Analysing Casual Conversation; Suzanne Eggins; Diana Slade - Equinox Publishing

Suzanne Eggins [+–]

University of Technology Sydney

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Diana Slade [+–]

Australian National University

Diana Slade is Professor of Applied Linguistics, School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics. She is also Director of the ANU Institute of Communication in Health Care. Her major publications include Communicating in Hospital Emergency Departments (co-authored, Springer), Effective Communication in Clinical Handover: from Research to Practice (co-edited with S. Eggins and F. Geddes), and Analysing Casual Conversation (with S. Eggins, Equinox Publishing).

Shortlisted for the 1998 BAAL Book Prize

Analysing Casual Conversation develops a systematic model for the analysis and description of casual conversation in English. Working through authentic examples of casual conversations involving participants differing in age, gender, ethnicity and socio-economic class, the authors argue that despite its sometimes aimless appearance and apparently unstructured content, casual conversation is a highly structured activity and plays a critical role in the social construction of reality. Drawing on insights from sociology, linguistics and critical semiotics, the book equips readers with the analytic skills to describe the layers of structure and critical interpretive frameworks to explain the ‘social work’ that goes on through chat.

Series: Equinox Textbooks and Surveys in Linguistics

Table of Contents

Preliminaries

List of figures [+–] viii

Suzanne Eggins,Diana Slade

University of Technology Sydney

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Australian National University

Diana Slade is Professor of Applied Linguistics, School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics. She is also Director of the ANU Institute of Communication in Health Care. Her major publications include Communicating in Hospital Emergency Departments (co-authored, Springer), Effective Communication in Clinical Handover: from Research to Practice (co-edited with S. Eggins and F. Geddes), and Analysing Casual Conversation (with S. Eggins, Equinox Publishing).

Shortlisted for the 1998 BAAL Book Prize Analysing Casual Conversation , first published in 1997 by Cassell, develops a systematic model for the analysis and description of casual conversation in English. Working through authentic examples of casual conversations involving participants differing in age, gender, ethnicity and socio-economic class, the authors argue that despite its sometimes aimless appearance and apparently unstructured content, casual conversation is a highly structured activity and plays a critical role in the social construction of reality. Drawing on insights from sociology, linguistics and critical semiotics, the book equips readers with the analytic skills to describe the layers of structure and critical interpretive frameworks to explain the ‘social work’ that goes on through chat.

List of tables [+–] ix-x

Suzanne Eggins,Diana Slade

University of Technology Sydney

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Australian National University

Diana Slade is Professor of Applied Linguistics, School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics. She is also Director of the ANU Institute of Communication in Health Care. Her major publications include Communicating in Hospital Emergency Departments (co-authored, Springer), Effective Communication in Clinical Handover: from Research to Practice (co-edited with S. Eggins and F. Geddes), and Analysing Casual Conversation (with S. Eggins, Equinox Publishing).

Shortlisted for the 1998 BAAL Book Prize Analysing Casual Conversation , first published in 1997 by Cassell, develops a systematic model for the analysis and description of casual conversation in English. Working through authentic examples of casual conversations involving participants differing in age, gender, ethnicity and socio-economic class, the authors argue that despite its sometimes aimless appearance and apparently unstructured content, casual conversation is a highly structured activity and plays a critical role in the social construction of reality. Drawing on insights from sociology, linguistics and critical semiotics, the book equips readers with the analytic skills to describe the layers of structure and critical interpretive frameworks to explain the ‘social work’ that goes on through chat.

List of texts [+–] xi

Suzanne Eggins,Diana Slade

University of Technology Sydney

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Australian National University

Diana Slade is Professor of Applied Linguistics, School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics. She is also Director of the ANU Institute of Communication in Health Care. Her major publications include Communicating in Hospital Emergency Departments (co-authored, Springer), Effective Communication in Clinical Handover: from Research to Practice (co-edited with S. Eggins and F. Geddes), and Analysing Casual Conversation (with S. Eggins, Equinox Publishing).

