IOURNAL OF EDUCATION, Volume 171 Nurnber i, i989 LITERACY DISCOURSE,AND LINGUISTICS: INTRODUCTION fames Paul Gee Department of Lingtistics, Universitl, 6f ;\outhern California, Ins Angeles What I propose in the folio'adng papers,in the main, is a way of talking aboutliteracy and linguistics. I believe that a new field of study, integating "psychd' and "socid' approachesto languageirom a variety of disciplines, is emerging, a field which we might call liceracy studies. Much of this work, I think {and hope}, shares at least some of the assumptions of the {ollowing papers.These papers,though written at different timeg and for diffierent pur- poses,are, nonetheless, based on the ciaim that the focus of literary studies or appliedlinguistics should not be langriage,or literacy,but socialpractices. This claim, I believe,has a number of socially important and cognitively inter- esting consequences. "Langu.agd'is a misleading term; it too often suggests"glamrnarl' It is a truism that a personcan know perfectiy the glammar of a languageand not know how to use that language-it is not just r,r'&a;;'ou say,but how you say it. If I enter my neighborhoodbar anclsay to nry tattooed drinking buddy,as I sit dowrr, "May I havea match pleaselj' my grarnmar is perfect,but what I havesaid is wrong nonetheless lt is lessotten rerrrarkedthat a personcould be able to usea languageperfectly and str-l?nqt make sense.It is not lust how you say it, but what yon are and cJowhen yo\ say ir:.If I enter my neighbor- hood bar and say to my drinking buddy, as\ sit down, "Gime a nratch, wolldyaij'while placing a napkin on the bar stool to avoidgetting my newly presseddesigner ieans dirtli I havesaid the right thing, but my \ayingdoing" r:ombination is nonethelessall wrons. I am deeply indebted to Candy Mitchell ior editing this collecl ion of papers,and to fim OBiien lbr copy€diting ihe papersappearin3 here {or the first tim:. The following peopleare responsible {they may be aghast to hear) Ior having helped to lead me to the views I bold. First, a set of people whose writirqgs harreirupired me: ll'allace Cha{e,Michsel Cole, k'lul Gumperz, Shirley Brice Heth, Dell Hymes, William hbov, Roger and Su:rurne Scollon, Bri;ur Street, Gordon ldblls, and fim \{'ertsch. Second, a group of people not only whose writings hare inspired me, but whose discus- sion of the issues in these paners witb nre, a.lrell as whose friend-ship, has left me aln"aysin their debt: Elaine Andersen, Maria Brisk, Chip Bruce, Courtney Cazden, David Dickenson, Stert Krashen, Stele Gordon, Stere Griffl'r, Henry Girorrx, Donel lo Macedq Sarah Michaels, Bea Mikulecky, Eliiot Mishler, Candy Miti:hell. Catherine Snow,and Dennie 14blf. These papen ulti- mately all hale their origin in the kindness that SarahMichaels and Courtney Cazdenextended to me when I first arrived irr Boston try rnviting mc to ta-kean interest in their concems. (:-, lor-rrnalo{ Education,Vo}umt l,tl, i".lrrniberl. t989. Trustees of Boston University BOSTON L]NWERSIT}- F. Niyi Akirrnaso and Cheryl Aiirctuti1lf9!)'. nteylt "simulated iob job r ne interviewg' from two lveifare mothers in a CETA training Pro8ram' previous job,, ;;-;;, asked whether she has ever shown initiative in a y-es,therds this WalgreerlsAgenlv, I *"tk"1i:,1T-:::17 r""p"rarhit"ff, people opJr"tor, OK. A;d it lvas a snow stonn, OK' And it was usually srx usingthe workir/ in a group. :' *J* forth {p'34}' This womanis simply ;;"s {ihe wrong 'tiiabcrffor this tvp".of (t*dttt:;tl":,tlT:::ltl t*;- get you th-lstype ot loDm It's a fJrfectly goodgrarnmar {diatect}, it iust wodt this type of societl'. The secondwoman {the authord "succesd'case} respondt- 19.t .t*"]?t reaxy question by saying:". .I was lett alone to handle the office' ' ' ' l clrclrIt any situa- frarr. a tot of But I had enough experience to ded with time, if there-was ;;a; ;;.'up."*p.ii.tt""' . and those trrat t coutdat handle at the qlSstronsto find out someone rn-hohad more erperience than rnyself, I asked I drddt Know wno what procedure I would use' if something came up encllt I rvouldr/t forget io ,""fiy to, I would iot it down . .o', a pie"e of paper,so ttrat So alf them about itr"i if iiy""" that was more qualified ihanrnysclf, I could hrndling i .rra n *:l *ruid go about so^lvingit. So I feel I'm capable of iust JU""i*y .i*ation,"whether it's on hy ovrn or rurder superviti"d,' !p ls, 111}^r].t speecn' woman ha^sr1tgot a real problem with her grammar (remeab:r,thls sheputs tlat not wziting), nor is there any real problem with the use to which but she is expressingthe wrong vaiues' Sheviews beingleft in charge srasrmar, peopldd' f.;;;;il;-;;;; ;'a';;;sion, nairelv., supervision bv "other knowledg"an<lexpertise.