Sample
Spoken Discourse Analysis
This essay will focus on the second transcript, namely from the TV Programme called This Morning in which the celebrity Kerry Katona is being interviewed by hosts Phillip Schofield and Fern Britton. Conversational Analysis, Interactional Sociolinguistics and Ethnography will be drawn upon and discussed. One starting point is therefore with a brief description of each context.
Conversational Analysis is defined by Sidnell (2009) as “an approach to the study of social interaction that focuses on practices of speaking that recur across a range of contexts and settings.” Bright (ed. 1992, p. 9) notes that work in areas beyond straightforward conversation can “be distinguished by its relative focus either on the
linguistic phenomena or on the interaction” and the branch of discourse analysis which uses knowledge “of linguistic phenomena to account for the processes and outcomes of interaction” may be called Interactional Sociolinguistics. Bright (ed. 1992, p. 9) suggests that Interactional Sociolinguistics can be distinguished from Conversation Analysis because the latter is predominantly concerned with the “universal orderliness” of everyday behaviour. Atkinson et al (2011, pp 85-86) make the point that ethnography comes from anthropological studies and is fundamentally based on eliciting understanding based in the long-term social and cultural settings from which the people being studied come from. However, the term can be seen as somewhat elusive and open to individual interpretation. This leads Atkinson et al (2011 p. 86) to caution at two ends of a spectrum – the one which is too superficial, quick and casual, and the other which are “too close in definition” and thus do not give rational account to the “open-endedness” of the approach, thereby not giving sufficient account to the “unlimited human capacity for creativity, interpretation and meaning-making.”
These definitions imply that there are a number of considerations to be made when undertaking a discourse analysis within the concepts. One is that they are not always isolable in approach, in other words that areas of the discourse may be identifiably ethnographic and socio-linguistically interactive. Another is that it is important to avoid some of the dangers that can be associated with, for example over-interpreting the contextual meaning, in other words putting too much emphasis on, for instance, the apparently identified concept. With these points as well as the above definitions in mind, it is necessary to move on to a consideration of the general context and the people involved.
The celebrity being interviewed is Kerry Katona, who at the time of the interview was 28. Her background information includes that she attended a high school in Warrington, Cheshire and spent part of her childhood in foster care. She became a celebrity through being a member of the group Atomic Kitten, winning “I’m a celebrity, get me out of here” in 2002, was voted Celebrity mum of the year in 2005 and published a biography in 2005. She had given birth to four children at the time of the interview, two from her first marriage to fellow celebrity Brian Mcfadden, and two from her then current marriage to Mark Croft. She is dyslexic and suffers from Bi-polar disorder (Imdb 2012), which is also known as manic-depressive illness, and is described by the National Institute of Mental Health (2012) as a severe brain disorder which “causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.” Further, that the symptoms “can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance.”
Phillip Schofield was brought up in Newquay, Cornwall, and joined the BBC at the age of 17. Following some success in New Zealand as a TV host, he has had a successful career as a presenter of children and adult TV programmes. He is married and can be described as a professional and articulate TV presenter, one example of his achievements being the winning of the “All time Favourite Children's Presenter' by readers of the Radio Times” in 2005 (Speakers Corner 2012).
Fern Britton was educated in Little Chalfont and studied stage management at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Her father is a known English actor and she is married to a fellow celebrity. She has followed a long career in broadcasting and TV, particularly in presenting current affairs and lifestyle shows (Fern Britton, undated).
At the time of recording, therefore, there was a 28 year old celebrity who suffers from a serious mental disorder being interviewed by two experienced and significantly older TV show hosts who were long experienced in TV and live broadcasting in particular. In further terms of setting, it may be argued that the success of a presenter lies in their popularity and the interest they can attract via viewing figures that can be generated from their shows. Any scandal or immodest revelations are therefore positive aims. Kerry Katona, we are informed, is under the influence of either prescription drugs or alcohol.
