CONVERSATIONAL ANALYSIS

Eros Meliana Sofa

Eva IstiyaniWisdiyan Hadi

Turasno

Background Conversation is a way of using language socially,

of ‘ doing things with words’ together wth oter persons.

language

Topical organization of conversationContent

Content

What is it about

Topic discussed How they

construct

The structure of conversations

• Openings– Initiating exchanges that establish social relations

• Middle– Topic negotiation and development– Turn taking mechanics– Feedback

• Closings– Pre-closing exchanges– Closings

Let’s see the conversation text…

The text helps us experience in practice how conversation analysts work.

Read the conversation and then let’s analyze the following questions…

• What appears to be the purpose of the conversation?

• What topics are discussed?

• How are topics introduced?

• Informal chat between two young men (they are catching up on each other’s news)

• The purpose of the conversation is primarily INTERACTIONAL

(Brown and Yule 1983)

• to obtain good or services, to organize some sort of action, to pass on real information

Transactional

• used when people relate to each otherInteractional

What appears to be the purpose of the conversation?

What topics are discussed?

A range of topics: dogs, snow, little Mr. Hudd, going to the States, Andrew’s mum, how long Andrew is going to stay.

Each of the speakers speaks 8 times = 16 utterances and 6 topics!

The topics change very quickly and in fact one topic is often dealt with in the space of 2 utterances.

How are topics introduced?

The topics are introduced in 2 ways:• statements – We’re off to the States on holiday as well• questions– You had a visitor the other night, little Mr Hudd?

the form of the utterance looks like a statement but, the rising intonation at the end of the utterance implies to the listener that this is a question that needs answering. David introduces more topics. On line 6, D.’s question functions as a device to check A’s interaction rather than a genuine enquiry. When A. replies “yeah, yeah I was” and seems to be ready to add more information, he’ interrupted by D. who wants to display what he already knows rather than to listen to what he might not know.

Building the conversation

The two men, however, build the conversation together. •A. answers every question set by D.•He allows D. to interrupt him•After an interruption, he makes no attempt to return to his original topic•He continues with D. •D. appreciates the remark A. makes about the drive from Warrington wit his remark ‘bloody hell (.) he must have been moving’ •He ads ‘yeah’ twice to encourage A. in what he’s saying.

Definition of Conversation Analysis

• C.A. derives from sociology and ethnomethodology.

• It argues that conversation has its own dynamic structure and rules.

• Conversation is organized in sequences.• CA. studies the organization of conversation.• CA. Capture the structuring that people practise

when carrying on a conversation.• Conversational structure is methods used by

speakers to structure conversation efficiently or management of conversational turn.

Sacks, Schegloff and Jefferson

(1974)

Some fields of interest of

CA:• The way people take turns• What turn-types there are

Main Points of Conversational

structure

• To keep the flow of conversation going

• To avoid ‘conversational accidents’ and ‘conversational traffic jam’

• Describes how the interactants negotiate the exchange of meanings in dialogue

Conversational Structure

Sequence

A sequence is a unit of conversation that consists of two or

more and adjacent functionally related

turns.

Turn

• A turn is a time during which a single participant speaks, within a typical, orderly arrangement in which participants speak with minimal overlap and gap between them.

Situation: Student and his girlfriend's father during their first meeting

• Mr. Strait : What's your major, Dave?• Dave : English - well I haven't really decided yet.

(3 seconds silence)• Mr. Strait : So - you want to be a teacher?• Dave : No - not really - well not if I can help it.

(2 seconds silence)• Mr. Strait : Wha-//Where do you-- //go ahead• Dave : I mean it's a--oh sorry //I em-

Overlap in conversation

Yule (1996: 73)

• overlap : both speakers speaking at the same time.

• Overlap usually occurs as both speakers attempt to initiate talk.

• It seldom occurs - ”parties should talk one at a time”.

• Usually one drops out.• Sometimes competition occurs.

The speaker who upgrades most wins.

Turn Taking

• dialog is made up of turns

• speakers alternate: speaker A says something, then speaker B, then speaker A...

• turn taking: who should talk and when

identifying turn:linguistic clues

intonational phrase boundaries

slowing speaking rate

drop in pitch or loudnessGesturespauses

Turn-taking rules

How do speakers know when its time to contribute a turn?

• turn transitions occur at Transition Relevance Points (TRP)

• at TRP turn taking rules apply

• At each transition-relevance place of each turn:

current speaker selects next speaker If during this turn the current speaker has selected B as the

next speaker then B must speak next.

next speaker self-selectsIf the current speaker does not select the next speaker, any other speaker may take the next turn.

current speaker continuesIf no one else takes the next turn, the current speaker may take the next turn.

(Sacks, Schegloff, Jefferson, 1978)

• The non-floor holders in conversational situation are not only silent. Their contribution to the conversation is an important element of the “traffic management”.