Shortlisted for the 1998 BAAL Book Prize Analysing Casual Conversation , first published in 1997 by Cassell, develops a systematic model for the analysis and description of casual conversation in English. Working through authentic examples of casual conversations involving participants differing in age, gender, ethnicity and socio-economic class, the authors argue that despite its sometimes aimless appearance and apparently unstructured content, casual conversation is a highly structured activity and plays a critical role in the social construction of reality. Drawing on insights from sociology, linguistics and critical semiotics, the book equips readers with the analytic skills to describe the layers of structure and critical interpretive frameworks to explain the ‘social work’ that goes on through chat.

Preface [+–] xiii-xiv

Suzanne Eggins,Diana Slade

University of Technology Sydney

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Australian National University

Diana Slade is Professor of Applied Linguistics, School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics. She is also Director of the ANU Institute of Communication in Health Care. Her major publications include Communicating in Hospital Emergency Departments (co-authored, Springer), Effective Communication in Clinical Handover: from Research to Practice (co-edited with S. Eggins and F. Geddes), and Analysing Casual Conversation (with S. Eggins, Equinox Publishing).

Shortlisted for the 1998 BAAL Book Prize Analysing Casual Conversation , first published in 1997 by Cassell, develops a systematic model for the analysis and description of casual conversation in English. Working through authentic examples of casual conversations involving participants differing in age, gender, ethnicity and socio-economic class, the authors argue that despite its sometimes aimless appearance and apparently unstructured content, casual conversation is a highly structured activity and plays a critical role in the social construction of reality. Drawing on insights from sociology, linguistics and critical semiotics, the book equips readers with the analytic skills to describe the layers of structure and critical interpretive frameworks to explain the ‘social work’ that goes on through chat.

Introduction

Collecting and transcribing casual conversation [+–] 1-5

Suzanne Eggins,Diana Slade

University of Technology Sydney

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Australian National University

Diana Slade is Professor of Applied Linguistics, School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics. She is also Director of the ANU Institute of Communication in Health Care. Her major publications include Communicating in Hospital Emergency Departments (co-authored, Springer), Effective Communication in Clinical Handover: from Research to Practice (co-edited with S. Eggins and F. Geddes), and Analysing Casual Conversation (with S. Eggins, Equinox Publishing).

Shortlisted for the 1998 BAAL Book Prize Analysing Casual Conversation , first published in 1997 by Cassell, develops a systematic model for the analysis and description of casual conversation in English. Working through authentic examples of casual conversations involving participants differing in age, gender, ethnicity and socio-economic class, the authors argue that despite its sometimes aimless appearance and apparently unstructured content, casual conversation is a highly structured activity and plays a critical role in the social construction of reality. Drawing on insights from sociology, linguistics and critical semiotics, the book equips readers with the analytic skills to describe the layers of structure and critical interpretive frameworks to explain the ‘social work’ that goes on through chat.

Chapter 1

Making meanings in everyday talk [+–] 6-22

Suzanne Eggins,Diana Slade

University of Technology Sydney

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Australian National University

Diana Slade is Professor of Applied Linguistics, School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics. She is also Director of the ANU Institute of Communication in Health Care. Her major publications include Communicating in Hospital Emergency Departments (co-authored, Springer), Effective Communication in Clinical Handover: from Research to Practice (co-edited with S. Eggins and F. Geddes), and Analysing Casual Conversation (with S. Eggins, Equinox Publishing).

1.1 Introduction; 1.2 The achievements of casual conversation; 1.3 The paradox of casual conversation; 1.4 Defining casual conversation: pragmatic vs. casual conversations; 1.5 Variation in casual conversation; 1.6 Outline of the book

Chapter 2

Relevant approaches to analysing casual conversation [+–] 23-66

Suzanne Eggins,Diana Slade

University of Technology Sydney

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Australian National University

Diana Slade is Professor of Applied Linguistics, School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics. She is also Director of the ANU Institute of Communication in Health Care. Her major publications include Communicating in Hospital Emergency Departments (co-authored, Springer), Effective Communication in Clinical Handover: from Research to Practice (co-edited with S. Eggins and F. Geddes), and Analysing Casual Conversation (with S. Eggins, Equinox Publishing).

