2. Norrick
Resting on Labov and Waletsky (1967), Labov (1972), and Polanyi (1981, 1985), develops a new model for the analysis of narratives
Steps for analysis
1. construction of a basic narrative amalgamating teller and audience contributions, eliminating disfluencies
2. tagging the parts of the narrative (cf. next slide)
3. consideration of formulaic elements, dialogue, disfluences, tense and perspective shifts, verb classes, chunking of intonation units (to cast a light both on teller’s strategies and on the cues heares use to make sense of convesational storytelling

3. Norrick Focus on conversational storytelling
Internal structure
Narrative contexts
Differently from Labov, Norrick places emphasis on teller strategies (repetition, formulaicity ,disfluences…) as structuring elements, more than on sequential ordering.

4. Teller strategies can be collected under the heading of rhetoric of storytelling
Since tellers and listeners can allot only limited cognitive resources to the construction and understanding of narratives, they rely on repetition, dialogue, tense shifts and formulaicity, to reinforce evaluations and to segment stories into manageable chunks

5. Conversational narratives’ internal structure
Abstract
Main action
Resolution
Coda
+ orientational information
Background
General frame
Narrow frame
Evaluation

6. Types of evaluation
With external evaluation, the narrator turns to the listener directly and tells him/her “what the point is”, thus interrupting the flow of the narrative in order to do so.
One of Labov’s examples is part of a secretary’s account of a hair-raising plane trip “in which the plane almost didn’t get over the mountains”. Her narrative is punctuated with comments such as:
and it was the strangest feeling
because you couldn’t tell
if they were really gonna make it

7. Types of evaluation
Embedded evaluation involves the narrator describing his sentiments as if they occurred at the time of the happening, rather than at the time of the telling, or attributing them to a third party who acts as observer. Labov’s examples include one of a narrator “quoting himself as addressing someone else”:
I say, “Calvin, I’m bust your head for that!’

8. Types of evaluation
Evaluative action is where the narrator describes “what people did rather than what they said”; in other words, the evaluation is dramatized.
This includes “actions that reveal the tensions of the actors”.
Labov gives an example of this from the story of the plane trip mentioned earlier:
…and then everybody heaved a sigh of relief

9. Conventions for representing oral storytelling
Written texts are structured around complete sentences, while spoken language is organized around intonation units
These tend to
be about 5 words long,
contain one idea unit each (typically subject + predicate)
contain one or more intonation peaks
And I was so interested
The fire was all gone

10. formulaicity
Any relatively fixed unit of two or more words whihc recurs in the discourses of a linguistic community
Functions in story openings and closing
Narratives structured around a figurative formula

12. Formulaic story openers
The first/most_____in my life
I remember the most_____in my life
Guess what?
Remember the time/when?
Meant to attract the attention of the audience

13. Formulaic story closers
Proverbs and clichés
And I lived to tell the story (p. 51)
Grabbing all this money and running with it (p. 53, lines 53-55) modelled on “take the money and run”

14. Local formulaicity
Referred to cases where an otherwise non formulaic phrase takes on formulaicity through repetition
E..g. “it was really weird” p
Can help tellers organize their narratives into chunks, thus guiding listeners
Can signal teller’s attitude and guide listeners to adopt the same perspective.

15. Repetition
a) Serves an organizational function (cf. next slide) b) Intensifies the dramatic effect of reported scenes c) Highlights the teller’s evaluation

16. Repetitions’ organizational function
Includes rephrasing in introductions (false starts and restarts)
Disfluences show that a speaker is beginning a story, help orient the listener on how to receive the story
Sherry: we had a-
my mom always had a dish-cloth
that had holes in it
[restart makes the story more relevant to the context, as Sherry’s interlocutor had just told a story about her mother)

17. Repetitions’ organizational function
Parallel (semantic, syntactic and phonological structures) for key events P
There’s nothing/there’s no
Saturday- Sunday- Monday
Dad going down the hall for his nap (20 -47)
Are you the people with…
So he went /over he went
Diddled and dawdeld / learned and deteemined

18. Repetition for dramatic effect and evaluation
Paul went back with the shovel, hurled it / I mean, just threw it
That damn shovel came right down on his head / I mean, it came down and flattened him
-> dramatic effect
I mean, what is the likelihood…/ I mean, who would have thought…
-> repetition to emphasise unlikelyhood/bizarreness, hence worth telling

19. Narrative context Tellability
A narrator must be able to defend a story as relevant and newsworthy in order to justify the extended turns it requires
Stories are thus prefaced to argue their tellability and to signal the expected response
Tellability is, however, a matter for negotiation (stories which are not new newsworthy can be told in some contexts, e.g. routinely told familiar stories)

20. Prefaces Prefaces can change the current topic of talk
introduce a new narrative connected with foregoing talk

21. Prefaces can change the current topic of talk Jean: wasn’t that awful
about the guy that went hunting
and killed his son
cataphorical
Strong evaluation:
generates interest
Signals attitude
Signals expected reaction

22. Prefaces can change the current topic of talk Jean: wasn’t that awful
about the guy that went hunting
and killed his son
abstract

23. Prefaces can introduce a new connected story
Coupon lady

24. Responses Responses can
show recognition of a story
Offer additinal details (in case of familiar stories)
Provide evaluation of the events told
Solidify particpants’ rapport
Responses can also take the form of a second story, parallel to the first one

25. Alignment
The teller often bids to win the hearer over to a particular point of view about the events told
This can be done thorugh open expression of stance
Patched washcloths p

26. Rapport
Collaboratively constructed familiar stories
P. 128