Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Ressources linguistiques pour la gestion de l'intersubjectivité dans la parole en interaction : Analyses conversationnelles et phonétiques

Persson, Rasmus LU (2014) In Études Romanes de Lund 90.
Abstract
This dissertation deals with conversational practices through which interactants manage issues of intersubjectivity, i.e. mutual understanding for all practical purposes. Intersubjectivity is understood in a procedural sense, and as built into the infrastructure of interaction, where each next action embodies aspects of how the previous action was understood. This understanding can be inspected by others, and amended where deemed appropriate. Largely, mutual understanding is thus taken for granted and tacitly assumed. However, at times interactants do pay overt attention to managing understandings, and this thesis focuses on three such cases.



The analyses are couched in the framework of conversation analysis (CA), which... (More)
This dissertation deals with conversational practices through which interactants manage issues of intersubjectivity, i.e. mutual understanding for all practical purposes. Intersubjectivity is understood in a procedural sense, and as built into the infrastructure of interaction, where each next action embodies aspects of how the previous action was understood. This understanding can be inspected by others, and amended where deemed appropriate. Largely, mutual understanding is thus taken for granted and tacitly assumed. However, at times interactants do pay overt attention to managing understandings, and this thesis focuses on three such cases.



The analyses are couched in the framework of conversation analysis (CA), which aims to uncover how participants produce recognizable social actions by means of generic but flexible conversational practices. These practices draw on linguistic resources and other conduct, as well as the sequential position in which the practice is located. The approach taken in this thesis is also characterized by its attention to phonetic detail (including prosodic, articulatory and phonatory aspects of talk) as a resource for action.



Each of the three empirical chapters deals with a particular phenomenon involved in managing intersubjectivity in French talk-in-interaction. The first is concerned with formulations, a way of drawing out the gist of what the interlocutor has just said. These may be used to solicit either mere or elaborate confirmations. The second investigates "ah"-prefaced other-repeats, which acknowledge receipt and claim a renewed understanding, while indexing a previous action as inadequate. The third concentrates on mere other-repeats, and demonstrates that they may either indicate a breakdown in intersubjectivity, or display uptake and thus maintained intersubjectivity.



One of the main findings is that phonetic design is pivotal in specifying the action conveyed by the practices examined, and thus constitutes an integral part of the practices. The results show that the phonetic design of a turn at talk does not straightforwardly map to intersubjective meaning, but is inextricably linked to action and sequential organization. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • Professor Mondada, Lorenza, Universität Basel, Schweiz
organization
alternative title
Linguistic resources for managing intersubjectivity in talk-in-interaction. Conversation analytic and phonetic studies
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
French, conversation analysis, talk-in-interaction, interaction, intersubjectivity, phonetics, prosody, intonation, accentuation, formulations, receipts, repetition, turn prefaces, repeats, repair
in
Études Romanes de Lund
volume
90
pages
304 pages
publisher
Centre for Languages and Literature, Lund University
defense location
Sal 201, Kulturanatomen, Biskopsgatan 7, Lund
defense date
2014-04-26 10:15:00
ISSN
0347-0822
ISBN
978-91-7473-886-5 (print)
978-91-7473-887-2 (pdf)
language
French
LU publication?
yes
id
0986c104-9c34-4152-af32-63fe391b7f17 (old id 4362974)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:45:32
date last changed
2019-05-21 14:04:14
@phdthesis{0986c104-9c34-4152-af32-63fe391b7f17,
  abstract     = {{This dissertation deals with conversational practices through which interactants manage issues of intersubjectivity, i.e. mutual understanding for all practical purposes. Intersubjectivity is understood in a procedural sense, and as built into the infrastructure of interaction, where each next action embodies aspects of how the previous action was understood. This understanding can be inspected by others, and amended where deemed appropriate. Largely, mutual understanding is thus taken for granted and tacitly assumed. However, at times interactants do pay overt attention to managing understandings, and this thesis focuses on three such cases.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The analyses are couched in the framework of conversation analysis (CA), which aims to uncover how participants produce recognizable social actions by means of generic but flexible conversational practices. These practices draw on linguistic resources and other conduct, as well as the sequential position in which the practice is located. The approach taken in this thesis is also characterized by its attention to phonetic detail (including prosodic, articulatory and phonatory aspects of talk) as a resource for action.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Each of the three empirical chapters deals with a particular phenomenon involved in managing intersubjectivity in French talk-in-interaction. The first is concerned with formulations, a way of drawing out the gist of what the interlocutor has just said. These may be used to solicit either mere or elaborate confirmations. The second investigates "ah"-prefaced other-repeats, which acknowledge receipt and claim a renewed understanding, while indexing a previous action as inadequate. The third concentrates on mere other-repeats, and demonstrates that they may either indicate a breakdown in intersubjectivity, or display uptake and thus maintained intersubjectivity.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
One of the main findings is that phonetic design is pivotal in specifying the action conveyed by the practices examined, and thus constitutes an integral part of the practices. The results show that the phonetic design of a turn at talk does not straightforwardly map to intersubjective meaning, but is inextricably linked to action and sequential organization.}},
  author       = {{Persson, Rasmus}},
  isbn         = {{978-91-7473-886-5 (print)}},
  issn         = {{0347-0822}},
  keywords     = {{French; conversation analysis; talk-in-interaction; interaction; intersubjectivity; phonetics; prosody; intonation; accentuation; formulations; receipts; repetition; turn prefaces; repeats; repair}},
  language     = {{fre}},
  publisher    = {{Centre for Languages and Literature, Lund University}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  series       = {{Études Romanes de Lund}},
  title        = {{Ressources linguistiques pour la gestion de l'intersubjectivité dans la parole en interaction : Analyses conversationnelles et phonétiques}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/4146504/4362983.pdf}},
  volume       = {{90}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}