Community, institution, and identity in the Chamorro speech community: An ethnographic study of how they shape information-seeking discourse in the library

Information-seeking discourse in the library is performed and enacted within the context of the intersection of a speech community's language, culture, and society. In the Chamorro speech community, information-seeking discourse in the library is shaped by speech community rules and norms that govern this discourse and the community's verbal repertoire, by the community's view of the institution, and by individual identity. Thus, information-seeking discourse in the Chamorro speech community conflicts with Western notions about it. This conflict makes explicit the central place of Dell Hymes' Theory of Communicative Competence in information-seeking behavior. The Theory of Communicative Competence suggests that a speaker needs to know certain features of communication in order to communicate effectively in socially and culturally significant settings. Western notions about information-seeking discourse emphasize the important role of the intermediary in helping the information-seeker formulate his or her query and suggest that a query that is formulated through a negotiation process between the information-seeker and the intermediary enables the information-seeker to more effectively find sources and resources that would fulfill his or her information need. In the Chamorro speech community, however, query formulation, the structure of the query itself, and the interaction between information-seeker and intermediary are governed by indigenous verbal repertoire and community rules and norms which the information-seeker will not let go. Furthermore, they are framed by the information-seeker's experience with performance and enactment in formal institutions, as well as the need for the information-seeker to assert his or her indigenous identity.