MODULE 2
Meaning and discourse in English
SPECIAL CONVERSATIONS
Week 6
1
Types of special conversation
Ordinary conversation is general chat between
friends and acquaintances. Other conversations
take place in special circumstances, such as:
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Service encounters
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Institutional talk (legal, medical, classroom)
2
The cafè (week 3)
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The conversation between
Elizabeth and the Assistant is a
service encounter which has its
own particular discourse patterns
3
SERVICE ENCOUNTERS
obligatory elements
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An offer of service
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A request for service
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A transaction
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A salutation
4
Teacher and student
T. Gemma do you think..?
G. yeah
T. go on / mmmm / okay
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G. you don’t have to be …
T. no
G. it’s the way …
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Initiation (question)
Response (answer)
Feedback (evaluation;
reformulation; evaluation)
Initiation
Response (agreement)
Continuation
a good teacher will facilitate the conversation
5
LEARNING ENCOUNTERS
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The teacher takes most turns
The teacher’s turns are longer than the
students’
Students’ answers are short and elliptical
3 part structure (initiation-response-feedback)
Teacher uses discourse markers to signpost
the structure
Teacher reformulates, summarise and
evaluates students talk
Teacher uses “ “display” questions (questions
to which he/she knows the answer
6
Magistrate and defendant
M. are you going to make an offer
…?
D. would you in my position
M. I’m not here to answer
questions - you answer my
question
…………………………….
M. are you prepared to make an
offer to the court
D. what sort of minimal offer
M. it’s not a bargaining situation ..
can I have the answer
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Question 1
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Question 1
Imperative - repeating
question 1
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Question 1
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Question 2
Question 3 - repeating
question 1
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This is an unusual structure !
7
ASYMETRICAL TALK
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Asymetrical occurs when there are different
power relations between speakers
Typical asymetrical contexts are courtrooms,
medical consultations, school classrooms
“One rule for one and one rule for the other”
is typical of asymetrical talk
Dominant party usually has the right to ask
questions while subordinate party has
restricted right
Questions require answers and also certain
types of answer
8
TELEPHONE OPENINGS
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Summons-answer sequence
Identification/recognition sequence
Greeting sequence
How-are-you? sequence
These sequences apply to openings of calls
between friends. How do they change when
we are telephoning a shop, business or or
institution?
9
Carla and Ida
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phone rings
I: Hello
C: Hello, Ida?
I: Yeah
C: Hi, this is Carla
I: Hi Carla
C: How are you?
I: OK
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Summons
Answer
Request for receiver ID
Receiver ID confirmed
Greeting, caller ID
confirmed
Greeting
How are you?
Response
10
Beth and Ann
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phone rings
B: Hello
A: Hello
B: oh hello Ann
what’s up?
A: nothing much
just had something
to ask you
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Summons
Answer
Greeting? Offer of ID?
B recognises caller ID. Asks
for subject of call
Reply
11
English to English service call
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phone rings
R: good afternoon.
Edinburgh bookshop
A: hello there .h ehm
i’m looking for the book
of the story of Pinocchio
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Summons
Answer. Greeting.
Workplace ID
Greeting.
Request
The sequencing is much more compact in
the opening of a service telephone call.
Why?
12
Italian to Italian service call
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phone rings
R: il libro fa per te
buongiorno
A: buongiorno mscusi vendete litesti universitari
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Summons
Workplace ID. Greeting
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Greeting. Request
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How is this Italian-Italian call different from
the English-English call?
13
Italian to English service call
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 Summons
phone rings
R: good afternoon.  Answer. Greeting.
Blackwells may I
Workplace ID. Offer of help.
help you?
 Greeting. Request
A: hh mh hi .hI was
wondering i’m
looking for a book
by: primo levi
Why does the caller hesitate before making
his request?
14
Intercultural difficulties
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An intercultural communication problem is often
caused by pragmatic difficulty
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The problem for the Italian caller is not that he does
not understand the speaker but because he is not
expecting the offer of help, which is rarely used in his
language. So he does not know whether to respond
to the offer (by saying “yes”) or by making his
request.
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This is a pragmatic problem (i.e. when the
conventions of one language are different from
another)
15