WPC, WP_TV98894035WPTVWPC2WPTVWPC2s-8  HH $  Times 8{WP}01  HH  2$HH  Geneva  <Px443!#4$*$$*$ KK  Geneva  Geneva .,6 Geneva   ve:pa Geneva  ve:pa Geneva jchsdoxPrStWPHS[ *fH w; ?@/ : 2 PU "  +¼RU(<8@@  H,.Ȫ  (#/b,++@ @@0 +;;,k +m.˪.} @0 " *3*켤 b  2 Z; ;سȪ+@  JI,-?, B@ h 0(2;l:)*8`  ("  =-j,h*˲H@.‚ 4x*    ;ޯ+.J"@  .*ޚǟ 8 "((+.('al( BBl* ( "Br,,,*BTC BRo.( (." B<*~)# BdMar0  kl;/*r*orreg  "(ag,ˊ|'(urgrul 2P8PHe~ Kht@Lica   Box3*²ȮT @@ L  *  52*?:.|icAvim*   Rz*/zψt SiT("  "eg-J*7޻.ި B esre*((Xi)(䧭ދ"at@MadA   (+kE-./|J8( K 8   h ""#k 4Jzk,a ( -(ت̺< ( )>*O|"P(  -Þ벾˷ AAp"   _*x|"z.ޠA  @ )0EJJ"ޤoFtnj`̰ k k` WordPerfect)P3.53.5, 1989, 1995 Novell, Inc.(P3.5Created with WordPerfect 3.5.?9(#s,?9x HH@R(,, `,-^&'}T*StylJPSetbPJobnTStlzwPrvversSTR WDatPtPt* cyu@'4 t tĿ  ={WP}23{WP}10{WP}01' 's,{WP}10 <<KK ..,,..,,s,s,s,Courier Margaret Field0 ' '0UCLA American Indian Studies Center$ '  '$AAA 1998 Philadelphia 0"'  '0$".'  '$WTriadic Directives in Navajo Language Use:0.:..'  '0a a Second Type of Linguistic Relativity$:F' '$   0FXFF' '0$Following Dell Hymes (1966, 1972), several linguistic' 'anthropologists have pointed out that members of a speechjj' 'community share not only a common linguistic code but other,||' 'nonpropositional norms for language use as well, including' 'nonverbal cues, patterns for sequencing, s,s,s,s,Ϳands,s,s,s, participation' 'structure in speech events. Indeed, Hymes characterized this' ' second type of relativity, or relativity of language use, astheoretically prior to that of grammatical, or purely linguistic,relativity. Although the work of Benjamin Whorf focuses on thelatter type of relativity, his teacher Sapir devoted more' 'attention to the question of relativity in language use, and its  ' 'relationship to culture, in general. For Sapir, a central research' 'questions- was the identification of socially significant, or00' 'culturally meaningful behavior, as opposed to individual s,and/s,or' 'idiosyncratic forms of behavior. He argued that such sociallyTT' 'significant, or shared behavior may be identified through lookingfor common ideological values which underly it, s,and s.s,which membersof a culture use in interpreting it. Sapir (1994) insisted on theimportance of identifying a "configurational pattern" as evidencein supporting any statement about cultural values. As both Sapirand Hymes have also recommended, the task of anthropologists inidentifying such a basic, configurational pattern within a culturebegins with the documentation of particular practices, linguistic' 'as well as nonlinguistic, followed by the identification of a' 'pattern uniting these practices, which may be directly related to' 'what Sapir (1994:85) termed the  evaluative judgements or  s, s,Ϳvalues s, s,' 'of the society under study."X>$In this paper, I follow this analytical methodology,beginning by identifying a particular social practice which I' 'observed in my research into language socialization practics/es onbb' 'the Canoncito Navajo reservation, that is, the use of triadicNtt tt&&> H' 'Nparticipation structure in the giving of directives (from adults' 'to children). I then proceed to identify other contexts where the' 'same pattern for language use may be observed in s,s,Ϳadults,s,$' 'interaction, drawing my examples from other ethnographic work' '(Aberle 1961, Rushforth 1981), as well as traditional NavajoH' 'literature describing similar patterns of interaction among theZ' 's,s,Ϳdeitiess0̿s,s,, who, in Navajo cosmology, share a social organizations1l' 'much like that of human beings. Finally, I outline a~' 'configurational pattern for Navajo interaction which includes&' 'other nonpropositional aspects of communicative practice as well8' 'as s,s,Ϳgrammaticals,s, forms, and