Conversations

Occupational Groups - Conversations

Linguists have examined the way we talk to each other at work, the way in which people start conversations and the subject of these conversations in great detail.

Koester

Koester argues that the workplace is varied and that, within conversations, we can divide interactions into ‘transactional’ and ‘interactional’.
- Transactional conversations are all about making a transaction (i.e. getting something done).
- Interactional conversations are all about serving a social purpose.

Norman Fairclough

Norman Fairclough believes that in conversations at work, there is a trend towards ‘conversationalisation’ – a process by which interactions in the workplace become less and less formal.

Drew and Heritage

Drew and Heritage argue that conversations that take place at work are goal-orientated – the person who starts the conversation is trying to achieve a work-based goal.
- For example, Abbie may start a conversation about her love life by talking about an engagement ring she is selling.

Herbert and Straight

Herbert and Straight’s research detailed that in conversations, compliments are paid, but the compliments move down the hierarchy.
- For example, your boss is more likely to pay you a compliment than you are to pay them a compliment.
In this sense also, Hornyak believes that conversations are initiated by those who have the most power.

Heritage

Heritage argues that a turn-taking structure comes to play in a transactional conversation.
In this structure, the person with the most power asks the most questions.

Occupational Groups - Conversations

Roberts and Sarangi challenged the previous theories by arguing that our workplace roles are negotiated by conversation and so are not fixed.

Gavruseva

Gavruseva built on this research and argued that we have many different ‘discourse identities’.
In other words, you will probably talk to your boss, your friends and your customers all differently.

Myers-Scotton

Myers-Scotton states that we code-switch our language to one which will benefit us the most.
This will often include moving up and down the registers (the language used in relation to formality) and the increased politeness markers (ways of ameliorating things, like fronting an imperative with ‘please’ like ‘please move those boxes’.

Herring

Herring believes that both technology and gender can have an influence on our work-based language.
His research detailed that in emails, men used harsher and less euphemised methods of expression (‘it’s clear to see that Melissa has broken the rules’) whereas women used more emotion-based responses seeking a more personal touch (‘I find it interesting that you feel Polly is an asset to the team’).

1Language Levels

1.1Assessment Objectives

1.1.1Assessment Objectives

1.2Lexis

1.2.1Introduction

1.2.2Common, Proper, Abstract & Concrete Nouns

1.2.3Collective Nouns

1.2.4Adjectives

1.2.5Main, Auxiliary & Copular Verbs

1.2.6Dynamic & Stative Verbs

1.2.7Transitive, Intransitive, Active & Passive Verbs

1.2.8Mood of Verbs

1.2.9Adverbs

1.2.10Personal, Possessive & Reflexive Pronouns

1.2.11Relative & Demonstrative Pronouns

1.2.12Determiners

1.2.13Conjunctions

1.2.14Synonyms, Antonyms & Phonological Features

1.2.15End of Topic Test - Lexis

1.3Grammar

1.3.1Morphology

1.3.2Clauses

1.3.3Phrases

1.3.4Present Tense

1.3.5Past Tense

1.3.6Future Tense

1.3.7End of Topic Test - Grammar

1.4Semantics & Pragmatics

1.4.1Semantics

1.4.2Pragmatics

1.5Discourse Structure, Graphology & Orthography

1.5.1Discourse Structure

1.5.2Graphology & Orthography

1.5.3End of Topic Test - Semantics, Graphology etc.

2Language, The Individual & Society

2.1Children’s Language Development

2.1.1The Exam

2.1.2Phonemes, Vocal Tract & Articulation

2.1.3Writing About Phonemes

2.1.4Phonological Simplification

2.1.5A Child's First Year & Consonant Acquisition

2.1.6Beginning Stages of Language

2.1.7Lexical Development

2.1.8Stages of Development

2.1.9End of Topic Test - Child Language Development

2.2Children's Language Development - Theories

2.2.1Behaviourism

2.2.2Interactionism

2.2.3Challenging Interactionism

2.2.4Nativism

2.2.5Nativism - Exam Answer

2.2.6Cognitivism

2.2.7Social Constructionism

2.2.8Writing About Spoken Acquisition

2.2.9End of Topic Test - Development Theories

2.3Literacy Development: Reading

2.3.1Introduction

2.3.2Phonics vs Whole Word

2.3.3Debates in Reading

2.3.4Modelling Reading Acquisition

2.3.5Other Reading Theories

2.3.6End of Topic Test - Reading

2.4Literacy Development: Writing

2.4.1Orthography

2.4.2Kroll's Theory

2.4.3Barclay's Theory

2.4.4Creativity vs Accuracy

2.4.5Other Writing Theories

2.4.6The Exam

2.4.7End of Topic Test - Writing

3Language Diversity & Change

3.1The Importance of Gendered Language

3.1.1Writing About Gender

3.1.2Dominance Theory

3.1.3Interruptions - Zimmerman & West

3.1.4Deficit Theory

3.1.5Difference Model

3.1.6Difference Model - Men

3.1.7Diversity Model

3.1.8End of Topic Test - Gendered Language

3.2Social Groups

3.2.1Writing About Social Groups

3.2.2Social Class

3.2.3Social Class 2

3.2.4Age

3.2.5Age - Teen Speak

3.2.6Milroy’s Belfast Study

3.2.7Labov’s Martha’s Vineyard Study

3.2.8End of Topic Test - Social Groups

3.3Occupational Groups

3.3.1Writing About Occupational Groups

3.3.2Jargon

3.3.3Conversations

3.3.4Hierarchy & Power

3.3.5End of Topic Test - Occupational Groups

3.4Accents & Dialects

3.4.1Writing About Accent & Dialect

3.4.2Introduction to Accents & Dialects

3.4.3Accents - Matched Guide Experiment

3.4.4Accents - Received Pronunciation & Brummie

3.4.5Dialects - Dialectal Variations

3.4.6Accent & Dialect Case Study - London

3.4.7End of Topic Test - Accents & Dialects

3.5Language Change

3.5.1Writing About Language Change

3.5.2Modelling Change

3.5.3Modelling Change 2

3.5.4Lexical Change

3.5.5Semantic Change

3.5.6End of Topic Test - Language Change

3.6History of English

3.6.1Old English

3.6.2Old English 2

3.6.3Middle English

3.6.4Middle English 2

3.6.5Early Modern English

3.6.6Late Modern English

3.6.7Present Day English

3.6.8Global English

3.6.9American English

3.6.10Modelling Global English

3.6.11End of Topic Test - History of English

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