MODULE 2
Meaning and discourse in English
THE MACHINERY OF SPEECH
Lesson 13
1
Conversation analysis (1)
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Turn taking
Repair
Adjacency pairs
Insertion sequences
Preferred and dispreferred responses
2
Turn taking
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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
3
An example
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
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Each of these
speeches is a turn.
There are 6 TCU’s
and 6 turns
The other speaker
intervenes regularly
at each TTRP
4
How turn-taking works
3 possibilities

The current speaker selects the next speaker
OR if this does not operate
 The next speaker self-selects
OR if this does not operate
 The current speaker may continue
5
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
6
An example
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
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R self-selects
R selects M
R self-selects
R selects M
M selects R
M self-selects
7
Repair
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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 ?
8
Adjacency pairs
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Conversation is often structured around
pairs of utterances that are dependent
on each other.:
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“good morning” “good morning”
“what’s the time?” “3 o’clock”
These are called adjacency pairs
9
Breaking adjacency pairs
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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.
10
Insertion sequences
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These are sequences which are
inserted inside adjacency pairs
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The topic of the insertion is usually
related to the first part of the adjacency
pair
11
An example
Turn 1
Turn 2
Turn 3
Turn 4
Shall I wear the blue shoes?
You’ve got the black ones
They’re not comfortable
Yeah, they’re the best then, wear
the blue ones
Turns 2 and 3 are an insertion sequence
and the adjacency pair is completed in
turn 4
12
Preferred and dispreferred
responses
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A preferred response is acceptance and
is usually short, without hesitation or
elaboration
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A dispreferred response is refusal and is
usually performed hesitantly and
elaborately
13
An example
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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
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
14
Can you analyse the
responses of Ross and Mikey
in terms of preferred and
dispreferred responses?
Which is not an appropriate
response?
15
Discourse markers (markers
of interaction
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They can signal to the listener that the
speaker wishes to continue speaking
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The can signal to the listener where the
conversation is going compared to
where it has been before
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An example - “well”
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“well actually I’ve stopped eating fish”
- “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
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RS-S
R. so um phoebe tells me you you er play piano
RSM
M. Yeah
RS-S
R. you know I used to play keyboards in college?
RSM
M. why do you have one here?
MSR
R. No
MS-S
M. OK
RS-S
R: um er you know I’m divorced er Phoebe er Phoebe18
Selection in Friends
R selects M
it
M: yeah yeah I I’m sorry I don’t really like to talk about
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?
and
R selects M
M: (nods)
R self-selects R: well he and I would probably have a lot to talk about
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