suggest that the cultural valuesJ' 'embodied by these social practices include an emphasis onindividual autonomy, self-determination, and a general egalitarian' 'ethic in all social relations. In particular, I argue, the use of' 'triadic participation structure in the giving of directives is a' 'strategy for indirection which works to defer authority away from' 'the individual source, allowing the recipient of the directive ' 'greater s,s,Ϳautonomys,s, in choosing wheths2er or not to comply, while2' 'simultaneously diffusing authority across multiple individuals. 9>$:' '$Examples0;h' '0$ Triadic directives involve three participants: a source, anz' 'intermediary, and a s,s,Ϳtargets,s, of the directive. In caregiver-child"' 'interaction, triadic directives involve a directive from an adult' 'source, aimed at a particular child target, but mediated by aF' 'child, or group of children, as intermediary. Reported speech mayor may not be involved. Examples s,13 s3s,illustrate some differencesin form for the interactional routine of triadic directive-giving:B$$C'  '$  1) 1 $((On the playground, Mara falls down, skins her knee, 0D '  '0  2 $and begins crying. The teacher is standing right next0E'  '0  3 $to her with another child, Kenny)0F$'  '0  4 ->T: Kenny, help her. Help her up.0 G1'  '0  5  ((Kenny goes over to Mara and gives her a hand up.0 H>'  '0  6  She is still crying))0 IK'  '0  7 ->T: Tell her 'be tough.' 0 JX'  '0  8 K: Be tough.0 Ke'  '0$ ((Mara stops crying))VL r&L H'  'V0M$0$' '0  $In this example, which occurred on the playground, Mara, (s,age0 ' '3, s4s,who is also the teacher's daughter), falls down and hurts' 'herself only a few feet away from her mother, who is standing with`<' 'other children. Rather than go to her daughter, the teacher givestriadic directives to an intermediary child (Kennys,, 3s5s,) to help' 'Mara, and to tell her to "be tough" (e.g., not to cry). This' 'example is particularly illuminating, as it shows that triadic' 'directives extend to situations in which they would likely s,s,Ϳnots,s, be' 'used in mainstream non-Native American culture. As illustrateds6 by' 'this example, they work not only to elicit a certain behavior on' 'the part of the target, but to socialize children into appropriate ' 'roles toward each other, "s,that iss7"s,, to teach children to takeresponsibility for other members of their peer group.  Z0h$Example 2 involves a particular classroom role called being-in-charge, which a different child (usually an olderchild) was chosen to fill everyday at naptime. One child isselected by the teacher to fill this role, and his/her dutiesinclude staying awake and making sure that everybody else stays ontheir mat and is quiet. In this example, Corey (4 years) is incharge, and Mara (4) is not lying down when she is supposed to be.Two parents are present in the classroom, talking with theteacher, and they are the ones who give Corey the triadicdirectives, e.g., to  look" and to  go get her. $ dhX'  '$  0eXdX4'  '0fdp$gp|'  '$2) 1   Parent 1:How come Maras not lying down? 0h||X'  '0  2 -> $$Corey, look, Maras not taking a nap.0ie'  '0  3 -> Parent 2:Go get her, Corey.b jr rj H'  'b$$$$ (11/27/95 fieldnotes) $k'  '$$l' '$  $0m' '0$Triadic directives like the one in l.2, look are also0' 'commonly used in the classroom as a diss8cipline technique,' 'involving the &s,&s,Ϳentire peer group&s,&s, as intermediary. An English term`' 'for this type of triadic directive is shaming. In these+x' 'interactions, the adult source directs the attention of the peerC' 'group )s,)s,)s,)s,Ϳ(as intermediary))s,)s,)s,)s,)s,)s,)s,)s, to the target, in ans9 effort to get the[' 'target to perform or to stop doing some action. The form of thedirective to the peer group may consist of a simple directive to'look at' the target child, or it may include reported speech.Example (3) illustrates both of these forms: w$x'  '$  3) 1  ((T spies Gwen taking reward stickers out of the 0y8'  '0  2  teachers sticker book))0z E'  '0  3 T: Is Gwen being trustworthy?0{   R'  '0  4 -> *s,*s,ͿLook,*s,*s, she's taking our stickers.0 |   _'  '0  5  She's being dishonest. 