Submitted To: Mam Shafak Shakeel

Submitted By: Muntaha Fawad

Course Title: En 309 Discourse Studies

Department: BS English 5th Morning

CONVERSATION
ANALYSIS
Of Talk Show “Hart to Heart”
 CONVERSATION ANALYSIS OF THE SHOW
“HART TO HEART”

INTRODUCTION
Communication is a crucial aspect of individual socialization. For instance, people engage in
greetings as a means of nurturing their relationships. Speech, according to Fairclough, refers to an
oral presentation delivered by one individual to a group, encompassing specific intonation, lexical
choices, and gestures that reflect their identities. The study of conversation interaction involving
two or more individuals is facilitated by Conversation Analysis (CA). CA focuses on identifying
patterns of actions within conversations, demanding a systematic examination of data on a turn-
by-turn basis. This approach enables the repetitive inspection of sections of dialogues, facilitating
a thorough exploration of interactions for a deeper and more accurate comprehension.
Here, I will be analyzing the famous talk show “Hart to Heart” hosted by actor and comedian
Kevin Hart where he sits down with guests to dig deep into their goals and aspirations, their
journey to stardom and the challenges they've had to overcome. The show has aired nationally for
3 seasons from August 5, 2021 to August 3, 2023 and it’s season 4 is yet to be announced.

ANALYSIS
The following elements of the conversation have been examined:

1. Transcription of Data
Transcribing the recorded data is essential for the examination of conversation analysis. Gail
Jefferson (2004) introduced a specific set of conventions for CA research. The Jeffersonian
transcription system employs diverse symbols and conventions to depict various elements of
spoken language, encompassing pauses, overlaps, intonation patterns, and other crucial features
essential for capturing the subtleties of conversation.
Some dialogues from the show can be transcribed as:
Example 1
Host: Uh (.) Miley where do we ↑ start? I bow down to >people in the entertainment business<
that have done ↑ so:: much AND continue to do.
Guest: Yeah, and you know (0.5), I think it’s a j(hhh)ourney.

Example 2
Host: What was it that ↑ made you say, “I want to go in THIS direction, and this is what I’m going
to focus on?”
Guest: Well (0.3) you know what, that was wa::y before ‘Modern Family’ when I had my job at
↓ Univision.

2. Structure of Conversation
Conversation includes patterns of starting and closing. These patterns are different from one
context to another. In telephone calls, for instance, as Schegloff (1968) has observed, it is the
recipient who talks first then the caller speaks. Telephone call opening and closing provide an
essential and useful framework for further exploration in other talk contexts.
▪ Opening Conversation
This show usually includes a pre-opening structure which is a brief introduction about the guest,
and opening structure which includes greeting the guest for example:
Example 1
Host: My guest, well she’s a Grammy-nominated, Billboard and MTV Video Music Award-
winning recording artist and actress. She’s what I like to call triple threat. (Pre-opening)
Host: Miley Cyrus. How are you? (Opening)
Example 2
Host: This guy’s one of the greatest stand-up comedians of all time. He’s also a producer, director,
writer and actor and someone I have the privilege to call a friend. I’m talking about the legend
Chris Rock. (Pre-opening)
Host: Chris, how’re you doing man? (Opening)
▪ Closing Conversation
In this show, we again have a pre-closing where the host bids goodbye to the episode’s guest and
then a closing structure in which Kevin ends the episode with a funny life anecdote.
Example 1
Host: It’s John Cena ladies and gentlemen. Good night, bro! (Pre-closing)
Host: Kevin Hart here with another life anecdote. We all have hands but some of us don’t
understand fingers. What I’m saying is use chopsticks. (Closing)
Example 2
Host: What an amazing night. Thank you, Sofia. (Pre-closing)
Host: Today’s life anecdote is what I like to call a gem. Why do you have elbows? For the same
reason why, you have joints. What I’m saying is, every once in a while, smoke one. (Closing)
Thus, we can see that the show follows a specific set pattern for opening and closing in all episodes
throughout.
 3. Turn Taking
Briefly discussing turn-taking, a prominent topic in conversation analysis, has captured the
attention of researchers. Sacks (1974) conducted an in-depth study on the turn-taking system in
conversations, asserting that it serves as the primary organizational structure. According to him,
turn-taking is inherently 'context-sensitive,' adapting to the specific situation in which it unfolds.
This doesn't imply its confinement to a particular scenario; instead, it generally functions as a
convention in any conversation. However, its nature and alignment with participants vary across
different contexts.
In this show, there are no dominant person or less dominant person because both give the same
turns. Besides that, most of the forms of the conversation are just questions and answers. So, turn
taking just happens when the interviewer gives a question to the interviewee. This can be seen in
different examples below:
Example 1
Host: Have you always been a Bronco lover? Or just wanted to get that?
Guest (Kelly Clarkson): I love it. My friend Matt had one and we’d go mudding. It was so much
fun so for my birthday, a couple of years ago, I bought it for myself.
Example 2
Host: Do you find yourself in awe of what you’ve been able to accomplish?
Guest (Jay-Z): Yeah, today I was on facetime with Ty and I don’t think people realize that we just
sit around all the time and like, can you believe this? Just the place where you are and where you’ve
come from.