2.1 Introduction; 2.2 A typology of relevant approaches to analysing casual conversation; 2.3 Sociological perspectives on casual conversation: ethnomethodology and conversation analysis; 2.4 Sociolinguistic approaches to conversation; 2.5 Logico-philosophic approaches to conversation; 2.6 Structural-functional approaches to conversation; 2.7 Critical linguistics and critical discourse analysis; 2.8 Conclusion

Chapter 3

The grammar of casual conversation: enacting role relations [+–] 67-115

Suzanne Eggins,Diana Slade

University of Technology Sydney

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Australian National University

Diana Slade is Professor of Applied Linguistics, School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics. She is also Director of the ANU Institute of Communication in Health Care. Her major publications include Communicating in Hospital Emergency Departments (co-authored, Springer), Effective Communication in Clinical Handover: from Research to Practice (co-edited with S. Eggins and F. Geddes), and Analysing Casual Conversation (with S. Eggins, Equinox Publishing).

3·1 Introduction; 3·2 Grammatical patterns in casual conversation; 3·3 Interacting patterns in casual talk; 3·4 Mood: constituents in casual conversation; 3·5 Mood types; 3.6 Polarity; 3·7 Yes/yeah and no/nope in casual conversation; 3.8 Modality; 3·9 Analysing for mood and modality; 3.10 Interpreting mood choices in text 3.1; 3·11 Mood in text 1.3: Dr Flannel; 3.12 Conclusion

Chapter 4

The semantics of casual conversation: encoding attitude and humour in casual conversation [+–] 116-168

Suzanne Eggins,Diana Slade

University of Technology Sydney

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Australian National University

Diana Slade is Professor of Applied Linguistics, School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics. She is also Director of the ANU Institute of Communication in Health Care. Her major publications include Communicating in Hospital Emergency Departments (co-authored, Springer), Effective Communication in Clinical Handover: from Research to Practice (co-edited with S. Eggins and F. Geddes), and Analysing Casual Conversation (with S. Eggins, Equinox Publishing).

4.1 Introduction; 4.2 Constructing solidarity; 4·3 Appraisal; 4·4 Involvement: constructing intimacy and affiliation; 4·5 Humour; 4.6 Conclusion

Chapter 5

The discourse structure of casual conversation: negotiating support and confrontation [+–] 169-226

Suzanne Eggins,Diana Slade

University of Technology Sydney

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Australian National University

Diana Slade is Professor of Applied Linguistics, School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics. She is also Director of the ANU Institute of Communication in Health Care. Her major publications include Communicating in Hospital Emergency Departments (co-authored, Springer), Effective Communication in Clinical Handover: from Research to Practice (co-edited with S. Eggins and F. Geddes), and Analysing Casual Conversation (with S. Eggins, Equinox Publishing).

5.1 Introduction; 5.2 From colleagues to friends; 5·3 Analysing interactivity: from grammar and semantics to discourse; 5·4 A functional-semantic interpretation of interaction; 5·5 Speech function classes in casual conversation; 5.6 Speech function coding; 5·7 Interpreting speech function analysis; 5.8 Conclusion

Chapter 6

Genre in casual conversation: telling stories [+–] 227-272

Suzanne Eggins,Diana Slade

University of Technology Sydney

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Australian National University

Diana Slade is Professor of Applied Linguistics, School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics. She is also Director of the ANU Institute of Communication in Health Care. Her major publications include Communicating in Hospital Emergency Departments (co-authored, Springer), Effective Communication in Clinical Handover: from Research to Practice (co-edited with S. Eggins and F. Geddes), and Analysing Casual Conversation (with S. Eggins, Equinox Publishing).

6.1 Introduction; 6.2 Chunk and chat segments in casual talk; 6.3 Principles of generic analysis; 6.4 Storytelling genres; 6.5 Casual talk at work: a generic characterization; 6.6 The limitations of a generic analysis: the chat segments; 6.7 Conclusion

Chapter 7

Gossip: establishing and maintaining group membership [+–] 273-311

Suzanne Eggins,Diana Slade

University of Technology Sydney

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Australian National University

Diana Slade is Professor of Applied Linguistics, School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics. She is also Director of the ANU Institute of Communication in Health Care. Her major publications include Communicating in Hospital Emergency Departments (co-authored, Springer), Effective Communication in Clinical Handover: from Research to Practice (co-edited with S. Eggins and F. Geddes), and Analysing Casual Conversation (with S. Eggins, Equinox Publishing).

