Pragmatics

2. Conversation and
Preference Structure
Presented by:
Asif Ali Raza
asifalirazzza@yahoo.com
+92-300-4-62-62-34

3. • Interaction
• Conversation
• Conversation Analysis
• Terms regarding Conversation Analysis
• Pauses, overlaps, and backchannels
• Conversational style
• Adjacency pairs
• Preference structure
• Summary
Contents

4. Term INTERACTION could actually apply to a very large number
of quite different social encounters.
Different Social Encounters
• A teacher talking to students
• A doctor talking to a patient in a clinic
• Individuals taking part in courtroom proceedings, attending
meeting, buying stamps at the post office
• And dozens of other different experiences
Interaction
This kind of talk is likely to differ according to the different contexts of
interaction.

5. • The basic pattern of ‘I speak – you speak – I speak –
you speak’ is called conversation structure.
• We drive this structure from that fundamental kind of
interaction we acquire first and use most often.
Conversation Structure

6. There are many metaphors used to describe conversation
structure.
• For some; conversation is like a dance, with
conversational partners coordinating their movements
smoothly
• For others; conversation is like traffic crossing an
intersection, involving lots of alternating movements
without any crashes.
Conversation Analysis
The most widely used approach is based not on dancing, nor on
traffic flow but on an analogy with the workings of a market
economy.

7. • Floor –the right to speak (a scarce commodity)
• Turn – having control of this floor at any time
• Turn-taking – In any situation where control is not
fixed in advance, any one can attempt to get control.
• Local Management System – set of conventions for
getting, keeping and giving away turns
• Transition Relevance Place (TRP) – Any possible
change-of-turn point
Specific words used for this analogy

8. Market Economy Metaphor (Cont.)
• The speakers accomplish change of turn smoothly because
they are aware of the local management system for taking
those turns at an appropriate TRP.
This metaphor can be applied to:
• Where speakers cooperate and share the floor equally.
• Also where speakers compete for keeping the floor,
preventing others from getting it.

9. Conversations typically consist of two or more participants
taking turns, and only one participant speaking at any time.
Smooth transitions from one speaker to the next are valued.
• Transitions with a long silence between turns
• Or significant overlap (both speakers trying to speak at
the same time)
Pauses and Overlaps
‘are perceived as awkward’

10. When two people attempt to have a conversation and discover that
there is no ‘flow’, or smooth rhythm to their transition, much more
is being communicated than is said. There is a sense of distance,
an absence of familiarity, or ease. Following is an interaction
between a student and his friend’s father during their first meeting:
Pauses and Overlaps (Cont.)
Mr. Strait: What's your major, Dave?
Dave: English—well, I haven't really decided yet.
(3 seconds silence)
Mr. Strait: So—you want to be a teacher?
Dave: No—not really—well not if I can help it.
(2.5 seconds silence)
Mr. Strait: Wha—//Where do you— go
ahead
Dave: I mean it's a—oh, sorry //I
em—

11. • — are short pauses and show hesitations
• Long pauses become silences. Silences in the previous
slide are not attributed to either speaker because each
has completed a turn.
• // used at the beginning of the overlapping talk.
Pauses and Overlaps (Cont.)

12. • If one speaker actually turns over the floor to another and
the other does not speak, then the silence is attributed to
the second speakers and become significance. It’s an
attributable silence.
• In the following interaction, the non-response of Dave is
treated, by his girlfriend, as possibly communicating
something:
Pauses and Overlaps (Cont.)
Jan: Dave, I'm going to the store.
(2 seconds)
Jan: Dave?
(2 seconds)
Jan: Dave – is something wrong?
Dave: What? What's wrong?
Jan: Never mind.

