“Pointing and placing” is an article written by Herbert Clark, and at the same time is a chapter from a book referenced below. Basically, the paper describes two indicating tools, which are directing-to and placing-for. Both are used to point to an object, as well as make someone pay attention to that object. Clark identifies the main difference between the two tools by saying that “directing-to directs a person’s attention to the object whereas placing-for places the object for a person's attention” (262). He claims that both are essential elements in communication between people, and are equally important. Nonetheless, each of them has some advantages over the other. Directing-to, for instance, is capable of pointing at abstract objects, indicating the direction, and pointing at huge material objects. Placing-for, in its turn, is better as it doesn’t usually cause misunderstandings of what is being indicated. After all, Clark argues that the common disregard towards placing-for is wrong, as it is to the same extent important indicating technique as directing-to.
“A Competent Speaker Who Can’t Speak” is an article written by Charles Goodwin. It covers a story about a man, Chil, who had had a severe stroke and after that could only use three words, which were: yes, no, and and. Nevertheless, the author describes Chil as a rather good “speaker”. Despite that Chil is almost unable to use language he is still a good speaker and storyteller. Chil’s communication ability is based on intonation, prosody, gestures, facial expressions, and use of aforementioned placing-for and directing-to. Using all of those tools, and applying them to the talks and actions of people around, Chil is able to communicate with others rather successfully. According to this, Goodwin concludes that “Language is constituted not only as a public sign system but also through the mutual use of public practices for building action and meaning in concert with others” (166).
Works cited
Bucciarelli, Monica. “Pointing and placing.” Pointing: Where Language, Culture, And
Cognition Meet. Ed. Sotaro Kita. Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum, 2003. 243-68. Print.
Goodwin, Charles. “A Competent Speaker Who Can’t Speak: The Social Life of Aphasia.”