In terms of conversational analysis, perhaps a logical starting point is with turn-taking. Of course, this concept is underpinned by an understanding that listeners will cognitively understand when it is appropriate to interject and, by the same token, the speaker comprehends this and the speaker/listener roles are reversed. This assumes some symmetry and understanding on both parts which is not unconnected with ethnography and interactional sociolinguistics. In this transcript, there are constant interruptions and evidence of turn-taking is scant. We can note, for example, the numerous occasions when latched speech is indicated by an equals (=) sign between two speakers as well as between even three. One example comes early in the transcript when Schofield is trying (hesitatingly, feeling his way: y-y, >, ::: etc.) to get to the point that Katona is under the influence of alcohol. Line 3: “I mean how do you how are you feeling now,” interrupted with rising and then still rising intonation (/,/) by Katona with IS IT as he speaks the last two words, then Schofield (line 4) again with “it is a bit” = (Katona) = that’s b? because I have medication at night time= (Schofield) = do you (Katona) = which I took at.... So there are many examples of butting-in and also some back-channel support from Britton, who joins the conversation to give support to Schofield and to home in on Katona’s abuse problems. For example, Line 10 “mmm, it’s interesting.”
The transcript is littered with pauses, which are presumably designed to give the speakers time to think. Schofield uses a number in his first few sentences, for example .hhh (in breath) twice, y y y (stuttering) and ::: (lengthened sound). Schofield again (Line 10): i i i (stuttering), and Kerry (Line 18): mm, yeah, yeah.
Intonation and other discourse markers may be used to give relevant emphasis to words and there are a number of example in this transcript, for example, the aforementioned raising and then lowering of intonation by Katona with /IS IT/, which could also be seen as defensive, or even as a warning signal for Schofield to leave off. Also, (laughter) by Katona in line 11may be seen as intonation to emphasise her status. One further and potentially interesting area of intonation are the numerous occasions of slurred speech by Katona. We must consider the setting(s) – see above – and note that she moves from being defensive about her abuse issue to being quite bold, and defends it in terms of medication rather than drink. If this is the case, these could be seen in terms of being at least quasi-intentional (to gain sympathy), and thus extreme forms of intonation.
In terms of clearly distinguishable examples of ethnography and interactional sociolinguistics, it may be argued that there are more asymmetries between the two ‘sides’ despite the fact that all are celebrities and each speaks native English. The backgrounds as well as generational differences are facts (see above) and the relative lack of empathy seems to quickly dissolve into offence/attack, even though the apparent or surface language is not overtly rude or insulting. Perhaps the best example of this comes in Line 5 when Katona appeals to her husband (who is in the studio audience) for support of the fact that she had taken medication: “din I Mark” .hhh.
This transcript has many angles and relative interests within it. There are the professional and successful hosts who need to retain the interest of the public, thus their handling of the discourse is critical to them in that sense. We also have a celebrity who suffers from a severe disorder who in clearly under some influence. However, this may not be a particularly disastrous situation for her because scandal can be image and can generate celebrity interest. With regard to the concepts, it may be argued that the ethnographic and interactional sociolinguistics are not empathetic and this is clear through the brief conversational analysis undertaken above. The approaches taken could have been expanded upon but there were constraints in terms of space and an awareness that this transcript holds the temptation to place too much emphasis either the ethnographic or interactional sociolinguistics arenas.
References
Atkinson D., Okada H. & Talmy S. (2011), Ethnography and Discourse Analysis, in Hyland K. & Paltridge B. (2011), The Continuum Companion to Discourse Analysis, Continuum International Publishing group, London & New York
Bright W. (ed.) (1992), Oxford International Encyclopaedia of Linguistics, vol. 4, Oxford and New York Press
Speakers Corner (2011), Biography of Phillip Schofield, http://www.speakerscorner.co.uk/file/8bd14c20558dee863ef24f4a3e685827/phillip-schofield-presenter-host.html