Conversation Analysis and the X Factor

Part 1 I induce selected an interview with X-Factor judge Kelly Rowland, in which she finds out t chapeau contestant Frankie Cocozza has been kicked off of the show. Transcription methods vary depending on what the analyst chooses to investigate. In this particular case, as I was interested in, not only how the speakers perform social activities by means of language (Seedhouse, 2008), but similarly the contribution of their non-verbal actions, I chose Conversation Analysis (CA). However, one must point out that, although CA emphasises empirical, data-led question to guard against building speculative theories, (Hewings, 2008, p. 4), it is futile to suppose one single, irresponsible version of the original event exists (Graddol, 1994). Furthermore, not all features of spoken interaction sens be captured, nor can specific motives be attributed to a certain non-verbal action. 01Reporter of career we are absolutely huge fans of you on thex factor 02Kelly thank you 03Reporter(lovi ng watching you 04Kelly thank you 05Reporter um (. ) but b. but (. ) w. were sho(cked to hear today ((fiddles with hair)) that Frankies (. ) gone (. ) what can you tell ? us ? w. hat do you make 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 yea( th. they released a statement saying that he um (. ) that hes decided to leave 09PA(. ) oh I dont do it I think well have to ( ) 10Reporter oh Im sorry I ( ) 11Kelly ((holds up hand as if to snap)) yeah cos that would be quite the face to have from that oh my perfection 12Reporter Im so sorry I didnt realise it like broke all over twitter (. and I um we got a ? statement ? most it 13PA((Kelly looks at her PA)) (0. 2) I dont know well have to cos (Ellens not ( present from (. ) talk tooshie we havent wed need to get that verified 14Kelly ye ah Im sorry 15PA ( ) music interview today 16Reporter like no no Im sorry I didnt mean to= 17PA = salutary hahhah 18Re porterI I didnt mean to like 19PA ( ) 20ReporterYeah sorry I didnt mean to like um I didnt realise that you (. ) didnt know 21Kelly ((she sighs loudly)) (0. 3) (poor guy( 380 words Part 2Conversation Analysis is based on the idea that what is said draws a vast amount of signification from what is left unsaid (Maybin, 2007). Seemingly incoherent chats are actually organised in an high societyly 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, due to Kellys misinformation, the entire converse immediately removes to unscripted. The conversation begins with informal small talk, known as phatic communion (Malinowski, 1923. Its primary purpose is not its content, but quite a to bind the reporter and Kelly together before acquiring down to business. The reporters opening comment of being an absolutely huge fan of hers on the X-Factor establish es an interactional framework for the encounter. As the interviewer, she is expected to lead the conversation, yet her unceasing opening compliments loving watching you- show that she is aware of Kellys higher status and, thus, is paying far more attention to face needs (Levinson, 1987). vista 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, fitting 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 follow up that normally one person talks at a time, and both instances of overlap are quickly repaired (lines 15-16).Early conversation analyst, Sacks (1974), suggests this is due to peoples shared cultural knowledg e of the kind of script used in certain speech events. Therefore, turns can be roughly predicted. Furthermore, this intuitive knowledge is based on adjacency pairs, where particular utterances and responses tend to occur together e. g. , lines 1-4, where each 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 clear examples of transition relevance places (TRP), where the reporter pauses for a response, allowing both other interlocutors to speak. Sometimes, one can slightly overlap the previous speaker or turn back 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 journalist discovers that Kelly does not know that Frankie has left t he competition.Determined to both satisfy Kellys face needs, as closely as to protect her own, the journalist begins apologising profusely (lines 10-20), in addition to hedging expressions (line 18) to avoid 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 parade to give collective responsibility (Beard, 2008) for the word on Frankies departure. This signal of inclusiveness is another invention used to save face and en genuine that conversation continues running smoothly.It is interesting, however, that, verso to the belief that a person will use I when wanting credit for an idea, the journalist still uses we (line 5). Given that we can have various potential meanings, here it would appear to be a mechanism to emphasise with the British public we, as a whole, are shocked at the password. Even so, w hen apologising, the journalist shifts back to the first 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 still by a considerable amount of shared knowledge between speakers. In line 13, when replying to the journalist, the PA announces that Ellen is not here we can assume that the journalist knows who Ellen is but, just to make sure, the PA adds from Talkback (X-Factors Production Company). As substantially as justifying why they cannot answer the question, this response also subtly signals solidarity by communicating sneakily that there are no hard feelings between them.As Levinsons (1987) study shows, people are remarkably adept at interpreting these inexplicit nuances and, thus, it should serve to contrive the journalist more at ease. These references are closely linked to elliptical structures, such as in line 3 where, althoug h the clause lacks some words, its meaning is inferable from its context. These half-finished sentences are a key part of everyday interactions, yet would seem highly inappropriate in written English. As all speakers are women in this transcript, it is easy to identify 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 extend 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 reason 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 belie f that they occupy a less powerful government agency 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 continual repetition from the journalist (in particular, yeah and sorry).Although repetition is typically used to persuade, here it performs the two-fold 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 compel upon them and avoid any act that may threaten face. In terms of prosody, the use of intonational shift is very significant, 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 stress 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 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 soften 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 va rious meaningful pauses. A chance 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 subject 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 usual 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 100% 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 common and transparent there are excessive hesitations, stuttering and repetition by the journalist and spontaneous turn-taking procedures seen by the interruptions and overlaps of Kelly and her PA (Edwards, 2007).Furthermore, irregular supra segmental features are presen t, 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 false starts and fillers were incredibly relevant to the spontaneity of the extract, and provided an brain wave into each speakers thought process.I specifically chose to omit gaze in my transcript as CA has been criticised for over-analysing simple gestures e. g. , blinking could merely be something in the eye, rather than lying. Using this transcription method, I have been able to analyse both ideational and interpersonal 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 lingui stic communication and Body Language of Politics, London, Methuen Beard, A. 2007) Using English to persuade in Maybin, J. , Mercer, N. , and Hewings, A. (eds) Using English, London, Routledge/The Open University, pp. 43-81 Brown, P. and Levinson, S. (1987) Politeness Some Universals in Language Usage, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press Crystal, D. (1985) Things to remember when transcribing speech, small fry 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 11, Section 5, Milton Keynes, The Open UniversityGoffman, E. (1967) Interactional 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 Socia l 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 & 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 &Kegan Paul 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//celebrity. 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 administration of turn-t aking 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-transcription/ (Accessed 2nd declivity 2011) Key to transcription methods used in this excerpt (. )Short untimed pause (0. 6)Timed interval Overlapping utterances or actions ( )Transcription doubtful (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