Conversation Analysis and the X Factor

Part 1 I beget selected an interview with X-Factor articulate Kelly trendland, in which she finds push through that contestant Frankie Cocozza has been kicked off of the manoeuver. Transcription manners vary depending on what the psychoanalyst chooses to investigate. In this disassociateicular case, as I was interested in, non neverthe slight how the speakers perform affectionate activities through language (Seedho persona, 2008), but also the part of their non-verbal actions, I chose Conversation digest (CA). However, wiz must point out that, although CA emphasises empirical, data-led research to guard against building speculative theories, (Hewings, 2008, p. 4), it is futile to chew everywhere one single, authoritative version of the original eventidet exists (Graddol, 1994). Furthermore, non wholly features of spoken interaction drop be captured, nor can specific motives be attributed to a certain non-verbal action. 01Reporter of course we atomic number 18 abs olutely huge fans of you on thex factor 02Kelly thank you 03Reporter(loving watching you 04Kelly thank you 05Reporter um (. ) but b. but (. ) w. were sho(cked to hear today ((fiddles with hair)) that Frankies (. ) at rest(p) (. ) what can you tell ? us ? w. hat do you necessitate of that 06Kelly(0. 2) what(= 07PA= I dont we dont weve been lo(cked in a room all day 08Reporter oh really( hah hah (. ) oh gosh yeah( th. they released a program draw saying that he um (. ) that hes decided to leave 09PA(. ) oh I dont know I think well have to ( ) 10Reporter oh Im moody I ( ) 11Kelly ((holds up hand as if to stop)) yeah cos that would be quite the aspect to have from that oh my god 12Reporter Im so olive-drab I didnt realise it like broke all over twitter (. and I um we got a ? statement ? about it 13PA((Kelly looks at her PA)) (0. 2) I dont know well have to cos (Ellens not (here from (. ) talkback we havent wed need to get that verified 14Kelly ye ah Im sorry 15PA ( ) music interv iew today 16Reporter like no no Im sorry I didnt basal to= 17PA = sfountainhead hahhah 18ReporterI I didnt mean to like 19PA ( ) 20ReporterYeah sorry I didnt mean to like um I didnt realise that you (. ) didnt know 21Kelly ((she breathes loudly)) (0. 3) (poor guy( 380 words Part 2Conversation Analysis is based on the idea that what is said draws a vast issue forth of meaning from what is left unsaid (Maybin, 2007). Seemingly incoherent chats are genuinely organised in an orderly fashion, centred around the cooperation of participants (Hewings, 2008). The excerpt I have chosen is particularly interesting as, although it stems from a potentially scripted situation, collectable to Kellys misinformation, the entire chat at a time shifts to unscripted. The conversation begins with informal small talk, cognize as phatic communion (Malinowski, 1923. Its primary purpose is not its heart, but kind of to bind the reporter and Kelly unneurotic before getting down to business. Th e reporters spring comment of being an absolutely huge fan of hers on the X-Factor establishes an reciprocal framework for the encounter. As the interviewer, she is expected to lead the conversation, yet her continuous open compliments loving watching you- level that she is aware of Kellys higher locating and, thus, is paying far more attention to face needs (Levinson, 1987). baptismal font is a term coined by sociologist Goffman (1967) for peoples public self-image.Here, the reporter, keen to obtain a successful interview, uses compliments to focus on positive face needs, able with Holmes (1994) research that women are more likely to give compliments as a way of gaining popularity through egalitarian norms. Although turn-taking may be taken for granted, it is actually managed through a complex range of linguistic and social signals. In the transcript, we can look at that normally one psyche duologue at a time, and any instances of overlap are quickly repaired ( depicts 15-16).Early conversation analyst, Sacks (1974), suggests this is due to peoples shared cultural acquaintance of the kind of script used in certain manner of speaking events. Therefore, turns can be roughly predicted. Furthermore, this intuitive knowledge is based on adjacency pairs, where particular utterances and responses tend to lapse together e. g. , lines 1-4, where individually compliment is answered with thank you. Through this dialogic comprehension, turns can easily be allocated. In addition to adjacency pairs, Sacks noticed that speakers unconsciously respond at the end of a grammatical unit, rather than in the middle.In lines 5-7, we see acquire examples of transition relevance places (TRP), where the reporter pauses for a response, allowing two other interlocutors to speak. Sometimes, one can slightly overlap the previous speaker or faulting in before a TRP (e. g. , lines 9-10), which is classed as an interruption. The concept of maintaining face is a constant reference point throughout the interaction, especially when the diary keeper discovers that Kelly does not know that Frankie has left the competition.Determined to both satisfy Kellys face needs, as headspring as to protect her own, the journalist begins apologising profusely (lines 10-20), in addition to hedge expressions (line 18) to stay