13. 3-Apart from the basic overlap, sometimes younger
speakers overlapped talk appears to function like an
expression of solidarity or closeness opining about
similar things.
Pauses and Overlaps (Cont.)
Min: Did you see him in the video?
Wendy: Yeah - the part on the beach
Min: Oh my God // he was so lovely
Wendy // he was just being so cool
Min: And all the waves // crashing around
him!
Wendy: // yeah that was really wild.
4-Overlap can also communicate competition.
Joe: When they were in // power las-- wait CAN I
FINISH?
Jerry: // that's my point I said --

14. The point of overlap is treated as an interruption
and the first speaker actually has to make a
comment about procedure, i.e., appeals to an
unstated rule of conversation structure, namely
that each potential speaker is expected to wait
until the current speaker reaches a TRP.
Markers of TRPs: - end of a structural unit
(phrase/clause)
- pause
Pauses and Overlaps (Cont.)

15. 5-A speaker who wants to keep holding the floor will
avoid providing TRPs, i.e. avoiding open pauses at the
end of syntactic units and places fillers/breaths in the
middle, not at the end of those units.
• I wasn't talking about—um his first book
that was—uh really just like a start and so—
uh isn't—doesn't count really.
Pauses and Overlaps (Cont.)

16. Pauses and Overlaps (Cont.)
6- Another floor holding device is to indicate that there is
a larger structure to your turn.
a. There are three points I'd like to make—first ...
b. There's more than one way to do this—one example
would be...
c. Didn't you know about Melvin?—Oh, it was last
October ...
d. Did you hear about Cindy's new car?—She got it in ...
a/b technical information about coming
structure
c/d preludes to storytelling

17. Speakers expect their conversational partners to
indicate that they are listening. Nodding, smiling, other
facial expressions, gestures, vocal indications are
called backchannel signals
Backchannel
Caller: If you use your long distance service a lot then
you'll …
Mary: // uh-huh
Caller: be interested in the discount I'm talking about
because …
Mary: // yeah
Caller: it can only save you money to switch to a cheaper
service
Mary: // mmm

18. Backchannel (Cont.)
• Backchannel signals provide feedback to the speaker
that the message is being received, they indicate that the
listener is following and not objecting.
• The absence of backchannels is interpreted as significant
(in telephone conversations the speaker is prompted
to ask whether the speaker is still there).
• In face-to-face conversations the absence of
backchannels may be interpreted as a way of withholding
agreement.

19. There are individual and cultural differences in conversational
style/turn taking
Conversation Style
High Involvement Style—some individuals expect that
participation in a conversation will be very active, that speaking
rate will be relatively fast, with almost no pausing between
turns, and with some overlap or even competition between
turns.
High Considerateness Style—such speakers use a slower rate,
expect longer pauses between turns, do not overlap and avoid
interruption or completion of the other's turn.

20. Style clashes lead a conversation to be one-
sided.
Conversation Style (Cont.)
• the faster speaker may think the slower one doesn't
have much to say, is shy, perhaps boring or stupid
• the slower speaker may view the faster one as noisy,
pushy, domineering, selfish and tiresome
features of conversational style are often interpreted as
personality traits

21. Adjacency Pairs
Almost automatic patterns in the structure of conversation
(as given below), e.g., in greetings and good-byes are
called adjacency pairs.
Examples:
Anna: Hello! Bill: Hi!
Anna: How are you? Bill: Fine.
Anna: See ya! Bill: Bye!

22. Adjacency Pairs (Cont.)
• These automatic sequences are called adjacency pairs
• They always consist of a first and second part
produced by different speakers.
• The utterance of the first part immediately creates an
expectation of the utterance of a second part of the
pair.
• Failure to produce the second part will be treated as a
significant and hence meaningful.

23. Adjacency Pairs (Cont.)
First Part Second Part
A: What's up? B: Nothin'
much
A: How's it goin'? B: Jus' hangin' in
there
A: How are things? B: The usual
A: How ya doin' B: Can't complain
A lot of internal variation is
possible:
For example: opening of
conversation.