Back-channeling – vocalizations by the listener relinquishing the floor to the current speaker

It provides support for the speaker in the form of short utterances.

‘uh-huh’ ‘yeah’ ‘I see’ Etc.

Types of sequences

• Adjacency pairs are a type of sequence, along with:

• Pre-sequences • Insertion sequences

Adjacency pairs

An adjacency pair is a unit of conversation that contains an exchange of one turn each by two speakers. The turns are functionally related to each other in such a fashion that the first turn requires a certain type or range of types of second turn.

E.g.:– A greeting–greeting pair – A question–answer pair

Functions of adjacency pairs

• Adjacency pairs are used for starting and closing a conversation

• Adjacency pairs are used for moves in conversations

• First utterance in adjacency pair has the function of selecting next speaker

• Adjacency pairs are used for remedial exchanges

• Components in adjacency pairs can be used to build longer sequences

Types of adjacency pairs• Question – answer• Greeting – greeting• Offer – acceptance

• Request – acceptance• Complaint – excuse

Adjacencey Pairs are organized in first and second part and have“preferences”:

• Preferred response = granting• Dispreferred response = refusal

One speaker’s utterance makes a particular kind of response likely.

Adjacency Pairs are pairs of utterances that usually occur together.

As an accepted part of conversational structure, adjacency pairs have strong in-built expectations (Questions are generally answered, statements are acknowledged, etc.)

The most often used Adjacency Pairs of the conversation analysed is question-answer.

In our culture, a question is generally followed by an answer and is therefore a convenient way to introduce a new topic and to ensure a response.

The level of response varies according to the type of question used.

Questions can be divided into closed and open questions.

‘Wh-’ questions and ‘how’ questions are generally opened, as they leave a fairly open agenda for the speaker who answers.

Closed questions are also called yes-no questions.

Question and answers

Let’s Practice

Where do you live?

Are you OK?

What are you doing?

OPEN

CLOSE

OPEN

The “openness” of a question varies with the context. DAVID: how's your dogs (.) alright?

ANDREW: yeah (.) they're in the kennels

David asks two questions in one turn, an open one and a closed one. While the first question seems an open, interested and genuine enquiry, the second is closed and signals that this is just a comment in passing. D. has probaby already assumed that the dogs are fine and is seeking for confirmation and nothing more.

Some questions, therefore, are not meant to get a real lenghty answer, but just to structure the conversation.

How much a question throws open a topic depends on the nature of the question and on the context.

Types of questions

Pre-sequences• pre-sequence is a sequence which includes a turn

recognizable as potential initiation of another specific type of turn, e.g.:

• summon is a turn preceding an explanation

A: Mummy. (summon)B: Yes dear answerA: I need a hat. (explanation for summon)

A: (telephone ring at B’s location) summonsB: Hello answerA: Hi greetingB: Oh hi! greeting 2

common types of pre-sequences:

• pre-selfidentification (e.g., Hi! )• pre-invitation (e.g., Are you free tonight?)• pre-announcement (e.g., You won’t believe

this.)• pre-arrangement (e.g., Would you like to make an appointment later on?)• pre-request (e.g., Do you have coffee to

go?)• pre-closing (e.g., Okay)

Insertion SequenceAn insertion sequence is a sequence of turns that intervenes between the first and second parts of an adjacency pair.

• The topic of the insertion sequence is related to that of the main sequence in which it occurs and the question from the main sequence is returned to and answered after the insertion.

Agent: Do you want the early flight? Client: What time does it arrive? Agent: Nine forty-five Client: Yeah - that's great

A: Shall I wear the blue shoes?B: You’ve got the black onesA: They’re not comfortableB: Yeah, they’re the best then, wear the blue ones.

Insertion Sequences as a kind of Delay

A delay is an item used to put off a dispreferred second part.

A dispreferred second part is a second part of an adjacency pair that consists of a response to the first part that is generally to be avoided or not expected.

– A refusal in response to a request, offer, or invitation

– A disagreement in response to an assessment – An unexpected answer in response to a question – An admission in response to blame

References• Capelli gloria. 2007. Conversation structure. Retrieved March 26,

2013 from www.gloriacappelli.it/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/lesson071.ppt

• Leech, G.N. 1983. Principles of Pragmatics. Essex: Longman• Levinson, S.C. 1983. Pragmatics. Cambridge: CUP• Mey, Jacob L. 1993. Pragmatics; An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell

Publishers.• Wolska, Magdalena. 2007. pragmatics and discourse; conversation

structure. Retrieved March 26, 2013 from http://www.coli.uni-saarland.de/courses/pragmatics-07/Slides/PD.07.4.ConversationStructure.pdf

• --- 2013 . conversation analysis. Retrieved March 26, 2013 from www9.english.cityu.edu.hk/ebs/.../Conversation_Analysis .ppt

• _____2013. Introduction to Pragmatics. Retrieved March 26, 2013 from http://ifla.uni-stuttgart.de/~jilka/index.html