^aoa'h"failstocharacterizeherownexpertisein this response it* .p,imisiic form called for by such interviews' Using authors' ,n.*"*pit"*.:i oi "successfultrainingl; is only possiblebecause the that ""o*rr" th"t i"rr5uage is more.than grammar {namely, 'trsd'}, are unaware communicatiorris more th\ languageuse' At any !non'].ent\r€ aie t"rrgu"g-ewe-must sayor write the rightthing "tlg to hold the in ttt" ,iglrt *"y while playing tf,e right iocial role and (appearing| ;i-d; b"ti*ts, and attiiudes. Thus, what is important is not language, "rfur, saying (writing)-doing-being-valuins-belieuirtS -"iiiioA""r."These:nid surely not granrmar, but combinaiions I call'Discoursesi'with a capital 'Tl' {'$s- w-ith a little ,dj, to me, means connected stretches of language that ;;"*.,, 'Di5orrrs9!e1e]^/:l)nlg!!g!{}g *"k ."rr"t, ,o "discoursd' is part of "Disc"*d\: in thelrorlG; !hef'are is bund at the back-of .A combined reierencelist for all the articles m this issueof the /ournal ,Xpi"i'ir"rU: p"ffr"ir.a ,tticles that arereprinted here, citetions t}at originailv ,ft;;i.,i];.h;.*; same it"rreb.in ,.,pd"tea'*lie..,pptopri"te' ll.l.the cist of multiple iistingsfor the ,rrJt" o*ts to tlre original citations' ;;J;f#,il"*.l.ot]tn" t"tt.i'"rj' 'b';',"a t" iontt ha',ebeen added sligbtshift fromGeds eallier - " Editols ncte:"Dissourse" lrsused here rv ith a capital"D'rnarksa useof the term.Set rheessav "Whar Is Literacy?"in thrsvolume' Volurne l7l }trumber l' 1989 TURNAL OF EDUCAflON, posliTl- well asgestures' glances' at@ -bod1' gjao*ffi*se completewith the a sort of "identitv kit'' which comes is talk' and often write' so and ii't*ct io"' ot' t'ow to act' appropriatecostume ttto,c"o: "tt"-"1':it-1 asto takeon ilpartrcurar;t^b;;;;;.Yry 'B*"Ha linguist' anoto r r".*"i fiink' andact like il;ff;;;,,'f" rrles of Discourses: (enact- t"o]"Jo "-'p""t''i-o'5o*t ot ntr-exam. recogrize otheo *nt" a member of a cer- or a Russian' t"* o'. ing) being an Amencan " " ""oman' e:acuti\re' a doctor- .r""",'"ir..;;;;;k; a-boarrlroom rain socioecono*" ()r a student' a student ot patient, an admrnistrator' or a hospital circle' a club a strcet "i""i""iit'Jltt]t:t' ;;;t"il.tf a setins ohvsicsor a st,ra."t or tocalbar'ut atlharr martv J"ti'JiiJ o' !ans,a lunchti-" 'o"ia " "s'1" "' " "Discourses' ^"-io* that much that is claimed' acquire' ao Discounierlisc'lr trqefi Itlt tums outoutr ao." one or socially situatec to be true oi secondla:rgua, ge acquir;ition controversiar.ry, tpsr Crosiean'1982; Krashen' cosrition tseebe,rgss; DJav];;';;##n' nogoffe' Lave'1984) xrash*#'; e;; li' 1983; Larre' ipga ; i e-82.l 9 8 sa, t98sb; Discou$es'Discourses obviousli;; ;;;;'^"quisitionof is, in iat:t,more ttranlanguages' and hardly by ot'ent#tt"ti'"" t"*^" lessso arenot rnastered sirtins in a classrooml'but fluently atqJiJ t""ot'a t"t]gtt"gt anyoneever " thnottght"affold"a atta encuttuatior,('app"#i*'h'lii;1\t*fi tltTttt by *5" tti'i rrasteredthe Discourse supponedintc'"""oo *'iti-nto-i3lt lreadv ts howwe all acquired'ournatillanguage tCazden,1988; Heath, f lSai' fno' puDuc- ft is how we'acquireall later' rnole and our home-basedoittontt"' youdodtget Ily#t^i'"t' t()trte Jocialpractice' orientedDisco""t'' '"tttt you oorrr navc it'rr' voi *-'-',o**s in the Discourse, vou;;;;;;= '"* lflj^::::t"'TTl,are not ffilJ;bodies of ijt*."*., ,.i,"'oo* ?t ":tv*'!:t*tt ,Dffi" know like" phYsicqPl you ca! The qlost You l4rl do is to x th€F to be a e-- various ljlscounies w urL' LUuq*' -i- ' 'r"H#tif"ffiThe iiY.nffrer; theie is :T"T":ff;often conflict are not ftdlvluly cons"ll:-,T'L:,*3in,,,r",r.tioo"lLwrrrrollr i"sing *i.t";and often i.nteractional $yres,styles, uses ;?;;*;t",*"t the.values'b"lt'ltfl1llfl?li"'.,-,., .rr ,.,,,ore Discourses ol language'an., wavs ;,;";l;r{1111*::*;X":i"-"1;"""1iffffior ili"ff;:,nffi ;#ffi "^ in which we humansare consislenj i represent. Thus, there is r;ili in hct, - ---,:+:.6-;e ^r c^"irl '#,"?".:il.::?'H".:"::'i";:;'**+:{"jl*:ffiwellintegrateocreaturssuur; "i';;;;th;oC', '*T:we are J;; rve do T:*ffitoo, whjle most Discourses assum( {rrJthus in them]. )of pnl'nrzrysocicirz{tfta\ on-ea1-ry#r*-r;r*t*ff.r* ffi n., rrrro.ul,our -'- -' ' Discourse' :' initial Disccurst:' lms initid . .^ cense- o{ peer gro{]p, itrt"t. to make^n7',' senseof which I c;rll the world and inte with BOSTON UNTVERSITY originai asd home-based sense of identity, and, I believe, it can be seen whlnerrer \ ie are interacting with "intimated' in totally casual {unmonitored} social interaction.