speech codes theory

Chapter 32 discusses Gerry Philipsen's speech codes theory. Dr. Philipsen is a professor of communication at the University of Washington and will be honored at the on November 21 at 2008 National Communication Association convention November as the Carroll C. Arnold Distinguished Lecturer. His talk, "Coming to Terms with Cultures," will feature is work in this area of communication studies.

Philipsen changed the name of his theory from "ethnography of communication" to "speech codes theory" because he wanted to move from description to explanation and prediction. According to Philipsen, the culture of Nacirema is practiced by a majority of Americans. According to Philipsen's theory, a distinctive culture will always have a distinctive speech code. For example, in Teamsterville conversation is laced with assurances of common place among those in the neighborhood.

Applying Philipsen's theory, Tamar Katriel studied dugri in Israel, which is a blunt form of straight talk. Dwight Conquergood's research on Chicago street gangs is an example of performance ethnography. Philipsen's theory includes six propositions. The sixth proposition suggests that by a thoughtful use of shared speech codes, participants can guide metacommunication. Speech codes theory has been criticized because Philipsen is silent about power relationships.

In the interview with Em Griffin, Gerry Philipsen said that his current research stems from the Nacirema Code, which emphasizes the individual as unique. In his interview, Philipsen argues that ethnography is a method.

~ Professor Cyborg