Conversational Analysis (3)
Conversation Analysis (3)*
2. Conversational ‘Space’
As with the return of greetings, responses to reciting proverbs show that when we speak we do far more complicated things than simply confirming assertions and/or emptying out the contents of our minds. Instead, it seems that what we say will be heard in terms of its position in this particular conversational ‘space’ – after a previous turn and in the light of a possible next turn.
Take the mundane activity of ordering from a restaurant menu. Sacks* asks why we so often have conversations that go like this:
A: I’m going to have X
B: Well I just had that so I’ll have Y
or:
A: I’m going to have X
B: I don’t like that.
In such cases ‘you deal with their choice as if they were proposing it for you’. Why? The answer lies in the fact that, although A is addressing a waiter, you hear A as saying something of possible relevance to you. After all, it is likely to be your turn next.
So choices by two or more people from a restaurant menu, like greeting exchanges or proverb assertions, are cooperatively accomplished. This is seen even more clearly when you are being treated to a meal and your host says:
H: Why don’t you have the roast beef it’s great here?
Of course, this does not mean that you have to choose the beef – after all, you may be a vegetarian or worried about ‘mad cow’ disease. How then do you show that you attend to your host’s invitation? Simply, you can treat it as setting the price limit of any dish you do choose.
3. Talk and Morality
Such close attention to a previous turn at talk implies that we tend to be very much aware of the moral implications of utterances. Indeed, attention to moral implications is seen even in the case of natural events. Take the example of an earthquake – a fairly regular occurence in the part of California where Sacks lived. When the room shakes, why do you apologize to your house guests? Or, to return to the restaurant example, perhaps you have just had an excellent meal. Why do you not congratulate the chef but congratulate your host instead?
Sacks argues that these two examples involve events that have occured while one person has an obligation to another. Events, natural or otherwise, are not just the silent backdrop to what we say but are used to inform us about what it is appropriate for us to do next, such as apologizing to our guests or congratulating our host.
Even silence can be an event holding moral implications. In everyday talk, one party’s silence can show that they have recognized that another speaker has yet to finish an utterance or, in a multi-party conversation, has not selected them as a next speaker. Conversely, inappropriate silences (say after the punchline of a joke) can reveal that one was not properly listening.
*Silberman, David. Harvey Sacks Social Science and Conversation Analysis. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 0-19-521472-2
Prof. C.J.M. Beniers
NL Zoetermeer
025-07-2010
© Copyright 2010
About Professor C.J.M. Beniers
Prof. C.J.M. Beniers is a well known authority in the field of modern and international communication techniques. He developed the Six-Component-Model. This model enables companies, institutions and politicians to communicate and negotiate with counterparts from all over the world successfully. His career began as international manager at Philips and later he earned his doctorate as professor in communication. He has more than 35 years experience as manager and management trainer. Thus he knows both sides – theory and praxis – very well. As scientist, Prof. Beniers conducts frequently research in the field of intercultural communication. The results of his interesting research can be found in news articles, free pod casts, audio books and his E-books such as “Bridging The Cultural Gap.” Here, modern managers learn how to prepare for business meetings with people from different cultures; they acquire the techniques and tools to handle situations in times of crises successfully, master intercultural barriers, country-specific communication patterns, looking into personal cultural values & systems. Knowing all this, men can prevent cultural misunderstandings and misinterpretations – not only in business but also in private life.
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