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Researching Conversation:An Overview

Psychology of Language

COM 370

John R. Baldwin

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All the Usual Suspects

Conversation Analysis

Discourse Analysis Whats the text

Level of detail?

Main differences?

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CA in more detail (Ten Have)

Pure CA: Concerned with the general

issues, structure of talk as such, regardlessof context, institution

Applied CAcourtrooms, meetings,

interviews, and so on

Charles Antaki on Applied CA:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxTkOF-

xcr8&feature=player_embedded#at=11

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxTkOF-xcr8&feature=player_embeddedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxTkOF-xcr8&feature=player_embeddedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxTkOF-xcr8&feature=player_embeddedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxTkOF-xcr8&feature=player_embeddedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxTkOF-xcr8&feature=player_embedded

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CA: Three example studies

Sacks: Rules of conversational sequence,

natural next actions versus occasionallyusables (call-center study) rules for

conversational sequence

Schegloff: Sequences in conversational

openings (summonsanswer sequence) S&S: Openings and closings: rules of

adjacency pairs: closing sections (well)

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Some Research Basics: CA

What are the underlying assumptions

Approach is: Top-down? [theory data]: Theory = lens

Bottom-up? [data theory]: Theory =

explanatory framework

Social structure can be seen: _________

What counts as data? __________________

Collecting data

Transcribing data

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Adjacency pairs

Two-utterance length

Adjacent positioning (though later this varies) Different speakers produce each utterance

(Schegloff & Sacks, in Ten Have, 1999)

A close-ordering of utterances which makes

their use relevant for specific purposes

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Some types of adjacency pairs

Question answer

Greeting greeting Offer acceptance/rejection

Compliment acknowledgement

(acceptance/rejection)

Request grant(Clark & Clark, Ch. 6)

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Characterizing speech turns

some examples

One List (Dore, 1975)

labelling

repeating answering

requesting (action)

requesting (answer)

calling greeting

protesting

practicing

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Studying Spanish? Not like this!

http://www.is.cs.cmu.edu/Clarity.Tagging.

Manual/SAtags.html

http://www.is.cs.cmu.edu/Clarity.Tagging.Manual/SAtags.htmlhttp://www.is.cs.cmu.edu/Clarity.Tagging.Manual/SAtags.htmlhttp://www.is.cs.cmu.edu/Clarity.Tagging.Manual/SAtags.htmlhttp://www.is.cs.cmu.edu/Clarity.Tagging.Manual/SAtags.html

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CA Steps: Overall Process(Ten Have, 1999)

(As sum ing you already have transc r ipt)

1. Locate data fragment (sequence)

2. Analyze interlocking organizationsa. Turn-taking

b. Sequence

c. Repair

d. Turn construction/design

3. Take notes on transc r ip t or no tebook4. Try to form ulate general observat ions

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CA Steps: Interlocking Organization(Ten Have, 1999)

1. Turn -taking: Gaps, pauses

Overlaps and Interruptions Overlaps:

Continues the previous turn of the other (Person Acontinues)

Occurs at a TRP (Transition-Relevant Place)

Interruptions:

Takes turn away from other (Person B continuesspeaking)

Occurs NOT at a TRP

TCU: Turn-Constructional Unit

Indication of next turns [three rules, if naturally

occurring conversation]

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CA Steps: Interlocking Organization(Ten Have, 1999)

2. Sequence: Adjacency pairs

Relevant and accountable responses

Inserts; presequences; core sequences

Prefaces, summaries

Glosses; [summary for possible expansion] Cycles (QA, jokes

Tags that anticipate answers, etc.

Recipient design!

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CA Steps: Interlocking Organization(Ten Have, 1999)

3. Repair: trouble sources

self- and other-initiated repairs NTRI: Next-turn repair initiator: huh? What?

TRPs: Transition-relevant places

occasionally usable repairs

continuers misalignment

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CA Steps: Interlocking Organization(Ten Have, 1999)

4.Turn constru ct ion /design:

turn length

Address

speaker design

preference organization (what would typicallyfollow, such as an apology)

turn shape: Ex: acceptance versus rejection of an invitation

Ex: Howdoes first pair part suggest second pairpart?

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A Final (Possible) Step(Pomerantz & Fehr)

Implication of identities, roles, relationships

What do turns tell you about relationship ofinteractants?

What do you know about social structure, status

(individual or group)? For example, does the text

incorporate gendered identities (Note: you can

only tell from the data, not from previous research

on gender and communication!)

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An exercise

Choose a portion (segment) of the transcript

given to you in class. We will listen to a video3 times.

Use the transition notation to mark the text.

Use the notes to try to locate different

organization patterns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eNF5hb6

gzk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eNF5hb6gzkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eNF5hb6gzkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eNF5hb6gzkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eNF5hb6gzk

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Speech Act Theory

Grices Theory of Conversational Implicature

Maxims Conversational Implicature

Searles Speech Act Theory

Locutionary (utterance), Illocutionary, and

Perlocutionary forces Five types of Speech Acts

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Illocutionary Content

Cooperative Principle Grices Maxims

Relation

Quality

Quantity

Manner

Discourse Analysis (Blum-Kulka)

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Grice (continued)

Implicature

Conversational/conventional (we wont distinguish) Implied meaningof utterance: Hows it goin?

