Discourse Analysis in Interactional Sociolinguistics (Essay Sample)

Discourse Analysis in Interactional Sociolinguistics
Otieno
Freelancer
October 1, 2015
Introduction
Interactional sociolinguistics [IS] is a branch of linguistics that employs the analysis of discourse to gain insights into the creation of meaning by speakers within their social parameters. Typically studies in IS involve analysis of conversational extracts in the form of recorded audios or videos. In many cases too, pieces of writing are analyzed. According to the founder of IS John Gumperz, speakers tend to use contextualization cues which include prosodic features, paralinguistic features, familiar expressions, conversational routines and systemic conventions to organize and sequence information.[Penelope Brown and Stephen Levison, Politeness. Some Universals in Language Usage. Studies in Interactional Sociolinguistics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987), 20-21.] [Ibid.]
This paper discusses IS as a method of study of linguistics. It delves into the importance of this approach as a means of adding value and perspective to the study of the subject. The paper concludes that IS indeed remains an important addition to linguistic analysis.
Studies in IS
The study of interactional linguistics [IS] has brought into focus what were once peripheral areas in the study of linguistics. Whereas, linguistics primarily concerned itself with the phonetic, lexical and semantic aspects of language, the advent of IS broadened the once unimportant area of context. IS asserts that the ordinary meaning of an expression may change if it is applied within a certain context. This notion has since come to be called framing. The frame can be one of joking, teasing, play or irony.
For instance, one may take a statement such as: I will kill you. Under normal circumstances this statement denotes criminal intent. However, if it is used between friends, it may simply mean: You are such a joker. In the same manner: Get out of here; may simply mean: I don’t believe you. It is thus obvious that pure semantic interpretation of discourse may not give an accurate picture of what is said, unless the circumstances under which it is said are taken into consideration.
Another critical IS aspect is that of conversational inference. This refers to the ability of the participants in the discourse to actively predict what will come next based on previous conversational experience. Speakers tend to be guided by interpretive norms which are continuously reinforced or revised according to ongoing interpretation. Speech analysis therefore involves analyzing the signals of interpretation to get a more complete picture of what is being said. The analysis may show when the speaker is trying to be polite or to reinforce the previous speaker’s message.[John Gumperz, Discourse Strategies: Studies in Interactional Sociolinguistics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982), 34.]
The third aspect is that of cross cultural conversation. The element of conversational inference may bring about confusion when people from different cultural backgrounds engage in a conversation. There may be wrong interpretations o...