Dell Hymes

Definition:

Dell Hathaway Hymes (1927–2009) was an American linguist, sociolinguist, and anthropologists at the University of Pennsylvania, most influential for introducing the concept of communicative competence to challenge Chomsky’s theoretical linguistics — arguing that knowing a language is not merely knowing its grammar but knowing when, how, and with whom to use it appropriately across social contexts. His SPEAKING mnemonic model provided the first systematic framework for analyzing the components of communicative situations, and his ethnography of communication program established a methodology for studying language in its social and cultural context. His work became the direct theoretical foundation for Communicative Language Teaching and the expanded competence models of Canale and Swain, Bachman, and subsequent SLA researchers.

In-Depth Explanation

Communicative competence:

In a 1966 paper and his 1972 landmark essay “On Communicative Competence,” Hymes argued against Chomsky’s division of linguistic knowledge into idealized competence (the abstract grammatical system) and performance (actual language use). For Hymes, Chomsky’s competence was impoverished — a speaker who knows the grammar of a language but does not know when silence is appropriate, when formality is required, how to address a superior, or what constitutes a complete utterance in the culture, does not fully know the language.

Hymes defined communicative competence as knowledge of:

• Whether and to what degree something is formally possible (grammatical).
• Whether and to what degree something is feasible (processable, psycholinguistically manageable).
• Whether and to what degree something is appropriate (suitable to context, role, register, relationship).
• Whether and to what degree something is performed (actually done, attested in real language use).

This four-part model was the first comprehensive statement of what a full language user must know — grammatical knowledge is only one dimension.

The SPEAKING model:

Hymes created a memorable mnemonic for the components of a speech situation — the ethnographic variables that determine what speech act is appropriate and how it should be performed:

The SPEAKING model provided a systematic ethnographic framework for describing communicative events — applied in linguistic anthropology, ethnography of communication, and subsequently in applied linguistics and SLA research on pragmatic appropriateness.

Ethnography of communication:

With John J. Gumperz, Hymes developed the ethnography of communication as a research program: systematic, field-based study of how language is used across different speech communities — examining what counts as appropriate communication, how speech events are structured, and how language use indexes social identity and cultural knowledge.

Impact on SLA and language teaching:

Hymes’s communicative competence transformed applied linguistics:

• Canale and Swain (1980) developed a four-component SLA version: grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic competence.
• Bachman (1990) further elaborated communicative language ability.
• Communicative Language Teaching (CLT): Hymes’s concept became the theoretical justification for CLT — the argument that language teaching must develop communicative competence, not just grammatical competence.
• SLA research on pragmatics: Kasper, Rose, Blum-Kulka and others built the L2 pragmatics research program directly from Hymes’s framework — asking how learners acquire sociolinguistic appropriateness norms across cultures.

Relevance to Japanese:

Japanese is a particularly rich site for Hymesian analysis:

• Register and speech levels: Japanese has grammatically encoded politeness registers (keigo: sonkeigo, kenjōgo, teineigo) that are obligatory knowledge for appropriate communication — exactly what Hymes meant by communicative competence extending beyond grammar.
• Norms of interpretation: Silence (ma/間), indirect refusal (ちょっと…), and honne/tatemae dynamics in Japanese communication are aspects of communicative appropriateness that require cultural and sociolinguistic knowledge that grammar alone cannot provide.
• Speech genres: The SPEAKING model helps analyze distinct Japanese speech genres: formal speeches (スピーチ), nemawashi (consensus-building consultation), hanami party conversation, settai (business entertainment) — each with different speech-event norms.

History

• 1962: Hymes publishes “The Ethnography of Speaking” — inaugurates ethnography of communication.
• 1966: “On Communicative Competence” paper — first use of term.
• 1971: Pidginization and Creolization of Languages edited volume — establishes contact linguistics influence.
• 1972: “On Communicative Competence” reprinted in Gumperz & Hymes volume — canonical published form.
• 1974: Foundations in Sociolinguistics — SPEAKING model; ethnography of communication program.
• 1980: Canale & Swain extend Hymes into SLA — four-component CC model.
• 2009: Dell Hymes dies; legacy as foundational sociolinguist confirmed.

Common Misconceptions

“Communicative competence just means ‘can communicate.’” Hymes’s communicative competence is a technical concept involving four types of knowledge (possibility, feasibility, appropriateness, performance) — it is not a simple synonym for pragmatic ability or conversational fluency.

“CLT comes from Krashen.” Krashen provided one input-based theoretical strand of CLT, but the conceptual foundation of CLT is Hymesian — the goal of developing communicative competence rather than just grammatical knowledge.

Criticisms

• The SPEAKING model is descriptive and taxonomic rather than explanatory — it names components of a speech event but does not explain how they interact or constrain each other.
• Communicative competence as defined by Hymes may be effectively unbounded — if all culturally specific appropriateness norms are part of competence, the definition is too broad to be operationalizable in language testing or teaching.

Social Media Sentiment

Hymes rarely appears by name in language learning communities, but his concept is constantly in play. “You can be grammatically fluent but socially awkward in Japanese” is a Hymesian observation. Discussions of keigo, honne/tatemae, and the social rules of Japanese interaction all implicitly invoke the communicative competence vs. grammatical competence distinction Hymes drew.

Last updated: 2026-04

Practical Application

• Develop sociolinguistic awareness alongside grammar: Hymes’s framework implies that knowing Japanese grammar is not enough — you must know when to use polite vs. plain speech, how to construct appropriate speech acts, and what silence means in a given context.
• Use the SPEAKING model for self-analysis: When a Japanese interaction goes wrong, analyze it through Hymes’s components — was there a setting mismatch? A participant-role misunderstanding? A key (register) violation? This diagnostic is more productive than just reviewing grammar.
• Observe speech genres: Notice the different communicative patterns in different Japanese speech events — business emails, casual conversation, formal presentations, nomikai (drinking parties). These are distinct speech genres with genre-specific norms.
• Study keigo as communicative competence, not just grammar: Keigo is obligatory Japanese sociolinguistic knowledge — exactly the appropriateness component Hymes specified. Learn keigo as communicative appropriateness, not as a grammar appendix.

Related Terms

• Communicative Competence
• Communicative Language Teaching
• Pragmatics
• Strategic Competence
• Sociolinguistics

See Also

• Speech Act Theory
• Register
• Interactional Competence

Research

Hymes, D. (1972). On communicative competence. In J. B. Pride & J. Holmes (Eds.), Sociolinguistics: Selected Readings (pp. 269–293). Penguin. [Summary: Canonical published form of communicative competence; four-part knowledge framework; challenges Chomskyan competence; foundational for all CC-based SLA theory; most-cited Hymes paper.]

Hymes, D. (1974). Foundations in Sociolinguistics: An Ethnographic Approach. University of Pennsylvania Press. [Summary: SPEAKING model; ethnography of communication as research program; speech community and speech event analysis; comprehensive theoretical framework; essential Hymes monograph.]

Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 1–47. [Summary: Four-component CC model (grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, strategic) derived from Hymes; SLLA application of communicative competence; foundational for CLT and language test design; most-cited applied linguistics paper.]

Gumperz, J. J., & Hymes, D. (Eds.). (1972). Directions in Sociolinguistics: The Ethnography of Communication. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. [Summary: Foundational edited volume for ethnography of communication program; diverse speech community studies; programmatic statement of sociolinguistic field approach; essential historical reference.]

Bachman, L. F. (1990). Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing. Oxford University Press. [Summary: Extends Hymes/Canale & Swain into communicative language ability model for testing; organizational and pragmatic knowledge; language test validity framework; essential testing and CC reference.]