Openings

Openings in telephone conversations Telephone openings in English have a regular format through which the beginning of conversation is achieved. The basic format is: –Summons-answer –Identification work –Greetings –How are you? sequences

Summons-answer The summons-answer sequence consists of the ringing of the telephone and the response hello. The ringing works to attract the attention of an interlocutor and the hello response indicates that an interlocutor is available.

Identification Telephone calls begin with differential access to information. –The caller knows both his/her own identity and the likely identity of the answerer. –The answerer knows only his/her identity and the identity of the caller is usually unknown. It is important to confirm the identities of the parties in the conversation The first possible place that identification work can be done is in the first caller’s turn.

Identification Identification is achieved when one party recognizes the other. Identifications are achieved through solution: –a recognitional source: the voice sample provided by the answerer in the answerer’s first turn, –a recognitional solution is the naming of the answerer by the caller.

Identification Answers’ first turns provide a voice sample for recognition to callers. Callers’ first turns provide a voice sample for recognition to answerers. Greeting tokens imply recognition has been achieved.

Identification There a preference for recognition by the other over self- identification in English. –Requests for a self-identification are not frequent. –Failure to recognise is usually prefaced by a pause or other devices delaying a request for recognition.

Identification Problems of recognition may be performed through “try marked” recognitions. In institutional contexts, voice recognition is not possible and explicit self-identification may be used.

Greetings Greeting produced after recognition work function as conversation openers. Greetings they serve to put the participants in the conversation into a state of ratified mutual participation.

‘How are you?’ sequences How are you? sequences are typically exchange sequences; once the first question is launched and answered, it is reciprocated.

‘How are you?’ sequences How are you? questions receive different responses: positive (e.g. terrific); negative (e.g. awful); neutral (e.g. okay). These have different sequential outcomes. –Neutral responses are closure relevant and are typically followed by talk on a next subject, a reciprocal how are you? or a sequence closing third. –Neutral responses pass up opportunities to talk. –Highly positive and negative answers to the question lead to sequence expansion and talk on the topic.

‘How are you?’ sequences

Openings in face-to-face interaction In face-to-face interaction the issues involved in opening a conversation are similar to those found in telephone openings, but –the resources are not exclusively limited to voices. –the ordering may be different

Openings in face-to-face interaction Summons-answer and recognition –Some face-to-face interactions begin with a summons, e.g. knocking or ringing a doorbell. –Recognitional work may be done before the summons: participants can use sight to recognise others.

Openings in face-to-face interaction Summons-answer and recognition –Sighting a potential interlocutor involves two actions. it does the work of identifying someone as known and it identifies the other as someone whom one wishes to greet. –Interaction cannot begin until mutual sighting has occurred. –If the participant is not aware of the potential interlocutor, a summons may be produced. This summons can be verbal or non-verbal (e.g., waving a hand or a head gesture) ( The response may also be verbal or non-verbal.

Openings in face-to-face interaction A greeting sequence is the typical next activity once availability and identity have been established –This may involve non-verbal actions, such as handshakes or kisses, as well as verbal greeting tokens. The greetings are also commonly followed by an exchange of how are you? sequences.