7·1 Introduction; 7·2 Establishing that there is a distinctive genre of gossip;7·3 Defining and labelling the genre; 7.4 The social function of gossip; 7·5 Identifying and differentiating the text stages: the generic structure of gossip; 7·6 Specifying semantic and lexico-grammatical realizations for each stage of a gossip text; 7·7 The generic and micro structure of the gossip text; 7·8 Conclusion

Chapter 8

Conclusion [+–] 312-316

Suzanne Eggins,Diana Slade

University of Technology Sydney

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Australian National University

Diana Slade is Professor of Applied Linguistics, School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics. She is also Director of the ANU Institute of Communication in Health Care. Her major publications include Communicating in Hospital Emergency Departments (co-authored, Springer), Effective Communication in Clinical Handover: from Research to Practice (co-edited with S. Eggins and F. Geddes), and Analysing Casual Conversation (with S. Eggins, Equinox Publishing).

8.1 Introduction; 8.2 Summary; 8.3 Relevance of the book; 8.4 Conclusion

End Matter

References [+–] 317-325

Suzanne Eggins,Diana Slade

University of Technology Sydney

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Australian National University

Diana Slade is Professor of Applied Linguistics, School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics. She is also Director of the ANU Institute of Communication in Health Care. Her major publications include Communicating in Hospital Emergency Departments (co-authored, Springer), Effective Communication in Clinical Handover: from Research to Practice (co-edited with S. Eggins and F. Geddes), and Analysing Casual Conversation (with S. Eggins, Equinox Publishing).

Shortlisted for the 1998 BAAL Book Prize Analysing Casual Conversation , first published in 1997 by Cassell, develops a systematic model for the analysis and description of casual conversation in English. Working through authentic examples of casual conversations involving participants differing in age, gender, ethnicity and socio-economic class, the authors argue that despite its sometimes aimless appearance and apparently unstructured content, casual conversation is a highly structured activity and plays a critical role in the social construction of reality. Drawing on insights from sociology, linguistics and critical semiotics, the book equips readers with the analytic skills to describe the layers of structure and critical interpretive frameworks to explain the ‘social work’ that goes on through chat.

Index [+–] 327-333

Suzanne Eggins,Diana Slade

University of Technology Sydney

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Australian National University

Diana Slade is Professor of Applied Linguistics, School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics. She is also Director of the ANU Institute of Communication in Health Care. Her major publications include Communicating in Hospital Emergency Departments (co-authored, Springer), Effective Communication in Clinical Handover: from Research to Practice (co-edited with S. Eggins and F. Geddes), and Analysing Casual Conversation (with S. Eggins, Equinox Publishing).

Shortlisted for the 1998 BAAL Book Prize Analysing Casual Conversation , first published in 1997 by Cassell, develops a systematic model for the analysis and description of casual conversation in English. Working through authentic examples of casual conversations involving participants differing in age, gender, ethnicity and socio-economic class, the authors argue that despite its sometimes aimless appearance and apparently unstructured content, casual conversation is a highly structured activity and plays a critical role in the social construction of reality. Drawing on insights from sociology, linguistics and critical semiotics, the book equips readers with the analytic skills to describe the layers of structure and critical interpretive frameworks to explain the ‘social work’ that goes on through chat.

Reviews

Notably well-organized and clearly written, this book shows the reader not only how to carry out a systematic analysis but also what questions might be illuminated by doing so… All in all, Suzanne Eggins and Diana Slade have produced a valuable resource for students, teachers and researchers interested in the language and meanings of casual conversation. Deborah Cameron

The wide range of relevant phenomena covered and the commitment to theoretical consistency combine very effectively to yield an intellectually exciting book… I have found that students tune in exceptionally well to Eggins’ and Slade’s style of presentation – Analysing Casual Conversation is my favourite on the topic at the moment. Erich Steiner

The reader-friendly construction of the book is one of its most valuable characteristics. Because of this construction, the insights contained in the material are made available both for theoretical pursuit within the academy and for more practical application in the classroom. Susan Feez, Education Australia Online