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Conversation analysis and the structure of spoken
English
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Where are we?

• We have seen the general features of spoken vs.
  written English (prof. Bruti)
• We have seen that conversation is more than
  words
• We have considered the use of vague language
• We have seen narrative in conversation
• We have spoken about fillers and backchannels
• We have spoken about ellipsis (dr. Bonsignori)

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What next?

• We will talk about conversation analysis as a
  discipline
• We will consider some structures of spoken
  language (adjacency pairs, insertion sequences,
  exchanges)
• We will talk about tag questions

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Course Rational

• With this second module, the students who want to
  obtain only 6 credits conclude the course. They
  will have learned the general features of spoken
  vs. written discourse and analysed some of these
  features in more detail.

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Course Rational

• The students who want to obtain 8 credits will
  attend 6 more lessons (12 hours), where they will
  get to know more on the way in which linguists
  study written and spoken discourse. This will
  give them some useful knowledge if they decide to
  write their final thesis in English Linguistics.
• corpus linguistics
• practical activities on DIY corpora

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We close the circle

• We actually started by presenting the premise
  that oral communication is structured in order to
  help us process information.
• We then touched upon this matter when we talked
  about formulaic language in narratives.
• Now that you can recognize certain other features
  of the spoken language that help the hearer
  recover the intended meaning, it seems
  appropriate to conclude this excursus with a
  deeper look at the features that can be used by
  speakers to structure conversation.

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Next year

• the course will focus on the way communication
  goes beyond structures and on how meaning is
  pragmatically construed.

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Instinctive structure

• Spoken language spontaneous
• ? there is no conscious plan to build a
  conversation.
• However
• speakers with similar knowledge work together
  at structuring and building the various types of
  conversation that we use daily.

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Conversation Analysis
Sacks, Schegloff and Jefferson (1974) C.A.
derives from sociology and ethnomethodology. It
argues that conversation has its own dynamic
structure and rules. It looks at the methods used
by speakers to structure conversation efficiently.

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Conversation Analysis

• Some fields of interest of CA
• The way people take turns
• What turn-types there are
• CA. studies the organization of conversation.
• Conversation is organized in sequences.

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Sequences and turns

• A sequence is a unit of conversation that
  consists of two or more and adjacent functionally
  related turns.
• 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.

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Overlap in conversation

• It seldom occurs - parties should talk one at a
  time
• Usually one drops out
• Sometimes competition occurs
• The speaker who upgrades most wins

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Lets start with an activity

• As usual we start with a practical activity,
  which should help you experience in practice how
  conversation analysts work.
• Read the conversation in handout A and then
  answer the following questions

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• What appears to be the purpose of the
  conversation?
• What topics are discussed?
• How are topics introduced?

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Background information

• Two men, Andrew and David, in their early
  twenties, recorded this conversation while
  chatting to each otherin Davids house.

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• DAVID how's your dogs (.) alright?
• ANDREW yeah (.) they're in the kennels
• DAVID had any sort of snow yet?
• ANDREW had a sprinkling on the moors (.) when I
  was going to work (.) er but nothing serious
• DAVID you had a visitor the other night (.)
  little Mr Hudd?
• ANDREW yeah, yeah, I was
• DAVID he said you were abusive to him as usual
• ANDREW he found the place alright (.) only took
  him about half an hour (.) to drive from
  Warrington
• DAVID bloody hell (.) he must have been moving
• ANDREW he was alright
• DAVID yeah
• ANDREW now he's moving (.) we're off to the
  States on holiday as well
• DAVID yeah (.) we'll all be out there (.) some
  of the blokes at work said they wanted to go to
  the States (.) I said (.) oh one of my mates is
  going to work out there (.) oh give us his
  address they all said (.) we'll be able to do the
  New York Marathon (.) know someone who's over
  there in Jersey (.) how's your mum and dad?
• ANDREW all right
• DAVID last time I seen your mum (.) I was
  running up the hill (.) she was on the bus stop
  (.) arthritis still bothering her?
• ANDREW oh yeah (.) you can see it in her hands
  when she picks things up (.) the joints are
  actually quite nobbly (.) they've actually
  swollen up (.) I think she takes painkillers and
  anti-inflammatory tablets (.) but that's about it
• DAVID how long you down here for? (.) I
• ANDREW going back tomorrow
• DAVID oh you're not

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• What appears to be the purpose of the
  conversation?

• Informal chat between two young men (they are
  catching up on each others news)
• The purpose of the conversation is primarily
  INTERACTIONAL
• Transactional to obtain good or services, to
  organize some sort of action, to pass on real
  information
• vs.
• Interactional used when people relate to each
  other
• (Brown and Yule 1983)

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What topics are discussed?

