Conversational Structure
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Transcript of Conversational Structure
Conversational Structure
COM 370--John R. Baldwin
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Review GRICE
Cooperative principle Maxims
Qualilty Quantity Relevance (Relation) Manner
Implicature (with some examples)
Review Speech Acts Theory
Three levels or “forces” Locutionary Illocutionary Perlocutionary
Five main classifications Representatives Directives Expressives Commissives Declaratives
Brief exercise At a Job Interview: “Well, you impress
me with your education and enthusiasm. Consider yourself now a member of the firm.”
Where’s the beef?Sally: “Have you started the burgers, yet?”Hubby: “Hey, I’ve had a lot to do today, okay? Why don’t you start them yourself!”
In COM 370: It’s almost noon and Jaemie’s hungry
Jaemie: You guys wanna get some lunch?Sue: I’ve got to study for an exam.
Sam: Is the Pope Catholic?
Ron: “Jill, I-, I-, I love you”Jill: “No you don’t. You can’t love me. We have only been dating for a month.”
Why are speech acts and Grice important for our everyday communication?
Can you think of a time when “speech act confusion” got in the way in your own communication?
Felicity conditions/constitutive rules Propositional content Preparatory conditions (situational
rules) Sincerity conditions Essential conditions
Speech Acts: Kickin’ it up a notch…
Nofsinger Chs 2 & 3Request Threat Offer
Propositional Future
Preparatory Sp is ableAct is not ordinaryH can do the act
Sincerity Sp must want H to do the act
Essential Sp is attempting to get H to do s.thing
Coordinated Management of Meaning
Constitutive: what makes it what it is?
Regulative: how does one do it? (deontic logic, p. 40)
Example: Sarcasm in organizational culture
Two types of rules
Hierarchy of Meanings
TEXT CONTEXTSContent Speech Act
EpisodeRelationship/ContractSelf-conceptCultural Patterns
Life script/self-concept
Relationship
Episode
Speech Act
Text
Ex: “Would you stop that?!”
Interruptions & Overlaps TRP: Turn-Relevant Place
TCU: Turn-constructional units. Our utterances (“turns”) may be made up of several of these
Interruption: 2nd speaker comes in in place other than TCU (i.e., where TCU is “not projected.”
Overlap: 2nd speaker comes in at/near TCU “Continuer”: Overlap that continues S1’s turn LRRM: Listener-Response Relevant Moments
Types of Discourse (The Mysterious Ch. 9)
Attributes Debate Ceremony Meeting Convers.
Number of peopleTopic
Turn orderTurn length
Conversation issues Participants and non-participants Type of relationship (friends versus
acquaintances) Demographic differences (e.g., gender) Specific genre of conversation (job
interview, therapy, openings, closings)
Global Coherence: Narratives
Narratives: Stories told in interaction with characters, events, time sequence. They can be true or false, but are generally assumed to be true by the speaker. How long must a narrative be? Preferential or Obligatory rules? Narrative must surround a “narratable event” Repairs can be used to fix problems in referencing,
sequencing, or evaluating Repairs can be initiated by the speaker or hearer
E.g., insertions, retracking
Narrative reportability Teller’s involvement (if hearer knows the
teller) Culturally significant information “Inherently and permanently reportable”
versus “reportable in context”
NarrativeA typical narrative has these components: Setting Orientation Complication Resolution Evaluation Conclusion [How are van Dijk’s prejudiced narratives
different? Why is this important?]
Narrative Rules: who & what? (Metts) Contexting rule:
Speaker When/how?
Relevant to the topic At prior topic close (e.g., the “lull”) Introduced with relevance accounted forOff-topic, but with prefatory signalMay be similar in “theme” (e.g.,
embarassment, failure, joy)
Alignment rule: Hearer Wait for interruption Can express “minimal responses of
attention and appreciation” at Listener Response Relevant Moments (LRRMs)
Concision rules: I. Unnecessary Events: Omit
“subevents” not necessary for understanding.
II. Audience familiarity: Shorten narratives with which audience is familiar.
Comprehension rules: I. Referencing: avoid vague references to
people, places, events not understood by hearer
II. Sequencing: narrative should have logical (sequential) order
III. Evaluating: For narrative to be understood, you must “evaluate” the central action, indicate meaning of narrative at that point in the conversation.
Appropriateness rules: I. [Formality]: Story should match
appropriate level of formality for the situatuation
II. [Altercasting]: Avoid stories that cast your interaction partner (i.e., make a “role bid”) in a role that she or he would not appreciate in the context.
[might there be others?]
Narrative Receipt Rule: Responding rule: Assume the narrative fit
within the interaction context. “At the first indication of the narrative’s completion, you must offer an implicative turn that indicates your understanding or appreciation of for the evaluative point of the narrative”
Application CMM: normative and constitutive rules Schema Cohesion:
Local (utterance by utterance) Global
Effectiveness (per Thompson) Narrative rules
The Funeral http
://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfDyTUiL8xs