Language in Interaction: Conversation Analysis

Language in Interaction: conversation analysis
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Language in Interaction: conversation analysis
Conversation refers to the informal exchange of information, ideas, and data between two or more individuals. It is a uniquely human endeavor and permeates into all facets of humanity from business to social gatherings. Thus considering the importance of conversation in human life, a study of the same is necessary. An evaluation into what drives discourse, how discourse can be efficiently structured what are the different types of conversation etc.CITATION Geo83 \p 27 \l 1033 (Yule & Brown, 1983, p. 27). The need for answers to these questions and more necessitates conversation analysis (CA). Conversation analysis is a branch of knowledge that deals with how humans interact in social contexts with regard to informal conversationsCITATION Geo83 \p 35 \l 1033 (Yule & Brown, 1983, p. 35). Conversation analysis differs from discourse analysis mainly due to the scope of the content covered. While conversation analysis limits itself to an examination of verbal and non-verbal conversation, discourse analysis concerns itself with all communicationCITATION Woo05 \p 57 \l 1033 (Wooffitt, 2005, p. 57).
Conversation analysis attempts to drive understanding towards the discourse that take place in a variety of human interactions e.g. patient-doctor conversation. CA conducts an inductive analysis into the conversation to understand the structures of the conversation with an aim to explain the inherent rules and patterns within the conversation. The study evaluates how turn-taking is conducted within a conversation i.e. bi-party and multi-party. CA then determines why certain models are followed in a conversation and provides potential solutions to creating better conversations. Conversation analysis investigates and determines the interactional underpinnings that shape conversation such as culture, context, environment, etcCITATION Rob08 \p 14 \l 1033 (Wooffitt & Hutchby, 2008, p. 14).
The two-party model, in turn, taking is relatively simple. Participants in the conversation restrain themselves to speaking in turns to maximize the efficiency of the conversation. In a typical conversation, a pause or completing a sentence is enough to indicate to another party that the other party can respond. The two-party model is referred to as an adjacency pair. Each utterance from either participant necessitates a response for the conversation to continueCITATION Geo83 \p 20 \l 1033 (Yule & Brown, 1983, p. 20). Failure to provide an answer that is relevant to the conversation at hand or simply desisting from participating violates conversational maxims. Conversational maxims are principles that are based on the cooperative principles as described by Paul Grice; conversation should be of the expected quality, quantity, relevant to the topic at hand and in the acceptable mannerCITATION Gri89 \p 374 \l 1033 (Grice, 1989, p. 374).
Multi-party conversation is complex due to the higher number of people involved. Thus, turn-taking takes on a difficulty that is unanticipated. There are a number of ways through which turn taking can be conducted. The simplest where the speaker or the recognized driver of the conversation allocates turns. Allocation in this context is in an informal conversation where the speaker utilizes phrases such as, "Harold, what do you think about this?" or "Anne, you seem to disagree with his sentiment." Turn taking can also be conducted through elision of lexical forms, use of temporal regulators, speech particles e.g. oh that do not have a particular meaning, the use of eye contact and the use of time cues, and the use of repeaters.
Turn taking within the multi-party utilized the fundamental turn construction units. There are four units; these include; lexical, clausal, phrasal, and sentential. The Turn Construction Unit functions as an essential component in a turn within a conversation, enabling participants to determine that a participant had taken a turn or has finished their part within the conversation. Turn construction Units (TCU) were introduced by Sacks H, Schegloff as essential pieces in conversationCITATION Sac74 \p 696 \l 1033 (Sacks, et al., 1974, p. 696). TCUs are the elements within which turns are designed and form part of a Turn Constructional Component. In allocating turns, a set of rules is adhered to refer to as Transition Relevance Place (TRP)CITATION Sac74 \p 712 \l 1033 (Sacks, et al., 1974, p. 712). These rules are essential to ensuring the transfer or turns from speaker to speaker is quick, and the interchange is instantaneous. There are three elements to the rules; the current speaker chooses a participant to speak, a participant chooses to speak of their volition and the current speaker can choose to continue speaking should no one choose to take up the turn. It can be done by providing more information to potentially clarify points that may be unclear or phrase the conversation in a manner that invites participation as a dialogue and not a monologue.
Power dynamics characterizes turn taking in conversation. An evaluation of how turn-taking is conducted within a group conversation can point to who has the power within the group. Humans are keenly and inherently attuned to determining the power dynamics within a group. Studies have indicated that in a conversation where multiple genders contribute, males are more likely to take more turns and where females are speaking interrupt their turns. Male dominance in conversations does not suggest that females are not aggressive with regard to pursuing their turns, but it seems to point towards an innate predisposition. However, in a conversation of one gender turn taking, overlapping and interruptions are fairly attributable to all participants within the conversationCITATION Har08 \p 174 \l 1033 (Harrington et all, 2008, p. 174).
Overlaps in conversation are integral in any discourse and often works to ensure the conversation is continuous with minimal breaks or silences. Overlapping can, however, be problematic in that where it is used to interrupt speakers prior to them finishing their turn. Overlaps can occur in 4 key ways. These include; terminal overlaps (at the end of a turn), continuers (the participant acknowledges what the speaker says and prompts the speaker to continue e.g. mmmm) , conditional access to the turn (here the speaker invites other participants to speak with a prior condition laid out), and chordal (here the speaker and participants interject in the conversation e.g. laughing at the joke speaker told). Overlap is essential in indicating to speakers that there is agreement or disagreementCITATION Sac74 \p 714 \l 1033 (Sacks, et al., 1974, p. 714).
In scenarios where mistakes are made in conversation, there is a need for a mechanism to correct the wrong. Repair looks into how participants in a conversation react to problems they face in the conversation. Studies have indicated that individual are often more likely and prefer to correct themselves rather than by other participants. Speakers can use statements such as "Sorry, I meant…." To clarify misunderstood information. Where participants have trouble hearing or understanding the speaker statements such as, "Pardon, can you repeat/ clarify," are utilized.
Preference organization refers to how participants in conversation prefer to respond to utterances by speakers. Participants will respond quickly and with vigor when the statements by participants are in line with what the participants believe. Statements that are contrary to what is held to be true are responded to in slower pace, and the response usually comes after a pause or silence as participants digest the new information.
Culture in conversation analysis is essential. Conversation is a social enterprise, as such participants are required to observe social cues to successfully participate in a conversation. Turn-taking is deeply impacted by the culture of the participants. Participants are careful to observe cultural c...