Aspect of conversation analysis Pauses, Overlaps, Backchannels Turn Taking The conversational styles

1. Conversation Analysis

2. Definition
Conversation analysis is an analysis of
natural conversation to reveal what the
linguistic feature of conversation is, and
how conversation is used in ordinary life.

3. Central Aspects of
Conversational Analysis
1. The techniques that the speaker uses during a
conversation, such as the rules of turn-taking.
2. The ways in which some speakers’ utterances are related,
for instance, conversational maxims, adjacency pair, and
inserted sequence.
3. The different functions that the conversation is used for, for
example, establishing roles, or communicating politeness.

4. Pauses, Overlaps, and
Backchannel
Pauses: silence between turns
Pauses can be a simple hesitations or silence.
Overlap: both speakers trying to speak at the same
time.
Backchannel: ways of indicating that the listener is
following or not objecting to what the speaker says.
Backchannel could be in forms of head nods, smile or
other facial expression, and gestures.

5. Turn-Taking
Turn-taking refers to the changing of roles of the
speaker and the listener when they are in conversations.
In turn-taking there are TRP and TCU.
TRP or Transition Relevance Place refers to the
point in the ongoing conversation where a turn at talk
from on participant to another occurs.
TCU or Turn construction unit is the basic
segment of speech in a conversation.

6. Example
A: Would you like to go picnic tomorrow?
B: Sure.
A: Right (…) well, don’t forget to bring the picnic basket
because the last time we went picnic you forgot to bring it
and we did not eat for the whole day. Remember?
B: Yeah. Okay.

7. The Conversational Styles

8. Two major types of
conversational styles
high-considerateness
style
high-involvement
style
Deborah Tannen (1984)

9. High-involvement style:
Some individuals expect that
participation in a conversation will be
very active, that speaking rate will be
relatively fast, with almost no pausing
between turns, and with some overlap
or even competition between turn

10. High-Considerateness style:
Such speakers use a slower rate, expect longer
pauses between turns, do not overlap and avoid
interruption or completion of the other’s turn

11. • The faster speaker may think the slower
one doesn’t have much to say, is shy,
perhaps boring or stupid
• The slower speaker may view the leader
one noisy, pushy, domineering, selfish
and tiresome.

12. Two example of Female & Male Coversational
Style
Women Men
Structuring discourse
Frequent use of questions
and tag questions to
structure talk
Less frequent use of
questions and tag questions
Level of politeness
Tendency towards overall
weakening of
communicative intention (->
e.g. questions, hedges) ->
more indirect speech use
(directive requests etc.)
More direct expression of
communicative intention ->
less indirect speech use
Expression of emotionality
Characteristic emotionality:
use of intensifiers
Reduction of expressed
emotionality: objective,
referential
Conversational
topics / discourse content
Preference for personal (=
emotional) topics including
affective talk; -> rapport talk
(cf. Tannen, 1990); Gossip as
typical female speech
activity
Preference for factual
topics; -> report talk (cf.
Tannen, 1990)

13. Adjacency Pairs
Almost automatic patterns in the structure of conversation,
in greetings and good-byes are called adjacency pairs.
Examples:
Anna: Hello!
Anna: How are you?
Anna: See ya!
Bill: Hi!
Bill: Fine.
Bill: Bye!

14. Adjacency Pairs (Cont.)
•
•
These automatic sequences are called adjacency pairs
They always consist of a first and second part
produced by different speakers.
• The utterance of the first part immediately creates an
expectation of the utterance of a second part of the
pair.
• Failure to produce the second part will be treated as a
significant and hence meaningful.