0 }  , l'  '0  6 -> +s,+s,ͿTell her+s,+s,, 'Gwen, put it back.'0 ~ , 9 ,y'  '0  7 ALL: put it back!s:0  9 F 9'  '0  8 -> T: ,s,,s,Ϳtell her,s,,s, 'you need to be honest.'0  F S F'  '0  9 ALL:you need to be honest. 0 S ` S' '0  0 ` x `' '0$This type of triadic directive particularly illustrates how x' 'diffusion of authority is related to the values on autonomy1s, and ' 'selfdeterminacy. As several scholars have noted (Leighton and ' 'Kluckhohn 1948, Ladd 1957, Werner and Begishi 1968, Lamphere  ' '1977), authority in Navajo culture is not hierarchical, but %' 's;generally diffused, or deferred away from any individual source' 'onto kin or peer group. As<s-wareness of one's peers as a source of U' 'authority is something which Navajo children are socialized intoN m m  x H' 'Nfrom an early age, and the peer group is encouraged to be an H' 'autonomous, selfdeterminate unit, as children are encouraged to `' 'take responsibility for each others= (Leighton and Kluckhohn 1948,' 'Werner and Begishi 1968). s>The speech act of triadic H' 'directive-giving is one interactional form through which suchsocial roles and expectations are not only constructed Ks,buts?Ks,' 'maintained.0 x  ' '0$Triadic directives are also used by adults in particular ' 'social relationships as a strategy for indirectionLs,, wherepoliteness is called fors@Ls,. For example, as Aberle (1961) notes inhis study of Navajo kinship, family members who maintain atraditional yhsin (respectful) relationship with each other' 'often appeal to triadic participation structure in the making of h ' 'requests (a type of directive). Traditionally, a yahasin 8' 'relationship is maintained in two situations: 1)between adult P' 'siblings of the opposite sex, and 2) Rs,Rs,ͿbetweensA men related through h' 'marriage. According to Aberle, mothers and sisters are often ' 'appealed to as intermediaries in the making of requests between ' 'husbands, or between husbands and fathers-in-law. Haile (1912)also observeXs,sXs, the same interactional pattern, noting that itsfunction is to discourage any suggestion of incestual relationsbetween adult siblings, as well as to signal politeness in other' 'social relationships.!0 p X' '0$sCTriadic directives are also found in communication between' 'the deities in Navajo [s,[s,Ϳmythology[s,[s,. For example, Haashch))lti1 @' 'Talking God is often employed by more powerful deities (such as X' 'the Sun, J;honaa)1) in delivering requsDests (although he oftenN p p H' 'Nspeaks in sign language), as in the following extract:0 p  ' '0s,Times_s,_s,Ϳ(Not on overhead)sE_s,_s,B  Hl' 'BUHHllHaashcheeltii the Talking God came again to the home of Yoolgai Asdzaa theI%WhiteShell woman. But he took her aside where no one could hear his words. NorUUdid she reveal to anyone what he had said. Three days later he came back again.NAgain they talked where no one could overhear them. ... And shortly afterOHaascheeltii departed ... Yoolgai Asdzaa had this to say:...  