• A range of topics are covered, e.g. dogs, snow,
  little Mr. Hudd, going to the States, Andrews
  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.

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How are topics introduced?

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

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How are topics introduced?

• Even when the form of the utterance looks like a
  statement, the rising intonation at the end of
  the utterance implies to the listener that this
  is a question that needs answering.

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How are topics introduced?

• David introduces more topics. On line 6, D.s
  question functions as a device to check As
  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.

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How are topics introduced?

• The same desire to HOLD THE TURN is shown later
  in the conversation when D. slips into retelling
  a conversation that he had already had at work.
  Though this story doesnt last very long, this
  utterance of 62 words is by far the longest in
  the conversation, turning A. into a listener
  rather than a speaker.

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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 hes
  saying.

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Building the conversation

• The conversation seems to have been structured
  with the willing cooperation of both partners and
  the basic structural device used to introduce
  topics and to build the conversation has been the
  adjacency pair of question-answer.

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Types of sequences

• Adjacency pairs are a type of sequence, along
  with
• Insertion sequences
• Pre-sequences
• Post-sequences
• Conversational encounters can be described in
  terms of an overall organization, that is, a
  schematic description of the types and order of a
  conversations turns and sequences.

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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 greetinggreeting pair
• A questionanswer pair

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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

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Adjacency pairs

• Question answer
• Greeting greeting
• Offer acceptance
• Request acceptance
• Complaint - excuse

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Adjacency pairs

• One speakers utterance makes a particular kind
  of response likely.
• A.P. are pairs of utterances that usually occur
  together.
• The most often used a.p. 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.

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Question and answers

• 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.

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Types of questions

• 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.

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Type of questions

• 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.
  

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Tag Questions

• One of the most interesting types of questions
  are TAG QUESTIONS.
• The way in which they operate depends on the
  intonation used and on the context they appear
  in.

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Tag Questions

• They can show tentativeness
• This is a good match, isnt it?
• They can show assertiveness
• Youre not leaving, are you?
• You will learn more about tag questions on April
  12.

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Questions and answers

• It is difficult to avoid answering repeated
  questions and as the urgency of the question
  increases, the length of the question decreases.
  In other words, short sharp questions are
  forceful in provoking a response.

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Activity

• Are the following open or closed questions?
• Did you enjoy the spaghetti bolognese?
• Do you love her?
• I think the Labour candidates the best, dont
  you?
• Are you going to put up with that?
• What plans have you for the next few years?

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Possible types of answers

• Answer
• Assurance of ignorance
• Suggestion for asking someone else (re-routing)
• Postponement
• Refusal to provide an answer
• Challenge to presuppositions of question
• Challenge to questioners sincerity

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Breaking adjacency pairs

• As an accepted part of conversational structure,
  adjacency pairs have strong in-built
  expectations.
• Questions are generally answered, statements are
  acknowledged, complaints are replied to and
  greetings are exchanged.

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Preference organization

• Adjacency pairs have preferences
• Preferred response granting
• Dispreferred response refusal
• Dispreferred responses are often
• Delayed
• Marked (preface marking dispreferred status)

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Preference organization

• AP are organized in first and second part.
• For any particular first part speech act
  (proposal, request), conversationalists show a
  preference for particular second parts in
  response (acceptance, grant). We can distinguish
  between preferred second parts and dispreferred
  second parts (rejection, refusal).

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Preference organization
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Breaking Adjacency Pairs

• If the rules are ignored and these patterns are
  broken (even by choosing the dispreferred second
  part), this immediately creates a response.

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Activity

• Look at the following exchanges and discuss how
  they appear to flout the normal expectations of
  adjacency pairs.
• Can you imagine contexts which would explain
  these?

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• A HelloB Goodbye
• A Did you go out with John last night?B Why
  are you asking?A Why do you think?
• A What do you think of this?B Gosh is that the
  time? I must go!
• A You teas on the tableB (6)A Did you hear
  what I said?B (4)A Answer me, will you?

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Insertion Sequence

• An insertion sequence is a sequence of turns
  that intervenes between the first and second
  parts of an adjacency pair.
• A Shall I wear the blue shoes?
• B Youve got the black ones
• A Theyre not comfortable
• B Yeah, theyre the best then, wear the blue
  ones.

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Insertion Sequence

• 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.