15. Adjacency Pairs (Cont.)
Second Part
B: Nothin' much
B: Jus' hangin' in there
B: The usual
B: Can't complain
A lot of internal variation is
possible:
For example: opening of
conversation.
First Part
A: What's up?
A: How's it goin'?
A: How are
things?
A: How ya doin'

16. Adjacency Pairs (Cont.)
First Part Second Part
A: What time is it?
A: Thanks.
A: Could you help me with this?
B: About eight-thirty
B: You're welcome
B: Sure
Example: question - answer sequence in [1]
Example: thanking - response sequence in
Example: request - accept sequence in
[2]
[3]

17. Adjacency Pairs (Cont.)
(Summons)
(Answer)
(Reason for
Child: Mommy?
Mum: Yes, dear.
Child: Can I have chocolate?
summons)
Opening Sections (Summons-Answer Sequences):
First utterance is a summons, the second utterance an
answer to the summons, establishing an open channel
for talk (three part structure).
Examples:

18. Adjacency Pairs (Cont.)
Closing Sections:The closure of any topic after the first
one makes the introduction of a closing section
imminent
•closings placed in such a way that no party is forced
to exit while still having compelling things to say
or slow terminations carry unwelcome
about the relationships between the
•hasty
inferences
speakers

19. Adjacency Pairs (Cont.)
Examples:
B: Okay, so that would be in St. Jude’s wouldn’t it?
A: Yes
B: Okay so …
A: One o’clock in the bar closing implicative topic (arrangement)
B: Okay
A: Okay? one or more pairs of passing turns with
B: Okay then thanks very much indeed George – pre-closing
items (okay, alright, so …)
A: - Alright
B: //See you there
A: //See you there
B: Okay
A: Okay // bye terminal elements
B: // bye

20. • adjacency pairs represent social actions, and not all
social actions are equal when they occur as second
parts of some pairs, e.g., a first part request expects
an acceptance.
• acceptance is structurally more likely than refusal and
Structural likelihood is called preference
Preference Structures
Preference structure divides second parts into
PREFERRED and DISPREFERRED social acts

21. First part
Preference Structures
Second part
Preferred Dispreferre
d
Isn't that really great? agree Yes, it is
acceptWhy not join us tonight?
Want some coffee? accept
I’d love to refuse
Yes, please
Maybe we could go for a walk. agree That'd be great
Can you help me? accept Sure
Assessment
disagree
Invitation
offer
decline
proposal
disagree
request
refuse

22. Preference Structure (Cont.)
Silence is also always a dispreferred response, often
leading to a revision of the first part. (Non-response
communicates that the speaker is not in a position to
provide the preferred response)
Sandy: But I'm sure they'll have good food
there
Sandy:
(1.6 seconds)
Hmm—I guess the food isn't great
Jack: Nah—people mostly go for the music
Silence is risky as it may give the impression of non-participation in the
conversational
Structure. Speakers often signal that they are producing the marked,
dispreferred structure

23. Aassessment:
Preference Structure (Cont.)
Cindy:
Julie:
on
So chiropodists do hands I guess
Em - well - out there - they they mostly work
people's feet
- initial hesitation: delay (em + pause)
- preface: well
- appeal to the views of others: out there
- stumbling repetition: they they
- relativizing statement/mitigation: mostly

24. Preference Structure (Cont.)
Invitation:
Becky: Come over for some coffee later
Wally: Oh - eh - I'd love to - but you see - I - I'm
supposed to get this finished - you know
-hesitation: oh - eh
-preface: I'd love to (token acceptance)
-stumbling repetition: I - I'm
-account: I'm supposed to get this finished
-invocation of understanding: but you see, you
know

25. How to do a dispreferred second part?
Preference Structure (Cont.)
pause; er; em; ah
well; oh
I'm not sure; I don't know
that's great; I'd love to
I'm sorry; what a pity
I must do X; I'm expected in Y
you see; you know
everbody else; out there
too much work; no
delay/hesitate
preface
express doubt
token acceptance
apology
mention obligation
appeal for understanding
make it non-personal
give an account
time left
use mitigators
hedge the negative
really; mostly; sort of; kinda
I guess not; not possible

26. Preference Structure (Cont.)
dispreferreds take more time/language/effort•
• more language
first and second
creates more distance between
part
• preferred
connection
• participants
represents closeness and quick
try to avoid creating contexts for
dispreferreds e.g., by using pre-sequences