CONVERSATIONAL ANALYSIS AND

REFERNCE

Is a popular approach to the study of discourse. It is a way of thinking about and analyzing the pragmatics of

ordinary conversation, focusing on the interactive, practical construction of everyday interchanges

What is Conversation Analysis?

Origins in Ethnomethodology Conversation analysis... has been pioneered by a break-away group of sociologists, often known

as ethnomethodologists

What is a conversation?A conversation is the impromptu, spontaneous, everyday exchange of talk between two or more

people

What is the method of CA?The CA seeks to describe conversation in a way that builds upon the way it is taken up by the

people who are participating in it

Speech Acts

Utterances are used to do things; they are actions. Speech acts can be grouped into several families, each containing similar types of performative

Commissives

Their point is to commit the speaker to a course of action EXAMPLES

make a vowtake a pledge

give a guarante promise "I will tell noone what you have said."offer "Shall I do that?"

Directives

Their point is to get the recipient to do something EXAMPLES :

request "Please tell me more."command "Tell me about that"suggest "Why do not you describe what happened."give permission "You can share that if you wish."question "What is your family like?"

Assertives

Their point is to display the speaker is belief in the propositional content of the utterance

EXAMPLES :

speculate "I wonder whether it will rain tomorrow"assert "This rain is heavy."predict "It will surely rain tomorrow."

Expressives

Their point is to express the speaker is psychological state compliment "Great dress!"apologise "I am really sorry I did that."greet "Hi!"acknowledge "uh huh" welcome "Nice to see you."thank "Thanks very much!"

Declarations

Done by an appropriately authorized speaker Examples:

sentence "I sentence you to thirty days in jail"fire "You are fired!"appoint "You are in charge."