I am going to leave' 'you... The gods of Tseyi have sent for me. (Zolbrod 1984:292).s, HelveticaB   lH' 'BllHHs,Courier0  ' '0$In this account, the deity White Shell woman is called away' 'from her human friends to go live among the other deities, who ' 'have sent Talking God as their intermediary. According to Reichard' '(1950) Talking God  often acts a mentor, often`s,`s,Ͳ directing`s,`s, mythical ' 'characters, warning them, or telling them the answers to testquestions ... He is the only god ... with a sense of compassion(476). Thus, his relationship with others may be described as moreintimate, and less formal (yahasin) than that of other deities,and this social relationship makes him an ideal candidate formediating directives between less intimate interactasFnts. $The deity Wind (Nilchi) performs a similar role between the' 'deities and human beings, as McNeeley (1988) explains:0' '0bs,bs,Ϳ(not on handout)bs,bs,BHl' 'BHHlls,Times  Little Wind or Winds Child is ... sent to Earth Surface People as Messenger of' '(the deities). Such Messenger Winds are ... sent by their leaders ... to inform,advise, and protect people and to reposGrt back on peoples conduct (1988:30).68lH' '6llHHs,Courier$0 8P8X' '0$In the translated words of one of McNeeleys NavajoNPp Pp H' 'Nconsultants (an anonymous elder)s, Helvetica:0Px' '0s,Courierds,ds,Ϳ(5 on handout) ds,ds,s, Helvetica0' '0$s,TimesThere are leaders inside of the surrounding mountains. ... It is just like 03' '0$Washington, D.C. In the white way- agents come from there. In just that $same way these winds are from those foremost leaders placed within the $mountains. "$ (McNeley 1988:30)$' '$s,Courier0&' '0A Configurational Pattern0&>&' '0$ Triadic participation structure in directive-giving may be>' 'tied to a larger configurational pattern in Navajo culture which,I argue here, works to constitute the values ofsHns, individualns, autonomy and selfdetermination. Other forms of interaction which contribute to thispattern include:$ >' '$s,Times nonpropositional forms:s,Courier 0 >' '0  s, Helvetica positive value on silence in interaction  (Basso 1970, Christian and 0 \' '0 Gardener 1977, Scollon and Scollon 1981, Saville-Troike 1985) 0 k' '0avoidance of direct gaze   (Hall 1969, Saville-Troike 1989, Chisholm 1996) 0 y' '0low volume, slow tempo  (Basso 1979, Chisholm 1996) 0' '0avoidance of direct questions  (Scollon and Scollon 1981, Liebe-Harkort 0' '0 1983)s,Courier0,' '0  $0,D,' '0$All of these nonpropositional aspects of Navajo interactionreflect a concern for interactants' self-determinacy, and ageneral cultural avoidance of coercion of any kind (Witherspoon' '1977, Lamphere 1977). 0D' '0$The same cultural values are also reflected in the grammar ofsI,' 'the Navajo language. Linguistically, indirection rs,isrs, achieved' 'through the use of adzoodza saad polite language, which includes\' 'use of the fourth person ji- one, as well as plural verb stemssJNt t H' 'N(Haile 1912) in verbs of coming, going, and being in position.$,' '$s,Times Grammatical Forms:0,J,' '04th person (ji-) in face-to-face interaction:0JhJ6' '0illustrating politeness through avoidance of reference to 2nd person:s,Courier 0hhT' '0   s, NavSchoolHatsh jinins,s,zin s,Times $What does one (2p) want? (Y&M 1987:77)0r'  '0 what 4th-wants 0' '0  s, Helvetica0' '0  s,Timespoliteness through avoidance of reference to 1st persons desires, (lest they be' 'seen as coercive):$' '$0 ' '0s, NavSchoolAjoohs,s,sh laanaa.s,Times One (1p) wants to sleep.  (M. Willie, ND)0 '  '0 4.opt.sleep opt.particle0 '  '0$ ' '$ In Directives/admonitions:0 #' '00#2#' '0s, NavSchoolDoo hatis njigha da s,Times sNs, s,One does not step over people. (M. Willie, ND)02B2'  '0 Not 4.over 4.walks neg 0BNB.' '0  0NlN:' '0  s, NavSchoolAbnigo hojitaa s,s,eh s,Times One should sing in the mornings . (M. Willie, ND)0l|lX'  '0 morning.sub 4.sings usually0||h' '0   0t' '0  s, NavSchoolDah jzdago -ls,sOs, s,Times One should sit up straight . (T.Blackhorse,pc)0' '0up 4_sits_sub indef_does$' '$  0' '0Plural verb stems:0' '0  s, NavSchoolDa hoghaandi nahs;ot) doolees,s,?s,Times Will you (guys) be at home?0 ' '0Ques. Home-at pl.sit fut. 0 /  ' '0  0/G/' '0   s, NavSchoolHatla, doo danihidiinngii adanohte da shideezhs,sPs,!s,Times0GWG3' '0What.it.is, neg pl.we.say.rel 2p.pl.are neg little.sister $Wf' '$0fufR' '0s, NavSchoolk!!tòs,òs,dzaag;; ndahkai!  