Conversational analysis of a Transcript

The conversation between female 1, male 1 and male 2 begins with a interrogative sentence which is written as an ellipsis, where the question had been shortened. Instead of the conversation starting with ‘’Is it on monday?’’ the question is asked simply as ‘’monday?’’ - this is low register and is informal which is representative of the closeness of their relationship, the idea that they don’t need to impress each other with their speech and speak formally, as many people would if it was their first time meeting someone, to make a good impression. An adjacency pair is used at the beginning of the conversation where the two interlocutors are responding to one another. The first question is asked by female 1, which shows that she has the power at the beginning of the conversation. However, as the conversation continues, there is a shift in power between the interlocutors. There is also evidence of occupational power in the transcript which is shown through the adjacency pair used. The question, again is asked by the female which shows that she is the more dominating person in the situation as she holds the most control over the topic, which is followed by an answer from male 2, who is part of  the younger generation.In my transcript, there is only two overlaps where there is an interruption between who is speaking. Both of these interruptions are by male 1, which shows the change in power. Men are stereotypically competitive and more eager to get involved with the conversation, hence the fact that male 1 is the only one interrupting. Females are more likely to be polite and wait for their turn to speak during each other's conversations as they are generally more compassionate and enjoy hearing what others are saying. In contrast, men are more likely to interrupt as they are eager to get their side across, regardless of the fact that someone else might be speaking.  The majority of pauses, gaps and fillers are all used by female 1. This could be because as male 1 is so competitive to talk, there is no time to stop and think about what he is going to say, particularly as my transcript has shown that men are more likely to interrupt. There is also a wide use of ellipsis used, which are usually by the female speaker. For example, female 1 says ‘’i dunno (.) can’t you get a days holiday’’ and further on in the conversation, she says ‘.(.) i’ll try sort summin’ out’’. The use of these ellipses is significant , especially as they are all by the female speaker because it shows that female 1 may not be as well spoken as male 1. This could be symbolic of their relationship, with the idea that they do not need to constantly impress each other with good words, they can be comfortable around each other.

Throughout the transcript, it is evident that power is negotiable - it can change depending on the topic, the person speaking and when the conversation is.  Male 2, who is younger than the other interlocutors, holds the least power throughout the conversation and says the least - this shows the power of age and how it can affect how much you speak. To support this, male 2 who is significantly younger than the other interlocutors only has 5 utterances in the transcript. In contrast, male 2  has 8 utterances whilst female 1 has 9. This shows who holds the most power within the conversation and is representative of the change in the role of women throughout the past few decades. Women were often seen as being significantly less important than men and would have traditional roles. Women would also speak less in conversations because what they had to say was seen as being unvalued. In my transcript, this challenges that stereotype as the majority of questions are asked by the female, as well as the female beginning and ending the conversation, and most utterances are said by the female. Overall, the parents in this  conversation (Male 1 and Female 1) are more dominating and hold more power compared to the younger generation. This is because the amount of utterances from the parents is more than male 2. Also, male 2 asks no questions, only answers them as short answers. This shows that there is occupational power shown throughout the transcript. Throughout the transcript, there is some evidence of an exchange structure, until male 1 interrupts whilst female 1 is speaking.

English Language essay - agreement between the college and students

Language analysis

The purpose of this text was to inform possible future students as to the expectations the college has of its pupils. This piece of text is also reassuring the opportunities that the college can offer. The target audience that the purpose is directed at is potential students that wish to join the college. The writer of this piece of text (the director of sixth form) outlines the rights and wrongs for students when deciding about college.

This extract includes a variety of language choices. The text begins with a large use of nouns - including pronouns and proper nouns. ‘’The college’’ is a proper noun which is used to inform the students of what the letter is about. The use of the pronouns ‘’us’’ and ‘’we’’ provides us with an inclusive tone and is directly addressing the target audience. In addition to this, the extract also makes use of the word ‘’you’’  - this creates a personal overtone and gives the impression that the letter is directly written for you. This may have an impact on the choice of potential students as they will already feel part of the college. A modal verb is also used  in this text - the word ‘’will’’ creates a sense of certainty and encouragement. This word ‘’will’’ gives the impression that something is definitely going to happen, this shows there is hope.

