CONVERSATIONAL ANALYSIS

Eros Meliana Sofa

Eva Istiyani
Wisdiyan Hadi
Turasno
 Background
 Conversation is a way of using language socially,
of ‘ doing things with words’ together wth oter
persons.
language

Topic Topical organization

What is it discussed Content
How they
about of conversation
construct

Content
 The structure of conversations

• Openings
– Initiating exchanges that establish social relations

• Middle
– Topic negotiation and development
– Turn taking mechanics
– Feedback

• Closings
– Pre-closing exchanges
– Closings
 Let’s see the conversation text…

The text helps us experience in practice how conversation

analysts work.

Read the conversation and then let’s analyze the following

questions…

• What appears to be the purpose of the conversation?

• What topics are discussed?

• How are topics introduced?

 What appears to be the purpose of the
conversation?

• Informal chat between two young men (they are catching up

on each other’s news)
• The purpose of the conversation is primarily
INTERACTIONAL
• to obtain good or services, to
Transactional organize some sort of action, to
pass on real information
• used when people relate to each
Interactional other

(Brown and Yule 1983)

 What topics are discussed?
A range of topics:
dogs, snow, little Mr. Hudd, going to the States,
Andrew’s 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.
 How are topics introduced?

The topics are introduced in 2 ways:

• statements
– We’re off to the States on holiday as well
• questions
– You had a visitor the other night, little Mr Hudd?
the form of the utterance looks like a statement but, the rising
intonation at the end of the utterance implies to the listener that
this is a question that needs answering.
David introduces more topics. On line 6, D.’s question functions as
a device to check A’s 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.
 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 he’s saying.
Sacks, Schegloff and Definition of Conversation
Jefferson (1974)
Analysis
• C.A. derives from sociology and ethnomethodology.
• It argues that conversation has its own dynamic
structure and rules.
• Conversation is organized in sequences.
• CA. studies the organization of conversation.
• CA. Capture the structuring that people practise when
carrying on a conversation.
• Conversational structure is methods used by speakers
to structure conversation efficiently or management of
conversational turn.
 • To keep the flow of
conversation going
• To avoid ‘conversational
Main Points of
accidents’ and
Conversational structure
‘conversational traffic jam’
• Describes how the
interactants negotiate the
exchange of meanings in
dialogue

Some fields • The way people take turns

of interest of CA: • What turn-types there are
 Conversational Structure

Turn Sequence

• A turn is a time during

which a single participant A sequence is a unit of
speaks, within a typical, conversation that consists of
orderly arrangement in two or more and adjacent
which participants speak functionally related turns.
with minimal overlap and
gap between them.
 Overlap
in conversation
Situation: Student and his girlfriend's father during their first
meeting

• Mr. Strait : What's your major, Dave?

• Dave : English - well I haven't really decided yet.
(3 seconds silence)
• Mr. Strait : So - you want to be a teacher?
• Dave : No - not really - well not if I can help it.
(2 seconds silence)
• Mr. Strait : Wha-//Where do you-- //go ahead
• Dave : I mean it's a--oh sorry //I em-
Yule (1996: 73)
• overlap : both speakers speaking at the same
time.
• Overlap usually occurs as both speakers
attempt to initiate talk.
• It seldom occurs - ”parties should talk one at a
time”.
• Usually one drops out.
• Sometimes competition occurs.
The speaker who upgrades most wins.
 Turn Taking

• dialog is made up of turns

• speakers alternate: speaker A
says something, then speaker identifying turn:
B, then speaker A...
• turn taking: who should talk
linguistic clues
and when
intonational phrase
boundaries
slowing speaking rate
drop in pitch or loudness
Gestures
pauses
 How do speakers know when its time to contribute a
Turn-taking turn?
rules • turn transitions occur at Transition
Relevance Points (TRP)
(Sacks, Schegloff, Jefferson,
1978) • at TRP turn taking rules apply

• At each transition-relevance place of each turn:

 current speaker selects next speaker

If during this turn the current speaker has selected B as the next speaker
then B must speak next.

 next speaker self-selects

If the current speaker does not select the next speaker, any other
speaker may take the next turn.

 current speaker continues

If no one else takes the next turn, the current
speaker may take the next turn.
• The non-floor holders in conversational situation are not
only silent. Their contribution to the conversation is an
important element of the “traffic management”.

 Back-channeling – vocalizations by the listener

relinquishing the floor to the current speaker
 It provides support for the speaker in the form of short
utterances.

 ‘uh-huh’
 ‘yeah’
 ‘I see’
 Etc.
 Types of sequences

• Adjacency pairs are a type of

sequence, along with:

• Pre-sequences
• Insertion sequences
 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 greeting–greeting pair
– A question–answer pair
 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
 Types of adjacency pairs

• Question – answer
• Greeting – greeting
• Offer – acceptance
• Request – acceptance
• Complaint – excuse
Adjacencey Pairs are organized in first and second part and
have“preferences”:
• Preferred response = granting
• Dispreferred response = refusal
 One speaker’s utterance makes a particular kind of response
likely.

 Adjacency Pairs are pairs of utterances that usually occur

together.

 As an accepted part of conversational structure, adjacency pairs

have strong in-built expectations (Questions are generally
answered, statements are acknowledged, etc.)

 The most often used Adjacency Pairs 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.
 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.

 Let’s Practice
Where do you live? OPEN

Are you OK? CLOSE

What are you doing? OPEN

 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.
 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.
 Pre-sequences
• pre-sequence is a sequence which includes a turn recognizable
as potential initiation of another specific type of turn, e.g.:
• summon is a turn preceding an explanation

A: Mummy. (summon)
B: Yes dear answer
A: I need a hat. (explanation for summon)

A: (telephone ring at B’s location) summons

B: Hello answer
A: Hi greeting
B: Oh hi! greeting 2
 common types of pre-sequences:

• pre-selfidentification (e.g., Hi! )

• pre-invitation (e.g., Are you free tonight?)
• pre-announcement (e.g., You won’t believe this.)
• pre-arrangement (e.g., Would you like to
make an appointment later on?)
• pre-request(e.g., Do you have coffee to go?)
• pre-closing(e.g., Okay)
 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? Agent: Do you want the
B: You’ve got the black early flight?
ones Client: What time does it
A: They’re not comfortable arrive?
B: Yeah, they’re the best Agent: Nine forty-five
then, wear the blue ones. Client: Yeah - that's great
• 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.
 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
 References
• Capelli gloria. 2007. Conversation structure. Retrieved March 26,
2013 from
www.gloriacappelli.it/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/lesson071.ppt
• Leech, G.N. 1983. Principles of Pragmatics. Essex: Longman
• Levinson, S.C. 1983. Pragmatics. Cambridge: CUP
• Mey, Jacob L. 1993. Pragmatics; An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell
Publishers.
• Wolska, Magdalena. 2007. pragmatics and discourse; conversation
structure. Retrieved March 26, 2013 from
http://www.coli.uni-saarland.de/courses/pragmatics-07/Slides/PD.
07.4.ConversationStructure.pdf
• --- 2013 . conversation analysis. Retrieved March 26, 2013 from
www9.english.cityu.edu.hk/ebs/.../Conversation_Analysis .ppt
• _____2013. Introduction to Pragmatics. Retrieved March 26, 2013
from http://ifla.uni-stuttgart.de/~jilka/index.html