s,Times0 uua' '0here.and.there.to asp.pl.3+walks aboutV! q" H' 'V0' '0How is it, that you do just the opposite of what we tell you to do, my younger' 'sister! You wander around aimlessly! IJs, sQIJs,0' '0(sic) (Haile 1912:24)$' '$   $0<' '0s,CourierConclusion0T' '0Ųs,$Ųs,To conclude, I have argued that the use of triadic' 'participation structure in the giving of directives in Navajo(' 'culture is part of a larger configurational pattern of interaction@' 'which altogether contributes toward constituting general culturevaluessR onsSȲs, individualȲs, autonomy, self-determinacy, and egalitarian socialrelations. This perspective on culture as communicative practice(Hanks 1996, Duranti 1997) is one which has its roots in thewritings of Edward Sapir, who argued that the job of' 'anthropologists is to identify socially significant, or culturally,' 'meaningful behavior, by means of which members of a cultureinterpret each others actions and stances in any given context.ɲs,$ɲs,As Gumperz and Ochs both argue in a recent volume on Rethinking Linguistic Relativity (1996), cross-cultural' 'differences lie mostly in the valences between speech practicesH' 'and the social identities which they index in particular cultures.`' 'For example,sT the giving of explicit, (as opposed to indirect, orx' 'mediated) directives may be perceived by Athabaskan speakers as' 'indexing laziness and/or sUbossiness (Rushforth and Chisholm 1991),' 'yet, to many non-Native Americans, the exact opposite inference' 'may be drawn, in that triadic directives may appear to be more4' 'bossy than nonmediated directives (as they involve a directive toL' 'an intermediary as well as well as the target).ղs, Thus, the linkaged' 'between speech act and underlying values may differ cross B  |  H' 'B culturally.sV In some speech communities, as I argue is the case forH' 'Navajo culture, ֲs,ֲs,Ϳindirectionֲs,ֲs, in the expression of directives is`' 'considered appropriate where politeness is called for (Ervin-Tripp1979, Rushforth 1981); in others, indirection in directive-givingmay be consideredsWײs, extremelyײs, rude, and a different discourse strategy, suchas grammatical elaboration through the use of modals, honorifics,and/or politeness particles may be preferred (Ervin-Tripp 1979).Every speech community has its preferred linguistic routines,which not only occur with greater frequency, but may be tied to a' 'larger pattern of communicative practice. Such patterns for ' 'interaction are also tied to specific social roles in any society,8' 'and from the analytical perspective of practice theory, theseP' 'patterns for interaction work not only to constitute those socialroles, but to embody cultural valuesܲs,, as wellܲs,.%*+,$$$$$References-$.'  '$  Aberle, David. 1961. Navajo. In Schneider, D. & Gough, K. (Eds.)0/'  '0$Matrilineal Kinship. Berkeley: University California0$Press.97-201.1 2(Basso, Keith. 1970. "To Give Give Up on Words," Silence in Apache$Culture. Southwest Journal of Anthropology, 26(3):213-38. 4(@ 5@LBasso, Keith. 1979. Portraits of the Whiteman: Linguistic Play and 6LX$ Cultural Symbolism Among the Western Apache. N.Y.: Cambridge 7Xd$ University Press.8dp9p|Chisholm, James. 1996. Learning "respect for everything:" Navajo$images of development. In P. Hwang, I. Sigel and M. Lamb$(Eds.) Images of Childhood. Hillsdale, NJ.: Lawrence Erlbaum.$167-183.=|>Christian, J. & Gardener, P. 1977. 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