Subject : Discourse Analysis

A Conversation between an employer and an employee

Submitted by Ali Shimal Kzar

Supervised by: ASST. PROF. DR. BUSHRA NI’MA RASHID

Date :
 1. Methodology
The data of the current work includes a conversation between an employer and employee
in a company. Dialogue can be defined speech between two or more people. In this study a
dialogue between two participants is analyzed. This dialogue is about an employee’s need
to work overtime at the office. The selected conversation is downloaded from the internet.
The model adopted for this work will be based on Austin’s (1976: 10–16) Speech Acts Theory
Pragmatically .
1. Representatives which commit the speaker to the truth of the expressed proposition
(paradigm cases: asserting, concluding)
2. Directives which are attempts by the speaker to get the addressee to do something
(paradigm cases: requesting, questioning);
3. Commissives which commit the speaker to some future course of action (paradigm
cases: promising, threatening, offering);
4. Expressives which express a psychological state (paradigm cases: thanking,
apologizing, welcoming, congratulating);
5. Declarations which effect immediate changes in the institutional state of affairs and
which tend to rely on elaborate extralinguistic institutions (paradigm cases:
excommunicating, declaring war, christening, marrying, firing from employment).

1- https://talknowapp.net/conversation/dialogue-conversation-between-boss-and-
employee-about-working-overtime-in-office/

2. Data Analysis
Employee: Sir, may I come in?
Employer: Sure, come in.
Employee: Thank you, sir.
Employer: Yes, tell me. Is there any problem?
Employee: Oh no. The work is good and everything is fine.
Employer: Amazing. Then, what brings you at my cabin today?
Employee: Yeah, it is a family matter and I was hoping you could help me for the same.
Employer: Okay. Tell me what’s the problem. I’ll try helping you out. Is it financial?
Employee: Kind of. The thing is that I have a daughter and I have admitted her to one of
the best school in our city and as you know, the fees of that school is a big amount to
pay. So, I was hoping that I could do overtime and I could get paid for that overtime.
Also, I do not want to get involved and get stuck in getting loans to pay her fees.
Employer: Okay, your reason is genuine. It is good for you and your daughter that you
have admitted her into the city’s best school and she can get good knowledge from that.
You can work for as many hours you wish to and you will get paid for the same. I will
make sure that you get paid for the additional work you are willing to take on your
shoulders.
Employee: Thank you so much for helping me out, sir.
Employer: Oh! there is no need to thank me. You are getting your share of payment by
the efforts you are putting in. Good, keep it up! Also, I would like to give you one advice!
Employee: Sure, sir.
Employer: While you are working and you get slumped with work, do not forget to take
some time out for your family. Not just the office, but your family needs you too.
Employee: Definitely, sir. I will keep that in mind.1

The first Exchange

Employee: Sir, may I come in?
Employer: Sure, come in.
This exchange shows a psychological state of welcoming in a form of greetings. So, the
fourth strategy called expressive was used. In a conventional way of showing respect and
greetings , the employee greeted the boss. In this turn taking the speaker does not only
say something but he is showing welcoming and respect.
The second Exchange
Employee: Thank you, sir.
Employer: Yes, tell me. Is there any problem?
After entering the employer’s cabin and greeted him , now expressive are shown in a
form of thanking. Therefore, the speaker is performing thanking and showing gratitude
not only linguistic utterances. The employer performs what AUSTIN called a paradigm
case of asking which are attempts by the speaker to get the addressee to do something,
this inference shows the second strategy of showing.
The third exchange
Employee: “Oh no. The work is good and everything is fine.”
Employer:” Amazing. Then, what brings you at my cabin today?”
Representatives is contained and shown by the employee’s role by saying that the work
is good and everything is fine. This statement is a kind of asserting what the speaker
intends to say. Questioning is used in turn taking the second role by the employer ‘’ what
brings you at my cabin today?’’
The fourth exchange
Employee: “Yeah, it is a family matter and I was hoping you could help me for the same.”
Employer: “Okay. Tell me what’s the problem. I’ll try helping you out. Is it financial?”
The purpose of language is to transfer the effect of what the speaker says to the person
who hears it. This is done through interaction, which uses our sociocultural knowledge.
This interaction has a "shutting" effect, where one person's intention has an effect on the
other person and a predicted outcome. There will be a response from the second person
to the first person. Both promising and offering used by the employer to help the
employee , the strategy of commissive that is psychological paradigm is utilized.
The fifth exchange
Employee: “ Kind of. The thing is that I have a daughter and I have admitted her to one
of the best schools in our city and as you know, the fees of that school is a big amount to
pay. So, I was hoping that I could do overtime and I could get paid for that overtime.
Also, I do not want to get involved and get stuck in getting loans to pay her fees.”
Employer: “Okay, your reason is genuine. It is good for you and your daughter that you
have admitted her into the city’s best school and she can get good knowledge from that.
You can work for as many hours you wish to and you will get paid for the same. I will
make sure that you get paid for the additional work you are willing to take on your
shoulders. “
Firstly, directives in a form of requesting are inferred in that the father ( the employee )
asks his manager to do overtime work in his company so as to pay the course fees of his.
Not only linguistic features are uttered but a kind of speech act of requesting and
offering a service to do overwork.
The employer expressed his mind in the first strategy “ Representatives ‘’ in which he
commits the speaker to the truth of the expressed proposition. The manager promises
his employee to get him paid for his additional work , however he must also give and
provides tome to his family and not to increase his burden and this is what is meant by “
to take on your shoulder.’’
In conclusion , the sixth and seventh turn taking can be superficially labelled as thanking
and asserting. speech act is something expressed by an individual that not only presents
information but performs an action as well.