Beneath the Surface of Turn-Taking and Interruptions in Intergenerational Conversations: The Case of Adult and Adolescent Females

Moradi, Bita; Saeedi, Zari

doi:10.22049/jalda.2021.27273.1320

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Bita Moradi ¹
Zari Saeedi ²

¹ MA in TEFL, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran

² Associate Professor of TEFL, Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22049/jalda.2021.27273.1320

Abstract

Conversational turns have long snatched the attention of discourse analysts. Despite this fact, and to the best of the researchers’ knowledge, intergenerational conversations made by females have never been investigated through the lens of turn-taking and interruptions. Accordingly, this study aimed at scrutinizing the differences between female Persian-speaking adults and adolescents engaged in casual conversations in terms of turn-taking organization, and interruption patterns. To this end, the casual Persian conversations of 5 adult and 5 adolescent females attending a private reunion were analyzed based upon the turn-taking model proposed by Sacks et al. (1974), along with interruption syntactic criteria introduced by West and Zimmerman (1983). The turn-taking model comprises two techniques (self-selection or selection by the next speaker) leading to gaining or allocating turns, and the interruption criteria emphasize deep intrusion of the last two or more syllables of the current speaker. The analysis of the recorded three-hour conversation revealed 1302 uses of the turn-taking techniques and 302 interruptions. The adults used approximately 86.01% of the turn-taking techniques while the counterpart group only used around 13.97%. Moreover, 93.37% of the interruptions were initiated by the adults compared with only 6.62 % initiated by the adolescents. Accordingly, the adult females were far more dominant speakers, adopted a much larger proportion of turn-taking techniques, and were considerably more inclined to use interruptions. The subsequent interview with the adolescents demonstrated that the dramatic between-group differences originated from some paralinguistic elements namely social, psychological, cultural, and power-related factors.

Keywords

20.1001.1.2383591.2021.9.2.12.5

Main Subjects

2. Applied Linguistics (Inspirations from neighbor disciplines)

Article Title [Persian]

لایه های زیرین نوبت گیری و قطع صحبت در مکالمات بین نسلی: بررسی زنان بزرگسال و نوجوان

Authors [Persian]

بیتا مرادی ¹
دکتر زری سعیدی ²

¹ کارشناس ارشد آموزش زبان انگلیسی، دانشگاه علامه طباطبائی، تهران، ایران

² دانشیار آموزش زبان انگلیسی، گروه زبان و ادبیات انگلیسی، دانشکده ادبیات فارسی و زبانهای خارجه، دانشگاه علامه طباطبائی، تهران، ایران

Abstract [Persian]

بررسی مکالمات از دیرباز مورد توجه محققین بوده است. با اینحال، مکالمات بین نسلی که توسط خانمها ار گروه های سنی مختلف شکل گرفته تا به حال از منظر نوبت گیری و قطع مکالمات بررسی نشده است. به همین منظور، مکالمات فارسی روزمره خانمها در این مقاله مورد تحلیل قرار گرفت. برای بررسی نوبتها از مدل ساکس و برای قطع مکالمات از مدل وست و زیمرمن استفاده شد. مدل ساکس از دو نوع متد برای گرفتن و یا دادن نوبت استفاده می کند. مدل وست و زیمرمن قطع مکالمه در حداقل دو بخش پایانی جمله را قطع مکالمه واقعی میداند. آنالیز مکالمات نشان داد که خانمها 1302 بار از تکنیک نوبت گیری و 302 بار از قطع مکالمات استفاده کردند. در نتیجه مشخص شد خانمهای بزرگسال بیشترین درصد تکنیکهای نوبت گیری را استفاده کردند و بیشترین قطع مکالمات را شکل دادند. تفاوتهای بین گروهی از عوامل اجتماعی روانشناسی فرهنگی و قدرت نشأت گرفته بوده است.

Keywords [Persian]

مکالمه روزمره
تحلیل مکالمه
مکالمه بین نسلی
قطع مکالمه
نوبت گیری در مکالمات

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Beneath the Surface of Turn-Taking and Interruptions in Intergenerational Conversations: The Case of Adult and Adolescent Females

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Volume 9, Issue 2 - Serial Number 18October 2021Pages 195-216

Volume 9, Issue 2 - Serial Number 18
October 2021
Pages 195-216