MODULE%202%20Meaning%20and%20discourse%20in%20English

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MODULE 2 Meaning and discourse in English

• THE MACHINERY OF SPEECH
• Lesson 13

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Conversation analysis (1)

• Turn taking
• Repair
• Adjacency pairs
• Insertion sequences
• Preferred and dispreferred responses

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Turn taking

• Conversation is analysed in turns. One speaker
  and then the next
• A turn consists of one or more turn
  constructional units
• The end of a turn constructional unit is a point
  during a turn when another speaker can intervene
• This point is called a turn transitional relevant
  point

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An example

• R. so um phoebe tells me you you er play piano
• M. yeah
• R. you know I used to play keyboards in college
• M. why do you have one here?
• R. no
• M. OK

• Each of these speeches is a turn.
• There are 6 TCUs and 6 turns
• The other speaker intervenes regularly at each
  TTRP

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How turn-taking works3 possibilities

• The current speaker selects the next speaker
• OR if this does not operate
• The next speaker self-selects
• OR if this does not operate
• The current speaker may continue

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You need to be able to look at a dialogue and
work out what is happening in it with regard to
turn-taking

• So learn the rules of turn-taking and practice
  using them to analyse conversations

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An example

• R. so um phoebe tells me you you er play piano
• M. yeah
• R. you know I used to play keyboards in college
• M. why do you have one here?
• R. no
• M. OK

• R self-selects
• R selects M
• R self-selects
• R selects M
• M selects R
• M self-selects

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Repair

• Repair is needed when the turn taking rules are
  failing to operate
• Simultaneous speech often needs repair when two
  people are speaking at once
• Silence needs repair because no one is talking.
  Who repairs the silences in the conversation
  between Miss A and Mr B and between Mikey and
  Ross ?

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Adjacency pairs

• Conversation is often structured around pairs of
  utterances that are dependent on each other.
• good morning good morning
• whats the time? 3 oclock
• These are called adjacency pairs

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Breaking adjacency pairs

• If you break an adjacency pair (e.g. not
  answering a question, answering hello with
  goodbye you are causing trouble in the
  conversation which needs to be repaired.

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Insertion sequences

• These are sequences which are inserted inside
  adjacency pairs
• The topic of the insertion is usually related to
  the first part of the adjacency pair

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An exampleTurns 2 and 3
are an insertion sequence and the adjacency pair
is completed in turn 4

• Turn 1 Shall I wear the blue shoes?
• Turn 2 Youve got the black ones
• Turn 3 Theyre not comfortable
• Turn 4 Yeah, theyre the best then, wear
• the blue ones

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Preferred and dispreferred responses

• A preferred response is acceptance and is usually
  short, without hesitation or elaboration
• A dispreferred response is refusal and is usually
  performed hesitantly and elaborately

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An exampleJs response is a
preferred response it is short and not
hesitantAs response is a dispreferred response
it is hesitant and elaborate

• D I was thinking we could have fish
• J Fine
• A well actually Ive stopped eating fish now
  because of you know the damage it does to the
  ocean

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Can you analyse the responses of Ross and
Mikey in terms of preferred and dispreferred
responses?Which is not an appropriate response?
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Discourse markers (markers of interaction

• They can signal to the listener that the speaker
  wishes to continue speaking
• The can signal to the listener where the
  conversation is going compared to where it has
  been before

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An example -
well- well is sometimes used at the start
of a turn to signal that the speaker wishes to
continue speaking (filler) - it is also used to
indicate that the speaker is about to say
something that is in conflict with what the
previous speaker has just said- or it can be
used in both ways at the same time

• well actually Ive stopped eating fish

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• RS-S
• R. so um phoebe tells me you you er play piano
• RSM
• M. Yeah
• RS-S
• R. you know I used to play keyboards in college?
• RSM
• M. why do you have one here?
• MSR
• R. No
• MS-S
• M. OK
• RS-S
• R um er you know Im divorced er Phoebe er
  Phoebe says youve been divorced
• RSM

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Selection in Friends

• R selects M M yeah yeah I Im sorry I dont
  really like to talk about it
• R self-selects R oh thats OK well talk about
  somethin else
• M self-selects M So you youre a palentologist
  right
• and
• M selects R R yeh
• M self-selects M my cousins a paleontologist
• R self-selects R ha?
• and
• R selects M M (nods)
• R self-selects R well he and I would probably
  have a lot to talk about