structureof conversation

8/15/2019 Structureof Conversation

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Natural conversation

• “When we investigate how dialogues actually work, as foundin recordings of natural speech, we are often in for a surprise.We are used to seeing dialogue in texts where the languagehas been carefully crafted, such as the script of a play or theconversation in a language teaching text book. Such

dialogues may be very eective for their purpose, but theyare usually a long way from what can happen in everydayconversation. he stereotype is that people speak in completesentences, taking well!de"ned turns, carefully listening toeach other. he reality is that people often share in the

sentences they produce, interrupt each other, do not payattention to everything that is said, and produce a discoursewhere the contribution of the participants are wildlyasymmetrical. #et all of this produces a perfectly normal,successful conversation.$


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Structure of conversation

%ccording to &rown and #ule '()*+ there aretwo main forms of conversation-

• transactional / spoken language used toobtain goods or services / also referred to asservice encounters0

•

• interactional / spoken language used to allow

people to interact with each other / whichfeatures a phatic use of language whosepurpose is to establish an atmosphere and allowpeople to socialise.


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urn!taking- basic rules

When participants indicate they wish tobegin or continue speaking, they use anumber of linguistic devices-

• fllers and flled/voiced pauses – in theorm o vocal hesitations,

• repetition, reormulation, re-starts,• discourse markers/ utterance

indicators, ie., words such as “well”,

“right” can signal the beginning o adiscourse, 1but2 can signal a change indirection from what has 3ust been said andthe introduction of new information.


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urn!ending

When participants have "nished theirturn, they will make this clear, usuallywith-

• a alling pitch intonation!,• a "uestion,

• a discourse marker/or utterance

indicator – words like 1so2 for example,can signal that the speaker issumming up what has #ust been said .


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4eedback

• 5articipants show they areparticipating and following theutterances of other participants byproviding feedback.


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urns- ad3acency pairs

$d#acenc% &airs• pairs of utterances that normally occur together and help

structure a conversation.• • he most commonly occurring ad#acenc% pair is the

6uestion!answer.• % 6uestion ' as noted previously can introduce a new

topic and indicate a new turn.• 1'h( 6uestions or )how( 6uestions are fairly open, and

give the new speaker considerable scope for answering

the 6uestion0• • a closed 6uestions usually restrict the scope of the

answering speaker.•


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ag 6uestions

• *ag "uestions play a special role in ad3acencypairs. 7ow a tag 6uestion operates depends verymuch on intonation and the context it is used in.

• So a tag 6uestion can be very tentative and

indicate a desire for agreement or reassurance-1this is a nice colour, isn2t it8 9t can also be veryassertive device for prompting a response or fordirecting what the response should be- 1you2re notleaving now, are you8

• • 9t is very di:cult to avoid answering 6uestions.

he more urgent a 6uestion, the shorter it will be,and the more forcefully it will re6uire a response.


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5referred;dispreferredresponses

• % 6uestion is expected to complementedby an answer. his is considered thepreerred response. Not to answer a

6uestion, or to answer at inappropriatelength, either too shortly or at excessivelength, or to answer a 6uestion withanother 6uestion, are considered

dispreerred responses and tend tointerrupt the smooth


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9nitiating ad3acency pairs

=uestions are not the only basis ofad3acency pairs. % pair can also beinitiated with statements, complaints,

greetings, introductions, for example. hepreferred responses for these kinds ofutterances are, respectively-recognition0 replies, and e+change o

greeting. 9f the rules are ignored, thesepatterns are broken. his is calledouting and it immediately creates aresponse.


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9nserstion se6uence

• Sometimes ad3acency pairs are harder toidentify because they can be separated byintervening utterances. ogether theymake up an insertion se"uence-

•

• %- shall 9 wear the blue shoes8

• &- you2ve got the black ones.

•

%- hey2re not comfortable• &- #eah, they2re the best then, wear the blue

ones.

•


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penings, closures andrepetition

>ike all text, conversations have both abeginning and an end. hese are also

sign!posted by the speaker's.• %nother feature of a conversation is

repetition / used by both participants toensure-

• co!operation• full understanding


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$greement &rinciple.

When we are happy for someone to take thelead in a conversation, we do not wish toimpose our ego or our point of view, tacitagreement is the norm / normally signalled

by murmurs of assent , short grunts or, at thelevel of kinesics by nods of approval'feedback. he $greement &rinciple does notnecessarily mean that the listener agrees with

what the "rst Speaker says, it merely signalsthat the respondent is supporting the "rstspeaker.


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*he &rinciple o &oliteness

?obin >ako '()@+ Language and Woman’sPlace pointed out three maxims that areconventionally followed. ogether they makeup the politeness principle-

• ( Aon2t impose,• B Cive options• + Dake your receiver feel good.•

hese maxims can explain and describehow many utterances carry no informationbut have the function of facilitating socialinteraction-


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4ace

>inguistic politeness also involves theconcept of 1face2.

14ace2 is your public self!image.

it is 1the emotional and social senseof self that every person has andexpects everyone else to recogniEe.2

'Ceorge #ule, The Study of Language,()*F, ())G


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4ace!threatening acts '4%s

Speech that represents a threat to anotherpersons face is called a ace-threateningact0

e.g., using a direct speech act to makesomeone do something. 9n suchcircumstances you are acting as thoughyou have more social power than the other

person.

9f you do not actually have that power, itmakes your speech act an 4%.


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4ace!saving acts

%n indirect speech act is an example of aace-saving act. hese are meant toreduce potential threats to the other

person2s ace.

4or example, if 9 formulate a direct speechact as a 6uestion, i remove the assumptionof social power. 9 appear to be en6uiringabout ability and not issuing an order.


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Negative face

4ace!saving acts can emphasise a person2snegative ace or positive face.

Negative face is the need to be free fromimposition.

Dany face saving acts in everydayconversation preserve the other person2snegative ace, because the speaker signalsthe wish not to impose on the other person0

e.g. 192m sorry to bother youH, 1if 9 could 3usttrouble you for a secondH2, 9f 9 could 3ust steala minute of your time...2


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*he ooperative- &rinciple

he 1rules 1 of conversation were "rstformulated by the 5aul Crice '()@F as theo-operative &rinciple. his states that weinterpret the language on the assumption

that a speaker is obeying the four maxims'known as Crice2s Daxims of-

• ( =I%>9# '&J9NC ?IJ

• B =I%N9# '&J9NC &?9J4

• + ?J>%9KN '&J9NC ?J>JL%N

• M D%NNJ? '&J9NC >J%?


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conversationalimplicature

Crice argues that although speakers,

usually choose to co!operate, they can alsorefuse to abide by that principle, or, in

other words, out it.9f a maxim is deliberately broken, it isnormally done so to achieve a very speci"ceect and communicate a speci"c

meaning, known as a conversationalimplicature, in other words, the special

meaning created when a maxim is


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summary

onversation is a

structureof conversation

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