Pragmatics:Adjacency pairs

There is a relation between acts, and that conversation contains frequently occurring patterns

1. Adjacency pairsAdjacency pairs
•There is a relation between acts , and that conversation
contains frequently occurring patterns .
•The utterance of one speaker makes a certain response of
the next speaker .
•The acts categorized as question-answer , offer-accept , blame-deny
and so on.
•The first part creating an expectation of a particular second
part.
•Preference structurePreference structure
•Each first part has a preferred response .
•The pairs are endless .

2. ExamplesExamples
A question has the preferred response of an answer
An offer an acceptance
An invitation an acceptance
An assessment an agreement
A proposal an agreement
A greeting a greeting
A complaint an apology
DispreferredDispreferred responses responses
The dispreferred responses tend to be refusals and
disagreement ,This are the unusual response, meaningful or
rude

3. An An absenceabsence of response of response
An absence of response can be taken as the
hearer not having heard, not paying attention or
simply refuse to cooperate .
SequenceSequence
Speakers are mutually constructing and
negotiating their conversation in time ,certain
sequences.
PresequencesPresequences
Prepare the ground for further sequence and
signal the type of utterance to follow.

4. PresequencesPresequences
ExampleExample
A:A: You know that French film that’s on in the Odeon ?
B:B: Yes ?
A:A: Do you want to go and see
it tonight ?
B:B: Yeah , why not .
Here the speaker prepares the ground for further
sequence and signal the type of utterance to follow.

5. Insertion sequence Insertion sequence
In the case of Insertion sequence Insertion sequence ,the pairs occur
& fixed within other adjacency pairs which act as macro –
sequences, functions as ……
ExampleExample
A:A: You know this French film that’s on in the Odeon ?
B:B: Yes ?
A:A: Do you want to go and see it tonight ?
B:B: What time does it start?
A:A: Eight thirty-five.
B:B: Yeah , why not .

6. ‘What time does it start ?’
‘Eight thirty –five ‘
constitute the insertion sequence
Opening , Closing Conventional StructureOpening , Closing Conventional Structure
Openings tend to contain a greeting , an inquiry after
health and past reference(as in ‘How did it go last night?’)
ExampleExample
Brenda, a 34-year-old house wifewife , greets Lee , a15-year
old studentstudent ,,with a formulaic health enquiry.

7. ExampleExample
BrendaBrenda : Hi Lee.
LeeLee : Hi. Hi , Jean
JeanJean : Hi. Hi
BrendaBrenda : How are you ?
LeeLee : Not bad I’ll be in , in a
minute

8. Limitations of CALimitations of CA
CriticismCriticism
•A lack of systematicity in the sense that there is no complete list of
all adjacency pairs . (Eggins and Slade 1997)
•No precise description of how far adjacency pairs.
•CA sets out to be a qualitative not a quantitative approach.
•CA does not take into account pragmatic or sociolinguistic aspects
of interaction , the background context of why and how people say
what they say, the components of situation ,the features of the
social world and social identity such as occupation and gender of
participants.
•For CA analysts, context is context

9. CA analysts focus onCA analysts focus on
* The sequential progression of interaction .
* The way that each utterance is shaped by previous text

and shapes the following text .
* Context is something created in talk, rather than talk
as something created by context.

10. Interactional sociolinguistics
“social groups have their own ways of expressing meaning with their
language . Gumperz (1986)
* Language relates to context through ‘contextualization cues’.
The main goal is not to describe the structure of discourse.
* The main goal is the conversation analysis. The two
approaches are coming together now (Ochs , Schegloff and Thompson 1996).
* Looking at the relationship between grammar and social interaction.

11. TNETNE COOPERATIVECOOPERATIVE PRINCIPLEPRINCIPLE
Understanding conceptsUnderstanding concepts
Observing maximsObserving maxims
Flouting and violatingFlouting and violating
Relevance theoryRelevance theory

12. Observing maximsObserving maxims
1-The maxim of quantity :
•The first maxim of the cooperative principals .
•The speaker should be as formative as informative as is
required.
•They should give neither too little information nor too much .
•Giving too little information the hearer ability to recognize
what are they talking about, the lose of explicitly .
•Giving too much information make the hearer feel boring

13. Observing maximsObserving maxims
2- The maxim of quality :
•Speakers are expected to be sincere .
•Say authentic things that corresponds to reality.
•Always say the true, not false, with evidence
ExampleExample
A : I’ll ring you tomorrow afternoon then .
B: Erm, I shall be there as far as I know ,and in the main time
have a word with Mum and Dad if they’re free. Right, bye-
bye then sweetheart .
A: Bye-bye, bye . BNC:kc8 Gillian,1991

14. Observing maximsObserving maxims
3 - The maxim of relation :
•Speakers are assumed to be saying something relevant to
what has been said before .
•Example 1Example 1
•“The baby cried .The Mommy picked it up”.(Garfinkel 1967)
•We assume that the ‘Mommy’ was his mother & she picked
him up because he was crying .
• Example 2 Example 2
•A : There’s somebody at the door .A : There’s somebody at the door .
•B: I’m at the bath.B: I’m at the bath.

15. Observing maximsObserving maxims
4 - The maxim of manner :
•Be brief and orderly.
•Avoid obscurity.
•Avoid ambiguity.

ExampleExample
Thank you chairman .jus- just to clarify one point just to clarify one point . .
There is one meaning of the police committee ,there is There is one meaning of the police committee ,there is
something not clear in their budget .something not clear in their budget .
(BNC,J44West Sussex council Highways(BNC,J44West Sussex council Highways committee Meeting ,1994 ) committee Meeting ,1994 )

16. Flouting the maximsFlouting the maxims
In many cultures ,it can be socially unacceptable
to always say exactly what is in one’s mind unless one
knows the hearers very well.
ExampleExample
We might prefer to not to say to a shop assistant ,
as we hand back a dress ,”This looks awful on ;
I don’t want it after all ‘, But rather you say ‘ I’ll go
away and think about it and may be come back later.

17. Flouting the maximsFlouting the maxims
•Flouting quantity Flouting quantity
•Giving too much or too little information .Giving too much or too little information .
•A : Well , how do I look ?A : Well , how do I look ?
•B : Your shoes are nice……B : Your shoes are nice……
•(B)(B) does not say that the rest of does not say that the rest of (A)(A) clothes does clothes does
not look good ,but not look good ,but (A)(A) will understand the implication will understand the implication
..
•Why ?Why ?
•Because he asks about the Because he asks about the wholewhole appearance but appearance but
got an answer about got an answer about partpart of it of it

18. Flouting the maximsFlouting the maxims
•Flouting qualityFlouting quality
•Saying something simply does not represent what they think.
•The exaggerating as the hyperbolehyperbole
•‘ I could eat a horseI could eat a horse’. Or
•A : Yes I’m starvingI’m starving too.
•B : Hurry up girl .
•A : Oh dear stop eating rubbish .You won’t
eat any dinner . (Leobowitz 1985 :368)
•The speaker won’t expect someone to say
•“What ,you could eat a whole horse .
The hearer would expect that the speaker is very hungry .

19. Any questions