24. Adjacency Pairs (Cont.)
First Part Second Part
A: What time is it? B: About eight-thirty
A: Thanks. B: You're welcome
A: Could you help me with this? B: Sure
Example: question - answer sequence in [1]
Example: thanking - response sequence in [2]
Example: request - accept sequence in [3]

25. Adjacency Pairs (Cont.)
Agent: Do you want the early flight? (=
Q1)
Client: What time does it arrive? (= Q2)
Agent: Nine forty-five (=
A2)
Client: Yeah - that's great (= A1)
Insertion sequences can intervene between adjacency
pairs:
Form Q1 - Q2 - A2 - A1 (one adjacency pair within
another)
Jean: Could you mail this letter for me? (Req. 1)
Fred: Does it have a stamp on? (Q2)
Jean: Yeah. (A2)
Fred: Okay (Acc. 1)
Mix of different sequences possible:

26. Adjacency Pairs (Cont.)
Opening Sections (Summons-Answer Sequences):
First utterance is a summons, the second utterance an
answer to the summons, establishing an open channel
for talk (three part structure).
Child: Mommy? (Summons)
Mum: Yes, dear. (Answer)
Child: Can I have chocolate? (Reason for
summons)
Examples:

27. Adjacency Pairs (Cont.)
Closing Sections:The closure of any topic after the first
one makes the introduction of a closing section
imminent
• closings placed in such a way that no party is
forced to exit while still having compelling things
to say
• hasty or slow terminations carry unwelcome
inferences about the relationships between the
speakers

28. Adjacency Pairs (Cont.)
B: Okay, so that would be in St. Jude’s wouldn’t it?
A: Yes
B: Okay so …
A: One o’clock in the bar closing implicative topic (arrangement)
B: Okay
A: Okay? one or more pairs of passing turns with
B: Okay then thanks very much indeed George – pre-closing
items (okay, alright, so …)
A: - Alright
B: //See you there
A: //See you there
B: Okay
A: Okay // bye terminal elements
B: // bye
Examples:

29. • adjacency pairs represent social actions, and not all
social actions are equal when they occur as second
parts of some pairs, e.g., a first part request expects
an acceptance.
• acceptance is structurally more likely than refusal and
Structural likelihood is called preference
Preference Structures
Preference structure divides second parts into
PREFERRED and DISPREFERRED social acts

30. First part
Preference Structures
Second part
Preferred Dispreferre
d
Assessment Isn't that really great? agree Yes, it is
disagree
Invitation Why not join us tonight? accept I’d love to refuse
offer Want some coffee? accept Yes, please
decline
proposal Maybe we could go for a walk. agree That'd be great
disagree
request Can you help me? accept Sure
refuse

31. Silence is also always a dispreferred response, often
leading to a revision of the first part. (Non-response
communicates that the speaker is not in a position to
provide the preferred response)
Preference Structure (Cont.)
Sandy: But I'm sure they'll have good food
there
(1.6 seconds)
Sandy: Hmm—I guess the food isn't great
Jack: Nah—people mostly go for the music
Silence is risky as it may give the impression of non-participation in the
conversational
Structure. Speakers often signal that they are producing the marked,
dispreferred structure

32. Aassessment:
Preference Structure (Cont.)
Cindy: So chiropodists do hands I guess
Julie: Em - well - out there - they they mostly work
on people's feet
- initial hesitation: delay (em + pause)
- preface: well
- appeal to the views of others: out there
- stumbling repetition: they they
- relativizing statement/mitigation: mostly

33. Invitation:
Preference Structure (Cont.)
Becky: Come over for some coffee later
Wally: Oh - eh - I'd love to - but you see - I - I'm
supposed to get this finished - you know
- hesitation: oh - eh
- preface: I'd love to (token acceptance)
- stumbling repetition: I - I'm
- account: I'm supposed to get this finished
- invocation of understanding: but you see, you
know

34. How to do a dispreferred second part?
Preference Structure (Cont.)
delay/hesitate pause; er; em; ah
preface well; oh
express doubt I'm not sure; I don't know
token acceptance that's great; I'd love to
apology I'm sorry; what a pity
mention obligation I must do X; I'm expected in Y
appeal for understanding you see; you know
make it non-personal everbody else; out there
give an account too much work; no
time left
use mitigators really; mostly; sort of; kinda
hedge the negative I guess not; not possible

35. Preference Structure (Cont.)
• dispreferreds take more time/language/effort
• more language creates more distance between
first and second part
• preferred represents closeness and quick
connection
• participants try to avoid creating contexts for
dispreferreds e.g., by using pre-sequences

36. Question and Answer Period

37. Thanks