Spoken Discourse and Discourse Analysis

Conversation is a basic human activity. This course focuses on how we may understand and describe what goes on in oral communication/spoken discourse. What do we do when we communicate through conversation, and how does the conversations affect us?

The course is based on interaction. Issues that are covered include how speaking partners negotiate meaning and cooperate on creating the dynamics of a conversation, and how identities and relations is created thorugh verbal communication. In addition, the course covers how to understand the dynamics between a conversation and the actual context in which it takes place, e.g. a visit to the doctor's; an interview; a meeting; an interrogation; a pupil conference, or a friendly chat over a cup of coffee.

Further, ethical considerations connected to the taping, storage and use of authentic conversation material are discussed during the course.

KNOWLEDGE:
Upon completion the student will have knowledge about:
- Different ways to render conversations through written text
- The meaning and importance of laughter, politeness and each others "face" in the conversation
- Conversation as a social activity, continuously formed by context and those who participate in it
- Conversation as a communicative action which contributes to forming culture and society.

SKILLS:
Upon completion the student will be able to:
- read and understand different forms of transcription
- analyse conversation extracts focusing on the connection between conversation and context
- Describe characteristic features in formal vs. informal conversations
- reflect on ethical questions related to gathering and using authentic conversation material

Lectures and exercises