Key Concepts in Conversation Analysis

Though a man succeeds, he should not (as is frequently the case) engross the whole talk to himself; for that destroys the very essence of conversation, which is talking together .(William Cowper, On Conversation, 1756) In recent years, the related fields of discourse analysis and conversation analysis have deepened our understanding of the ways in which language is used in everyday life. Research in these fields has also widened the focus of other disciplines, including rhetoric and composition studies. To acquaint you with these fresh approaches to language study, weve put together a list of 15 key concepts related to the ways we talk. All of them are explained and illustrated in our Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms, where youll find a name for . . . the assumption that participants in a conversation normally attempt to be informative, truthful, relevant, and clear: cooperative principlethe manner in which an orderly conversation normally takes place: turn-takinga type of turn-taking in which the second utterance (for example, Yes, please) depends on the first (Would you like some coffee?): adjacency paira noise, gesture, word, or expression used by a listener to indicate that he or she is paying attention to a speaker: back-channel signala face-to-face interaction in which one speaker talks at the same time as another speaker to show an interest in the conversation: cooperative overlapspeech that repeats, in whole or in part, what has just been said by another speaker: echo utterancea speech act that expresses concern for others and minimizes threats to self-esteem: politeness strategiesthe conversational convention of casting an imperative statement in question or declarative form (such as Would you pass me the potatoes?) to co mmunicate a request without causing offense: whimperativea particle (such as oh, well, you know, and I mean) thats used in conversation to make speech more coherent but that generally adds little meaning: discourse markera filler word (such as um) or a cue phrase (lets see) used to mark a hesitation in speech: editing termthe process by which a speaker recognizes a speech error and repeats what has been said with some sort of correction: repairthe interactive process by which speakers and listeners work together to ensure that messages are understood as intended: conversational groundingmeaning thats implied by a speaker but not explicitly expressed: conversational implicaturethe small talk that often passes for conversation at social gatherings: phatic communicationa style of public discourse that simulates intimacy by adopting features of informal, conversational language: conversationalization Youll find examples and explanations of these and over 1,500 other language-related expressions in our ever-expanding Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms. Classic Essays on Conversation While conversation has only recently become an object of academic study, our conversational habits and quirks have long been of interest to essayists. (Not surprising if we accept the notion that the essay itself may be regarded as a conversation between writer and reader.) To take part in this ongoing conversation about conversation, follow the links to these eight classic essays. The Musical Instruments of Conversation, by Joseph Addison (1710) I must not here omit the bagpipe species, that will entertain you from morning to night with the repetition of a few notes which are played over and over, with the perpetual humming of a drone running underneath them. These are your dull, heavy, tedious, story-tellers, the load and burden of conversations. Of Conversation: An Apology, by H.G. Wells (1901) These conversationalists say the most shallow and needless of things, impart aimless information, simulate interest they do not feel, and generally impugn their claim to be considered reasonable creatures. . . . This pitiful necessity we are under, upon social occasions, to say something—however inconsequent—is, I am assured, the very degradation of speech. Hints Toward an Essay on Conversation, by Jonathan Swift (1713) This degeneracy of conversation, with the pernicious consequences thereof upon our humours and dispositions, hath been owing, among other causes, to the custom arisen, for sometime past, of excluding women from any share in our society, further than in parties at play, or dancing, or in the pursuit of an amour. Conversation, by Samuel Johnson (1752) No style of conversation is more extensively acceptable than the narrative. He who has stored his memory with slight anecdotes, private incidents, and personal peculiarities, seldom fails to find his audience favourable. On Conversation, by William Cowper (1756) We should try to keep up conversation like a ball bandied to and fro from one to the other, rather than seize it all to ourselves, and drive it before us like a football. Childs Talk, by Robert Lynd (1922) Ones ordinary conversation seems so far beneath the level of a small child. To say to it, What wonderful weather weve been having! would seem an outrage. The child would merely stare. Talking About Our Troubles, by Mark Rutherford (1901) [A]s a rule, we should be very careful for our own sake not to speak much about what distresses us. Expression is apt to carry with it exaggeration, and this exaggerated form becomes henceforth that under which we represent our miseries to ourselves, so that they are thereby increased. Disintroductions by Ambrose Bierce (1902) [W]hat I am affirming is the horror of the characteristic American custom of promiscuous, unsought and unauthorized introductions. You incautiously meet your friend Smith in the street; if you had been prudent you would have remained indoors. Your helplessness makes you desperate and you plunge into conversation with him, knowing entirely well the disaster that is in cold storage for you. These essays on conversation can be found in our large collection of Classic British and American Essays and Speeches.