off a face-threatening act, personifying the British negative politeness culture (Brown, 1987). Line 12 even shows an example of typical political rhetoric whereby the journalist immediately changes her usage of the pronoun I to we in order to give collective responsibility (Beard, 2008) for the word on Frankies departure. This signal of inclusiveness is another device used to save face and ensure that conversation continues running smoothly.It is interesting, however, that, contrary to the belief that a person will use I when wanting credit for an idea, the journalist still uses we (line 5). disposed that we can have various potential meani ngs, here it would appear to be a mechanism to emphasise with the British public we, as a whole, are shocked at the news. Even so, when apologising, the journalist shifts back to the first off person singular, almost as if she feels she has the sole responsibility to maintain face, both for personal and professional motives.Spoken conversation is filled with inexplicit references that are mute by a considerable amount of shared knowledge amongst speakers. In line 13, when replying to the journalist, the PA announces that Ellen is not here we can play that the journalist knows who Ellen is but, bonnie to make sure, the PA adds from chew outback (X-Factors Production Company). As well as justifying why they cannot answer the question, this response also subtly signals solidarity by communicating surreptitiously that there are no hard feelings amongst them.As Levinsons (1987) study shows, people are honourably adept at version these inexplicit nuances and, thus, it should se rve to put the journalist more at ease. These references are closely linked to elliptical structures, such as in line 3 where, although the clause lacks some words, its meaning is inferable from its context. These half-finished sentences are a delineate part of everyday interactions, yet would seem highly inappropriate in written face. As all speakers are women in this transcript, it is easy to commit their specific style features.According to Lakoff (1975), women are more cooperative and work harder to make conversations run smoother. This aspect is clearly detectable throughout the extract by both the journalists repeated apologies and Kelly and her PAs attempts to casually move away from the issue. This non-confrontational collaborative speech style also centres around an interest in peoples feelings (Goodwin, 1990). However, as inappropriate to Lakoffs suggestion that women use more tag questions and weaker vocabulary, we see no examples of this in the conversation.One reaso n may be that the women have no reason to show deference, as there are no men involved and, thus, they do not have to conform to the belief that they occupy a less powerful position in society. One predominant metaphor comes in line 7 of the text when the PA states that they have been locked in a room all day. This device both emphasises that they truly have no idea about the news, as well as serving as a pointer to guide the conversation into a different direction. In response to this metaphor, we see incessant repeating from the journalist (in particular, yeah and sorry).Although repetition is typically used to persuade, here it performs the dual function of consciously expressing the journalists nervousness as well as unconsciously signalling how the other speakers should respond. The repetition of sorry is used to indicate the journalists desire to not impose upon them and avoid any act that may threaten face. In terms of prosody, the use of intonational shift is very signific ant, as it highlights particular key words, as well as prompting the other speakers when to reply (Atkinson, 1984).In line 6, Kellys voice rises up on What? to express disbelief and concern at the information that she has been given. Similarly, we see a fall in intonation on the last remark Poor guy, which signals completion as well as sadness. Likewise, the lengthy mark on yeah (line 14) shows acknowledgement of the PAs utterance and provides a sense of cooperation with her. A related concept is the function of softly spoken words. In line 5, us is murmured softly in order to place the journalist on the same(p) level as the interviewee.Despite the typical image of a journalist, this lady wants to show that she is truly interested in how Kelly feels about Frankies departure on a personal level. In line 12, statement is pronounced quietly to perhaps lead the blow of the news. As a statement is something official, it highlights the fact that the news is real, and not just a rumour. Therefore, in order to save face, the journalist tactfully pronounces the word. This conversation extract is filled with various meaningful pauses. A plow of these pauses occur within a syntactic unit before an important content word (e. g. line 20) to subtly inform the speaker that they are not finished yet. However, there are also prolonged pauses, such as in line 21 in this case, Kelly is genuinely shocked at the news and needs to carefully plan her answer before speaking. For celebrities, this is even more important, as anything they do say can be plain to scrutiny. The journalists utterances are also classified by filled pauses, such as um and hahhah this shows hesitancy