The analysis of conversational topic sequence structures

Abstract

The structural linguistic metaphor is attractive and potentially powerful. Scholars in a variety of fields have suggested a grammar or syntax of conversation. Goffman (1967), a sociologist, proposed a syntactical view of social interaction. Jaffe (1967), in studying the rhythms of dialogue from the perspective of clinical psychology, set forth the goal of developing a grammar of conversation. Research workers in psychiatry have presented the notion of the punctuation of interaction sequences (Watzlawick et ai 1967), a distinctly grammatical metaphor. Stech (1970b), speaking from the perspective of a communication scholar, attempted to set up a generative grammar of interaction. A team of ethnomethodologists in sociology presented a systematic grammar of turn-taking in conversation (Sacks et al. 1974). The syntactical metaphor has been used suggestively and in very preliminary ways, but without much sophistication, in the assessment of conversation.Such a view of human interaction is essentially structuralist in its foundations. Structural linguistics, initiated in the work of de Saussure (1916) and made elegant by a host of recent workers, provides the base from which to work. As a method, structuralism consists of two forms of analysis, that of the kinds of acts, paradigmatic analysis, and that of the recursive rules by which acts are formed into strings, syntagmatic analysis. The well-known work of Levi-Strauss (1963) in anthropology is the most extended application of the method outside of linguistics. Structural analysis has been applied to poetry (Hough 1969, for example) and long narrative works (Barthes 1966) in the field of literary criticism. An entire philosophic movement, structuralism, has evolved in France (Ehrmann 1970) based upon the techniques and insights of the structural linguists.The concept of structure seems to imply at least three different characteristics: nonrandomness, wholeness, and well formedness. Structure has been used as a synonym for nonrandomness in the application of information theory to psychology (Garner 1962). Shannon's work (Shannon and Weaver 1949) on the analysis of the Semiotica 39-1/2 (1982), 75-91.

Discourse topic management and discussion skills in middle childhood: The effects of age and task

“…The unit for analysis was the 'communicative act' rather than the turn, partly because acts appear to be the units from which topic sequences are constructed (Stech, 1982), but also because topics can be introduced, maintained and closed within single turns. 'Acts', as used in the present research, encompass 'utterances', as defined by Schiffrin (1994), except that acts can also include a non-verbal component to allow for the contribution of gestures.…”

“…Topic hierarchicalisation is also controversial. Studies reporting topic hierarchicalisation in adult discourse (Adato, 1979;Grosz & Sidner, 1986;Reichman, 1978;Stech 1982), have lacked compelling linguistic evidence, leaving us none the wiser as to when topic hierarchicalisation, as opposed to a sequential organisation of topics, can be inferred. Arguably topic hierarchicalisation can only be assumed when utterances signal that a topic is subordinate to or embedded within DISCOURSE TOPIC MANAGEMENT IN MIDDLE CHILDHOOD 8 another topic, and that after considering this second topic, a return to the main topic is made.…”

“…Thus a speaker's utterance can function to initiate, maintain, shade (a subtle form of topic shift), or reintroduce a topic. Models of adult discourse have also indicated that topic sequences can be related hierarchically as well as sequentially (Adato, 1979;Grosz & Sidner, 1986;Reichman, 1978;Stech, 1982). Topic hierarchicalization involves the use of signals that indicate the relation of the new topic to the old one, and set up an expectation for (and followed by) a return to the old topic.…”

Development of Topic Management Skills in Conversation of School-Aged Children

“…. 대화차례를 주고받는 것은 상호작용을 이어 나가기 위한 행동들로 화제를 연속적으로 주고받으며 이루어진다 (Stech, 1982). 대화에서 화제는 '화자가 말하고 있는 관심사'를 말 하며, 대화는 화제가 연속됨으로써 이어나가게 된다 (Owens, 2004).…”