Flouting (exploitation) of Grices maxims

Tautology: Boys will be boys.

Irony/sarcasm: You look great, today!

Exaggeration: You look like death warmed over.

Understatement: Its a tad cold out there.

Overt lie: Ohits just something I threw on.

Is it individualorshared?

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Application of Grices maximsinfluenced

by: Context

Roles/status

[Relationship]

Culture

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Illocutionary Content

Types of linguistic force

Locutionary (content)

Illocutionary (intent)

Perlocutionary (force or effect)

Speech Acts Theory

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Felicity conditions/constitutive rules

Propositional content

Preparatory conditions/situational

rules

Sincerity conditions

Essential conditions

Speech Acts Theory

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Types of speech acts (p. 242)

RepresentativeDirective

Commissive

ExpressiveDeclarative

Miscommunication

Implicature (again!)

Speech Acts Theory

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Indirect speech acts

Transparency

Illocutionary Propositional;

Conventionality thesis

Question preparatory conditions

Emphasize sincerity condition

Prediction of future act

Pragmatic duality

Conventionaland unconventionalpoliteness

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Compare level of transcription with CA

Locate adjacency pair What happens in each turn (speech acts)?

Are Grices maxims observed or violated?

Does conversationalimplicature occur?Blum-Kulka, 1997, p. 44

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Politeness!

Save this reading! We will come back to the

section on politeness later!

I mean Can you save this reading?

Would you mind possibly saving this reading?

Would you be able to save this reading?

Would you be kind enough to save this reading?

Perhaps it would be better to

This section is not relevant now, but will be important later

WOULD YOU JUST SAVE THIS FRIGGIN READING!?

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Other Approaches (Tracy, 1991)Assumptions Method

nuances

Example

Topics

Ethnomethodology

(CA)

Naturally

occurringAtheoretical

Formal/Structural

Culturally Focused

Discourse Processing

Discourse & Identity

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Two Examples

Evasions

Apologies

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Evasions

Types of evasions?

Type of research? (how do you know?( Applications?

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Apologies

Form and function

Unambiguous: Im sorry for eating your hamster(responsibility, regret, intention not to do it again)

Regret: Im sorry about your hamster

Redirected responsibility: Well, someone left the

hamster in the refrigerator No wrongdoing: Well, thats what hamsters are

for, right?

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Apologies

When would you want a full, canonical

apology?

When would you not?

When can the following not really be

apologies?

Public official apologies

Legal court apologies

Im sorry, Mr. Smith is out of town until Monday

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1. Nonverbal behavior and apologies

2. Lexical semantics: The Function ofApologies

Apologies, Excuses, Justifications, and

Explanations

The parts of an apology (p. 205) One-ups and one-downs

3. Syntax and the apology:

What are some ways we distance ourselves from

apologies?

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4. Pragmatics: Speech acts: What are the

felicity conditions of an apology? (pp. 207-

208)

5. Speech Event: How is an apology situated

within a larger conversational event?

Register: Genre:

Key:

Maxims? Speech Acts? Implicature?

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6. CA: Preferred 2nd-pair parts, etc.

7. Narrative analysis (rhetoric)8. Apologies and sociolinguistics

Culture

Gender/sex

9. Textual analysis: Apology as document

(more rhetoric)

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Apologies

Kanye West: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYqYB1UpAQQ

Tiger Wood: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs8nseNP4s0

The apology song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZctK51RwK8A Another apology song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tjyr90S1DmQ&feature=related

I didnt mean it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5TKUonQLns

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYqYB1UpAQQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs8nseNP4s0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZctK51RwK8Ahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tjyr90S1DmQ&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5TKUonQLnshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5TKUonQLnshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tjyr90S1DmQ&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZctK51RwK8Ahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs8nseNP4s0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYqYB1UpAQQ

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Conversation Analysis:

Apologies in adjacency pairs

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http://www.arcamax.comhttp//www.arcamax.com/newspics/8/805/80564.gif

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http://adt.curtin.edu.au/theses/available/adt-

WCU20030626.150323/unrestricted/09appe

ndixAB.pdf

http://adt.curtin.edu.au/theses/available/adt-WCU20030626.150323/unrestricted/09appendixAB.pdfhttp://adt.curtin.edu.au/theses/available/adt-WCU20030626.150323/unrestricted/09appendixAB.pdfhttp://adt.curtin.edu.au/theses/available/adt-WCU20030626.150323/unrestricted/09appendixAB.pdfhttp://adt.curtin.edu.au/theses/available/adt-WCU20030626.150323/unrestricted/09appendixAB.pdfhttp://adt.curtin.edu.au/theses/available/adt-WCU20030626.150323/unrestricted/09appendixAB.pdfhttp://adt.curtin.edu.au/theses/available/adt-WCU20030626.150323/unrestricted/09appendixAB.pdfhttp://adt.curtin.edu.au/theses/available/adt-WCU20030626.150323/unrestricted/09appendixAB.pdf