1. MODULE 2 Meaning and discourse in English
THE MACHINERY OF SPEECH
Lesson 13

2. Conversation analysis (1)
Turn taking
Repair
Adjacency pairs
Insertion sequences
Preferred and dispreferred responses

3. Turn taking
Conversation is analysed in turns. One speaker and then the next
A turn consists of one or more turn constructional units
The end of a turn constructional unit is a point during a turn when another speaker can intervene
This point is called a turn transitional relevant point

4. An example Each of these speeches is a turn.
R. so um phoebe tells me you you er play piano
M. yeah
R. you know I used to play keyboards in college
M. why do you have one here?
R. no
M. OK
Each of these speeches is a turn.
There are 6 TCU’s and 6 turns
The other speaker intervenes regularly at each TTRP

5. How turn-taking works 3 possibilities
The current speaker selects the next speaker
OR if this does not operate
The next speaker self-selects
The current speaker may continue

6. You need to be able to look at a dialogue and work out what is happening in it with regard to turn-taking
So learn the rules of turn-taking and practice using them to analyse conversations

7. An example R self-selects R selects M M selects R M self-selects
R. so um phoebe tells me you you er play piano
M. yeah
R. you know I used to play keyboards in college
M. why do you have one here?
R. no
M. OK
R self-selects
R selects M
M selects R
M self-selects

8. Repair
Repair is needed when the turn taking rules are failing to operate
Simultaneous speech often needs repair when two people are speaking at once
Silence needs repair because no one is talking. Who repairs the silences in the conversation between Miss A and Mr B and between Mikey and Ross ?

9. Adjacency pairs
Conversation is often structured around pairs of utterances that are dependent on each other.:
“good morning” “good morning”
“what’s the time?” “3 o’clock”
These are called adjacency pairs

10. Breaking adjacency pairs
If you break an adjacency pair (e.g. not answering a question, answering “hello” with “goodbye” you are causing “trouble” in the conversation which needs to be repaired.

11. Insertion sequences
These are sequences which are inserted inside adjacency pairs
The topic of the insertion is usually related to the first part of the adjacency pair

12. Turn 1 Shall I wear the blue shoes?
Turn 2 You’ve got the black ones
Turn 3 They’re not comfortable
Turn 4 Yeah, they’re the best then, wear
the blue ones
An example Turns 2 and 3 are an insertion sequence and the adjacency pair is completed in turn 4

13. Preferred and dispreferred responses
A preferred response is acceptance and is usually short, without hesitation or elaboration
A dispreferred response is refusal and is usually performed hesitantly and elaborately

14. D: I was thinking we could have fish
J: Fine
A: well actually I’ve stopped eating fish now because of you know the damage it does to the ocean
An example J’s response is a preferred response; it is short and not hesitant A’s response is a dispreferred response; it is hesitant and elaborate

15. Can you analyse the responses of Ross and Mikey in terms of preferred and dispreferred responses? Which is not an appropriate response?

16. Discourse markers (markers of interaction
They can signal to the listener that the speaker wishes to continue speaking
The can signal to the listener where the conversation is going compared to where it has been before

17. “well actually I’ve stopped eating fish”
An example - “well” - “well” is sometimes used at the start of a turn to signal that the speaker wishes to continue speaking (filler) - it is also used to indicate that the speaker is about to say something that is in conflict with what the previous speaker has just said - or it can be used in both ways at the same time

18. RS-S
R. so um phoebe tells me you you er play piano
RSM
M. Yeah
R. you know I used to play keyboards in college?
M. why do you have one here?
MSR
R. No
MS-S
M. OK
R: um er you know I’m divorced er Phoebe er Phoebe says you’ve been divorced

19. Selection in Friends
R selects M M: yeah yeah I I’m sorry I don’t really like to talk about it
R self-selects R: oh that’s OK we’ll talk about somethin’ else
M self-selects M: So you … you’re a palentologist right
and
M selects R R: yeh
M self-selects M: my cousin’s a paleontologist
R self-selects R: ha?
R selects M M: (nods)
R self-selects R: well he and I would probably have a lot to talk about