In addition to this, the extract makes use of the graphological features. The title is written is a bold font to place an emphasis on the importance and to focus all attention of what the text is about. Further down, the letter is signed off by the ‘director of sixth form’. The use of this significant title is important as it is highlighting his authority and reality of the letter. This shows the letter is official and provides us with a sense of formality which is representative of part of the aspects the college has to offer. Additionally, another graphological feature is the underlining of ‘’PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY’’ - the use of capitals and underlining highlights the importance of the information that is about to be read. The word ‘’please’’ is a politeness marker which almost softens what they are saying - this contrasts with the capital letters which make is seem serious.

The extract is laid out in bullet points which takes the format of a sequenced list. This is the discourse structure of the text. This is important because it shows a clear and precise order and it could be argued that it is easier to read. The bullet points start by explaining the positive aspects of the college and then continue onto saying the expectations. ‘’i, the student, agree to the following’’ - this also gives the idea of a personal tone as it appears the student is already obedient and following the rules.

In conclusion, this extract provides readers with an insight into the expectations and opportunities the college offers. It is very formal and informative and is used to persuade students by listing what they have to offer.

Grammar

Definition of grammar - the whole system and structure of a language, usually taken as consisting of syntax and morphology (including inflections) and sometimes also phonology and semantics. Grammar controls how language is constructed - it is the structural rules set in place in order to control language.

In particular, there are three main aspects of grammar.

Word classes - This is the categorized words which are put into groups based on their function.

Syntax - This is the set of rules that determines where each word class should appear in a sentence.

Morphology - This describes the individual construction of each word.

Eight main word classes:

Word classes	Meaning	Example
Nouns This belongs to the open lexical word class.	A noun is either an object, a place or a name.  Nouns are split into two different categories – a normal noun and proper noun. When describing a person or place, this is referred to as a proper noun.	An example of a noun is London, Book, and Romance.
Adjectives This belongs to the open lexical word class.	An adjective is a describing word which usually gives extra information about a noun.	For example – Large, Sunny, severe, etc.
Verbs This belongs to the open lexical word class.	A verb is a doing word that describes actions and feelings. Another type of verb is a modal verb – these create a particular mood.	For example, return, jump, read, jog, sing, and run.
Adverbs This belongs to the open lexical word class.	An Adverb is a word that describes a verb. This word usually ends in a ‘’ly’’. It describes how something happens.	An example of an adverb is joyfully, steadily, happily, incredibly.
Pronouns This belongs to the closed grammatical word class.	A pronoun replaces a noun or proper noun. A different type of pronoun is a possessive pronoun – this shows possession. However, a possessive pronoun is more personal.	For example, you, them, him, it. Possessive pronoun examples - mine, yours, his, hers.
Conjunctions This belongs to the closed grammatical word class.	A conjunction is another word for a connective. This is where it joins elements of a sentence together.	For example – But, However, on the other hand, because, and, but.
Prepositions This belongs to the closed grammatical word class.	This defines relationships between words - this is usually in terms of space, time or direction.	An example of a preposition is Before, underneath, through, below.

However, the syntax controls how these grammatical rules work within a sentence. People will instinctively know/be aware of the structure of a sentence. We can also notice when a sentence looks badly arranged. For example, if someone said ‘doctor she the yesterday saw’ - it is clearly wrong. Sometimes, the meaning of a sentence can change, simply depending on the position of the word.

An example sentence of all the word classes working together;

She saw the new manager and his assistant at the store yesterday

Pronoun, verb, determiner, adjective, noun, conjunction, determiner, noun, preposition, determiner, noun, adverb.

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Tenses

Events that happened in the past are described in past tense. Although sometimes in spoken and written discourse, past events may be described using present tense forms.

example of past tense -  She waked to the shop and bought some sweets.

example of present tense - She walks up to the shop and buys some sweets.

If it is past tense, there is a clear indication that some time has passed since the actual event. However, present tense creates a more immediate and dramatic impact.

Plurals

Words can either be plural or single.

For example, a ‘lady’ is a single word, whilst ‘ladies’ is a plural word as it is describing more than one.

Using a singular form creates the impression of a specific body of people.

However, my making it plural, it reflects people on a larger scale.

Adjectives

There are two different types - either simple or superlative.

A comparative is where something is compared to something else, whilst a superlative is more exaggerated and compares three or more nouns.

For example - Best and better.