategies for the negotiation of meaning.

In the classroom, information gap activities such as jigsaw readings or listening, group story building, spot the difference and communicative crosswords are examples of activities that give learners the opportunity to develop their communicative competence through negotiation of meaning as they share information.

Pica et al (1989) suggest that negotiation of meaning basically consist of four interrelated moves. They are trigger (T), signal (S), Response (R), and follow up (F).

II.                FRAME OF THEORIES

According to Pica et al (1989), negotiation of meaning consist of some interrelated moves, they are:

  ü Trigger (T) : utterances followed by native speaker (NS) signal of total/partial lack of understanding.

  ü Signal (S) : of total or partial lack of understanding. There are four types of signal;

a. explicit statement or request for clarification

b. request for confirmation through repetition of the nonnative speaker (NNS)

c. request for confirmation through modification of the NNS

d. request for confirmation through completion or elaboration of the NNS

  ü Response (R) : Reply of the signal.

NNS Response:

a. Switch to the topic

b. Suppliance of information relevant to the topic, but not directly responsive to NS signal

c. Repetition of the NS modification of trigger

d. Self modification of trigger (phonological modification, semantic modification through synonym or paraphrase, morphological modification through eddition, substitution, or deletion, syntactic modification through embedding and elaboration)

e. Repetition of NNS trigger

f. Confirmation of signal only

g. Indication of difficulty or inability to respond

Response to NNS:

a. Comprehension signal

b. Continuation move

ü Follow up (F) : indication of understanding

III.             CONVERSATIONS

Conversation I (Female ad Female)

M : Marlina

N  : Nesti

M         : I have new Korean film nes…

N         : er.. sorry? Request for Clarification

M         : I have new Korean film…

N         : Oh.. Good. What is the title? (R)

M         : Bread, love and Dream.

N         : er… Request for Clarification

M         : film in Indosiar every day at 4 pm (T)

N         : Oh, that good film. (R)

M         : Yeah… Reaction to the Response

N         : lets we see now mar…

M         : now? Request for Clarification

M         : Yeah.. why? Repetition of the trigger

N         : but we should going to the campus now. .

M         : Oh, yeah. I forget about that. . (R)

N         : what time is it? Request for Clarification

M         : 9 o’clock

N         : we have an hour to see that film before go to the campus

M         : hmmm.. Ok

N         : OK… lets we see..

Conversation II (Male-Female)

Bondan           : Lets enter in that boutique!

Mira                 : er.. (T)

Bondan           : why? Request for Clarification

Mira                 : Ok (R)

Bondan           : ready? Request for Clarification

Mira                 : ready! (R)

Mira                 : which one does you chose? Request for Clarification

Bondan           : er.. The blue oblong above the red oblong, eh? the yellow oblong. (R)

Mira                 : alright. Faster, faster

Bondan           : the red cylinder beside the blue oblong

Mira                 : left or right? Request for Clarification

Bondan           : right. (R)

Mira                 : right yeah OK.

Bondan           : OK

Conversation III (Male-Male)

E : Eko

I : Igaz

E          : what are you doing bob? Request for Clarification

I           : hmm.. (T)

E          : I ask you bob! Repetition of the trigger

I           : oh, sorry. I am playing poker game in facebook. (R)

E          : oh.. I know that game. Reaction to the Response

I           : Really? Request for Clarification

E          : yeah bob.. (R)

I           :how many level of chip in your  account? Request for Clarification

E          : 100 M bob.. (R)

I           : wow, incredible hot!!! Reaction to the Response

E          : yeaah… hahha

I           : are you selling your chip? Request for Clarification

E          : yeah, sometime when I need money (R)

I           : well, what gadget did you get from selling the chip? Request for Clarification

E          : only this ponsel.. (R)

I           : wow.. Reaction to the Response

E          : btw, what level of your account? Request for Clarification

I           : I’m in level 50 bob. Ace! (R)

E          : good! Reaction to the Response

I           : yeaah (R)

E          : well, I have to go now bob!

I           : OK (R)

E          : good luck for your poker bob!

VI.      CONCLUSION

From the analysis, I can conclude that in negotiation of meaning there are four interrelated moves which occur in the conversations, there are trigger, signal, response, and follow up. Trigger occurs when speaker say something but the hearer doesn’t understand clearly what the speaker says. Then, the hearer will show signal in order to clarify the word that hearer doesn’t understand. After that, the speaker will response that signal and finally the follow up will occur.