on her part and a caution to ensure that she does not make the situation anymore awkward than it already is. This also explains the reasons for her continual cluttered speech (e. . , line 5) on breaking the news, she cannot predict Kellys reaction, and so she nervously brings up the topic, not sure of the best approach, eluding the wonted(prenominal) self-assured journalistic persona. Finally, when looking at body language, it appears that it communicates a lot non-verbally. Firstly, in line 5, the reporter fiddles with her hair as she relates the announcement. Although we cannot claim speed of light% what this means, it is highly likely that this is a comforting action in a tense situation. In line 11, Kellys raising of the hand signals that she wishes to stop and does not want her reaction recorded.Line 13 similarly expresses uncertainty on Kellys part when she looks at her PA for reassurance before speaking. Finally, in line 21, the prolonged sigh emphasises with Frankies grief. Overall, this particular extract fascinated me, as it shows how scripted conversation can quickly turn unscripted when typical conventions break down. Non-fluency features are vulgar and evident there are excessive hesitations, stuttering and repetition by the journalist and spontaneous turn-taking pr ocedures seen by the interruptions and overlaps of Kelly and her PA (Edwards, 2007).Furthermore, irregular supra segmental features are present, as well as fillers and echoes. Syntax is irregular, with convoluted utterances and incomplete sections as well as mid-sentence pauses. In my opinion, Conversation Analysis was the best method to transcribe this conversation as, without it, it would have been impossible to convey the specific emotions of each interlocutor as well as their non-verbal communication. Also, I felt that the fictitious starts and fillers were incredibly relevant to the spontaneity of the extract, and provided an insight into each speakers thought process.I specifically chose to omit gaze in my transcript as CA has been criticised for over-analysing dim-witted gestures e. g. , blinking could merely be something in the eye, rather than lying. Using this recording method, I have been able to analyse both ideational and social meaning (Halliday, 1978) and how it specifically relates to my chosen example. 1706 words (2086 words in total) References Atkinson, J. M. (1984) Our Masters Voices The vocabulary and Body spoken language of Politics, capital of the United Kingdom, Methuen Beard, A. 2007) Using English to persuade in Maybin, J. , Mercer, N. , and Hewings, A. (eds) Using English, London, Routledge/The rough University, pp. 43-81 Brown, P. and Levinson, S. (1987) Politeness Some Universals in wrangle Usage, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press Crystal, D. (1985) Things to remember when transcribing speech, boor Language Teaching and Therapy, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 235-239 Edwards, V. (2007) U211 Exploring the English Language, DVD 1 Language Play in English, Block B, unit of measurement 11, Section 5, Milton Keynes, The gift UniversityGoffman, E. (1967) interactive Ritual, Harmondsworth, Penguin Goodwin, M. H. (1990) Tactical use of stories participation frameworks within girls and boys disputes, Discourse Processes, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 33-71 Graddol, D. , Cheshire, J. , and Swann, J. (1994) Describing Language (2nd edn), Buckingham, Open University Press Halliday, M. A. K. (1978) Language as affable Semiotic The Social Interpretation of Language and Meaning, London, Edward Arnold Hewings, A. 2008) U211 Exploring the English Language, Conversation Analysis, Resource and Reference Materials, Unit 9, Section 1, Milton Keynes, The Open University Holmes, J. (2001) Introduction to Sociolinguistics (2nd edn), London, Longman Lakoff, R. (1975) Language and Womens Place, New York, Harper &038 Row Malinowski, B. (1923) The problem of meaning in primitive languages in Ogden, C. K. and Richards, I. M. (eds) The Meaning of Meaning, London, Routledge &038Kegan capital of Minnesota Maybin, J. (2007) Everyday talk in Maybin, J. , Mercer, N. , and Hewings, A. eds) Using English, London, Routledge/The Open University, pp. 5-41 Percival, A. (2011) What? The moment Kelly finds out Frankie has been axed online London http//cele brity. aol. co. uk/2011/11/08/kelly-rowland-frankie-cocozza/ (Accessed 29th Nov 2011) Sacks, H. , Schegloff, E. and Jefferson, G. (1974) A simplest systematics for the organization of turn-taking in conversation, Language, Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 696-735 Seedhouse, P. (2008) U211 Exploring the English Language, DVD 1 Everyday Talk, Block B, Unit 9, Section 1, Milton Keynes, The Open UniversityVaid, V. (2011) 4 rules of Verbatim Transcription online Gurgaon http//www. indianscribes. com/4-rules-of-verbatim- musical arrangement/ (Accessed 2nd Dec 2011) &8212&8212&8212&8212&8212&8212&8212 Key to transcription methods used in this excerpt (. )Short untimed pause (0. 6)Timed interval Overlapping utterances or actions ( )Transcription probationary (Marked rising shift in pitch (Marked falling shift in pitch Extension of sound or syllable .Stopping falling tone ? ? Talk that is quieter than surrounding talk