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Insertion Sequence

• A I wanted to order some more paint.(Request)
• B Yes, how many tubes would you like, sir?
  (Question 1)
• A Um, what's the price with tax? (Question 2)
• B Er, I'll just work that out for you. (Hold)
• A Thanks. (Acceptance)
• B Three nineteen a tube, sir. (Answer 2)
• A I'll have five, then. (Answer 1)
• B Here you go. (Acceptance)

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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

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Insertion Sequences as a kind of Delay

The following exchange contains delays as a
repair initiation in the second turn, insertion
sequences in the fourth and fifth turns, and the
well, pause, and self-repair in the sixth
turn 1. A Can you do it? 2. B What? 3. A
Can you take care of it? 4. B Now? 5. A If
thats all right. 6. B Well, pause I mean,
no, Im afraid not.
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Fillers as a kind of Delay

• In conversation analysis they are also known as
  a preface, that is, an audible device, such as
  one of the following, used within a turn to put
  off a dispreferred response
• Items like well
• Token agreement
• Indications of appreciation, apology, or
  qualification
• Self-repair
• E.g.
• Um, yes, thanks, but you--I mean, Ill just do it
  myself.

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Exchange Structure

• Adjacency pairs can also be extended into
  adjacency triplets. Identified by Sinclair and
  Coulthard (1975) in their analysis of classroom
  conversations, and more commonly known as
  exchanges, they consist of three moves
• Initiation
• Response
• Follow-up or Feedback

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Hands-on work

• The following conversation took place in a
  chemistry lesson in the classroom of a sixth form
  college. SDR is a male teacher in his early
  fifties, FP is his pupil, a female 17-year-old
  student. Read the following transcription of a
  classroom conversation and answer the questions

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Hands-on work

• 1.What is the purpose behind the teacher's
  opening remarks?
• 2.Identify and explain the exchange in this
  conversation.
• 3.Explain the function of the adjacency pair at
  the end of the conversation.
• 4.How does the teacher pass on the turn and
  introduce the topics?
• 5.What is the reason for the repetition present
  in this conversation?

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• SDR that's good (.) that's excellent (.) so you
  can answer the questions (1) Fiona (.) if you
  heat up the reaction (.) what happens? (.) to the
  reaction
• FP it goes quicker
• SDR it goes quicker (.) so the key to any
  reaction at all is that it goes quicker (.)
  because all the molecules will be flying around
  faster (.) so it speeds up a reaction (.) but it
  speeds up a given (1) increase in temperature
  speeds of different reactions to different
  extents (1) Fiona (.) exothermic reactions (.)
  what is an exothermic reaction? (1)
• FP one that gives out heat

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What is the purpose behind the teacher's opening
remarks?

• The teacher's first three remarks, 'that's
  good', 'that's excellent' and 'so you can answer
  the questions', are concerned with the previous
  utterances made by the students. The evaluation
  offered here by the teacher is extremely positive
  and supportive in a way that could appear
  patronising in a normal situation.

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Identify and explain the exchange in this
conversation.

• The exchange that follows is initiated by the
  teacher's question, 'if you heat up any reaction
  what happens? (.) to the reaction (1)'. FP
  responds with the answer 'it goes quicker'. Then
  the teacher, as feedback, not only repeats the
  student's exact words but also reformulates the
  answer and summarises for the students what he
  hopes the exchange has taught them, 'so the key
  to any reaction at all is that it goes quicker'.

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Explain the function of the adjacency pair at the
end of the conversation.

• The adjacency pair at the end is asking the
  students to give a definition. This is a
  known-answer question in the sense that the
  teacher already knows what he wants to hear and
  Fiona's answer comes quickly and fluently in a
  way that implies the definition has been learnt
  almost by heart.

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How does the teacher pass on the turn and
introduce the topics?

• The teacher clearly dictates the turn by naming
  Fiona twice and the topics are introduced by two
  questions, 'if you heat up any reaction what
  happens?' and 'what is an exothermic reaction?'
  Interestingly, the final topic has already been
  signposted to the audience with the phrase,
  'exothermic reactions'. Operating as a
  sub-heading would in a written text, the
  repetition of this phrase in the next sentence
  reflects the high amount of repetition already
  contained in the conversation.

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What is the reason for the repetition present in
this conversation?

• The repetition shows the teachers constant
  awareness of his larger audience and his purpose
  to make sure all his students learn, not just
  the student he appears to be having a
  conversation with. Throughout the conversation,
  therefore, he is at pains by repetition to
  confirm the class understanding.

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Summary

• Conversation is, therefore, a flexible text
  negotiated between the various participants in a
  conversation. The speakers and listeners support
  and evaluate each other using the known building
  blocks of adjacency pairs and exchanges and
  operating with pragmatic principles. Non-fluency
  features help signpost the structure of the
  conversation as do openers, discourse markers and
  closures. This signposting causes the
  participants to be aware of the conversation's
  structure, enabling a smooth progression from
  topic to topic and from speaker to speaker.
  Finally, the context and underlying purposes of a
  conversation make its meaning clear to all
  participants.

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Food for thought

• We are left to consider whether conversation
  will develop or change due to the influence of
  new technology and the conversations that take
  place in emails and chat rooms.
• See handout.