RECONSIDERING 'PURPOSE' IN LANGUAGE - TRANSACTIONAL AND INTERACTIONAL

10/4/2015

Below are two videos from the film 'Lost in Translation', about an American actor visiting Tokyo. In this first clip, Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson are at a restaurant. Do they manage to order, despite not knowing Japanese?

The other video (below), from the same movie, is actually a 'deleted scene'. Watch the scene and then answer the following questions below (in a 'comment'):

What is the difference between the first video and the second (for example, in terms of the nature of communication)?
Which scene depicts a 'transactional' language situation?
Which type of communication is highlighted most in textbooks: 'Interactional' or 'Transactional' - or both?

4 Comments

Sueli Machado

10/28/2015 10:32:07 am

About the two videos.
The first video seems to present a more efficient communication because Bill Murray was able to use a picture of what he wanted to eat in addition to body language. The waiter might be used to dealing with foreigners, which may have helped in the process of communication.
The second video shows a more transactional communication, the need to interact socially despite the language barrier.
The two ladies sitting on the back thought the situation was funny.
I believe both types of communication appear in our text books. The teacher can elicit students to interpret each situation by using visual aid and body language as well.

Letícia

11/12/2015 10:39:14 am

Since any of them could speak Chinese, Bill Murray had to rely on a different method of communication, which was pointing at a picture on the menu. A great universal tool! They are in a city full of foreigners and the staff must be used to getting orders this way.

On the second video, Bill Murray was actually interacting with the other person, and although they don't seem to be understand each other, there's an exchange process and the main element of it is body language.

Our textbooks present both of them.

Have you ever seen the movie English Vinglish?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dWir9Q_Vek
It shows how a foreigner can be affected by communication.
Very interesting!!!

See you tomorrow!

Letícia

11/12/2015 06:42:14 pm

Correction: they don't seem to understand.

Luiz mello

11/12/2015 07:32:59 pm

I believe that in the first video, the communication was possible because of the situation. They are at a reastaurant, they have the menu with pictures of the dishes and the waitress just needs tp see what they pointed at. They didn't speak Japanese and the waitress didn't speal English. The second video is more complicated. Neither of them have an objective. They are just trying to make small talk, but I don't think they were able to communicate effectively.

RECONSIDERING 'PURPOSE' IN LANGUAGE - TRANSACTIONAL AND INTERACTIONAL

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