Conversation analysis (commonly abbreviated as CA) is an approach to the study of social interaction, embracing both verbal and non-verbal
conduct, in situations of everyday life. As its name implies, CA began with a focus on casual conversation, but its methods were subsequently adapted to embrace more task- and institution-centered interactions, such as those occurring in doctors' offices, courts, law enforcement, helplines, educational settings, and the mass media. As a consequence, the term 'conversation analysis' has become something of a misnomer, but it has continued as a term for a distinctive and successful approach to the analysis of social interaction. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversation_analysis) In sociolinguistics, the study of the talk produced in ordinary human interactions. Sociologist Harvey Sacks (1935-1975) is generally credited with founding the discipline. (http://grammar.about.com/od/c/g/conversationanalysisterm.htm) IMPORTANT TERMS Turn-taking - In conversation analysis, a term for the manner in which orderly conversation normally takes place. (http://grammar.about.com/od/tz/g/turntakingterm.htm) It is the skill of knowing when to start and finish a turn in a conversation. It is an important organisational tool in spoken discourse. ( http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/knowledge-database/turn-taking) Conversational Repairs - In conversation analysis, the process by which a speaker recognizes a speech error and repeats what has been said with some sort of correction.A linguistic repair may be marked by a hesitation and an editing term (such as, "I mean") and is generally considered a type of dysfluency. (http://grammar.about.com/od/rs/g/repairterm.htm) Types: http://linguisticszone.blogspot.com/2007/08/types-of-conversation-repairs.html 1. Self-initiated and self-repaired Situations used in: - correcting yourself - you can't find the right word, and you find it yourself after a small pause Example 1: A: I'm heading off to Sue's-- I mean Mary's house tonight. Example 2: A: I need to renew my whatchamacallit-- my prescription today.
2. Other-initiated and self-repaired Situations used in: - couldn't hear the speaker clearly - misunderstanding Example 3: A: I'm heading off to vacation next week. B: What? A: I said I am going on vacation next week. Example 4:
Students: We want to [unintelligible speech] the books today! Teacher: You want to count the books? Students: No, we want to color the books!
3. Self-initiated and other-repaired Situations used in: - you can't find the right word, and someone else fills it in for you Example 5: A: I need more storage space on my computer, so I need to get a new umm.... B: A hard drive? A: Yeah, that's right, a hard drive.
4. Other-initiated and other-repaired Situations used in: - you have your facts incorrect and someone else corrected you Example 6: A: With the 6% sales tax, that would add quite a bit to the price. B: The sales tax is actually 7%. * Example 7: A: Aren't you glad that today is payday? B: Payday is actually tomorrow. * * indicates that the repair has been both initiated and resolved in the same sentence. Adjacency pair - In conversation analysis, a two-part exchange in which the second utterance is functionally dependent on the first, as exhibited in conventional greetings, invitations, and requests.An adjacency pair is a type of turn-taking. It is the smallest unit of conversational exchange. (http://grammar.about.com/od/ab/g/AdjacencyPair-term.htm) Ex. Elaine: Ugh, I hate people. Jerry: Yeah, they're the worst. (Seinfeld) Back-channel signal - A noise, gesture, expression, or word used by a listener to indicate that he or she is paying attention to a speaker. (http://grammar.about.com/od/ab/g/backchannelsignalterm.htm) Closing The act in which some rules or rituals are obeyed in order to depart from Conversational exchange. Opening The act in which some rules or rituals are obeyed in order to achieve Coordinated entry into conversational exchange. (http://is.muni.cz/th/56286/ff_d_b2/Dizertacni_prace_09_final_version.pdf)