4. Adjacency Pairs
Understanding certain concepts related to adjacency pairs is intriguing, as these sequences play a
crucial role in any conversation. According to Hutchby and Wooffitt, certain expressions typically
occur in pairs. Examples of these pairs include question-answer, greetings-return greetings, or
invitations, which can be either accepted or declined.
We can find many adjacency pairs in the “Hart to Heart” talk show. Some examples are given
below:
Example 1
Host: How are you doing man? You like this set up?
Guest (Jay-Z): Oh, I love it! I’m doing great. What about you?
Example 2
Host: How much patience do you have?
Guest (Tracee): Strangely, I have so much patience.
So, we can say, the prevalent type of adjacency pair in this talk show is Question- Answer, the
whole discussion is generally based on it. Most of the questions are predetermined by the host. But
sometimes the answers given by the guests are unexpected ones, so the host is reluctant to direct
the talk in the light of the guest’s answer.

5. Insertion Sequence
In conversation analysis (CA), an insertion sequence refers to a segment of talk that is inserted into
an ongoing conversational, often disrupting the flow of the interaction. These sequences can be
initiated by a participant in the conversation and typically involve a shift in topic or activity.
In the show we’re analyzing, we can point out many examples of insertion sequences. Some of
them are as follows:
Example 1
Host: So, tell us about your recent vacation.
Guest (Nick Cannon): Oh, it was amazing! We went to this beautiful beach in Hawaii.
Host: Sounds fantastic! By the way, I heard you're working on a new project. Can you tell us more
about that?
Example 2
Host: Can you perform a little acapella for our audience?
Guest (Kelly Clarkson): Will I get a gift hamper?
Host: Oh, yeah for sure! Anything you say.
Guest: Here we go then.

6. Feedback
Another aspect of spoken interactions that has been examined by conversation analysis is the ways
speakers provide each other with feedback, that is the ways in which listeners showed they attended
to what was being said. This can be done, for example, using ‘response token’ such as ‘mmm’ and
‘yeah’, by paraphrasing what the other person has just said, or through body position and the use
of eye contact.
We can quote following instances of feedback from this show:
Example 1
Host: I’m walking away from this conversation with such an amazing understanding of who you
are, and I think this person is dope. I mean it.
Guest (Miley): (nods and smiles) Thank you!
Example 2
Host: Welcome to Hart to Heart, man.
Guest (Don): Uh yeah, it’s a pleasure to be here.

7. Repair
In conversation analysis (CA), repair refers to the processes through which participants in a
conversation address and correct troubles or problems that occur during communication. These
troubles can include various issues such as misunderstandings, miscommunications, and other
breakdowns in the flow of conversation. Repairs are essential for maintaining smooth
communication and ensuring that participants understand each other.
There are different types of repairs, including:
▪ Self-initiated Repairs where a speaker recognizes a problem in their own utterance and
takes steps to correct it.
▪ Other-initiated Repairs in which another participant in the conversation signals a problem
and requests clarification or correction.
Some examples of Repair from the show are stated below:
Example 1
Host: So, your Instagram updates tell us you’ve been on a trip to the mountains. How was it?
Guest (Tracee): Oh, it was great. The scenery and everything and I even had a close encounter
with a wild bear so that was scary.
Host: A bear! Really?
Guest: No, wait uh I guess it was a big moose. Yeah, a moose. (Self-Repair)
Example 2
Host: So, you’ve won nearly 6 awards in the last 10 years. How does it feel?
Guest (John): Actually, I’ve won 7 to be exact and yeah, I feel so loved and grateful. (Other-
initiated repair)

8. Gender and Conversation Analysis

In conversation analysis (CA), gender refers to the ways in which speakers' performances of
masculinity and femininity are accomplished through talk and interaction. Researchers analyze
how speakers use language and interaction to construct, display, and negotiate gender identities.
This includes examining how individuals perform gender through their choice of words, tone of
voice, body language, and other aspects of communication.
If I compare two episodes of this show, I can see how the guest depending on their gender use
language to reinforce or challenge traditional gender roles like in the examples below:
Example 1
Host: So, tell us about your new project.
Guest (Tom): Well, you know, it's an action-packed film with lots of intense scenes and explosions.
I play the tough, fearless hero who saves the day.
Example 2
Host: What about the new project you’ve signed up for?
Guest (Sofia): I play the hero’s love interest, but she's not just a damsel in distress. She's strong
and independent too.
Here we can see how differently the male and female guests answer the same question. The male
guest emphasizes toughness and heroism, aligning with stereotypical masculine traits, while the
female guest challenges the damsel in distress stereotype by highlighting her character's strength
and independence.

CONCLUSION
Thus, in the talk show “Hart to Heart”, different aspects of conversation occurred. They are
opening and closing, turn taking, adjacency pairs, feedback, insertion, and repair etc. Feedback
and turn taking were the most often appearing type in these conversations. So, every conversation
has many various strategies. Whatever strategies are chosen, the important thing in conversation
is coherence and cohesion in the utterances by the participants.