The New Psychology Field Of Positive Psychology - 928 Words

The new Psychology field of Positive Psychology promotes a â€Å"flourishing† life dedicated to individuals looking to expand the pleasant, engagement and meaning in their life. Many Positive Psychologist use Gratitude Practice as a method of therapy to aid individuals with a wealth of positive constructs. Before looking into Gratitude Practice it is important to begin the research by taking a look at what Positive psychology is. Positive Psychology is a newer field in Psychology focused on the study of the strengths that enable humans and organizations to flourish. Gratitude Practice can help individuals become more optimistic and live healthier lives (Emmons, R.E. McCullough, M. E., 2003) it can lead to greater happiness (Seligman, M. E., 2011) and can lead to improved relationships (Lambert, et. al., 2010). Positive Psychotherapy will also be examined as it pertains to purpose, hope, and life satisfaction in three age groups. Positive Psychology Positive Psychology is seen as the science of positive subjective experience, positive individual traits and positive institutions (Seligman Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Positive Psychology is different from other Psychology fields in its â€Å"empirical study of human flourishing.† Psychological models were developed to come to the aid of negative concepts such as mental illness whereas Positive Psychology was established by Doctor Martin Seligman with hopes of complementing the already in place psychological models andShow MoreRelatedThe Behavioral Perspective Of Clinical Psychology993 Words   |  4 PagesClinical psychology is a relatively new area of study in the broad category of psychology. It is a subfield of psychology that covers a wide range and variety of topics and issues such as the study, diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders. 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The motet Essay Example For Students

The motet Essay The genesis of the motet is, like the biblical birth of Eve, a matter of appendage. In the case of Eve, a rib was removed from Adam and fashioned into a women; the motet was a rib added to pre-existing clausulae. James C. Thomson describes this development as follows: In the thirteenth century, perhaps sooner, it became the practice to add a new text to the upper voice of a clausula. The newly worded, was then called motetus. (Thomson, 56) Despite its somewhat haphazard birth, the form was widely accepted. Grout describes its popularity as: Thousands of motets were written in the thirteenth century; the style spread from Paris throughout France and to all parts of western Europe. (Grout, 99)Originality was not a hallmark of the thirteenth century motet. In fact, of the two essential characteristics of the motet, one was that it was constructed on a cantus firmus, some pre-existent melody (Thomson, 57) The other was that it had at least two different texts. As Grout points out, the st ock of motet melodies, both tenors and upper parts, lay in the public domain; composers and performers freely helped themselves to the music of their predecessors without acknowledgment and altered it without notice. (Grout, 99)A unique characteristic of the motet of this period is the mixing of melodies and rhythms. Alfred Einstein described this technique as: This may be called polymelody, the compulsory combination of the two or more distinct melodies with different rhythms (Einstein, 26) With the acceptance of such combinations came the development of stranger mixtures. Side by side with a sacred liturgical text appeared secular texts of sometimes outrageous contrast. The mixture of sacred and secular text was a result of the fact that less and less notice was taken of the connection between the texts of the tenor and duplum. Einstein theorized this development was arbitrary, however most belief the music is premised on an, internal perception (Bukofzer, 28) and to the musician, to them a detail was a value in itself. (Mathiassen, 70)The motet blended the different planes of music. An additional development in the technique of mixing and adding is that not only was it polyphonic, polyrythmic, and polytextual, but music was now polyglot: one or more vernacular (French) texts might be substituted for Latin ones. (Thomson, 57)During this time, composers of the Notre Dame School concerned themselves with the development of clausulae in rhythmically identical patterns. (Harman, 53) Harman writes: This was not only the culmination of the Notre Dame preoccupation with rhythm, but was also a very important innovation, because it eventually developed into the chief structural device of the fourteenth century motet. (Harman, 53) The structural device alluded to above, goes under name of isorhythm, (same rhythm). At first, this concept of single rhythm was applied solely to the tenor part, but gradually the principle was applied to the other parts. Creating a greater unity and sense of whole to the listener. Philippe de Vitry (1291-1361) was a master of the isorythmic motet. (Thomson, 59) It was he who pioneered the application of the principle to the other parts. He and Guillaume de Machaut (c.1300-c.1377), whose claim that the ear should be used to check a completed composition was the first indication that the combination of the given melodies was beginning to yield to a freer, more individual attitude towards creative art. (Einstein, 34) Machaut was the most prominent practitioner of the strophic motet and preferred the use of French text. (Saide, 625) The fourteenth century also witnessed a change in attitude toward text. The polytextual thirteenth-century motet was replaced by the fourteenth-century forms, which typically had a single text, treated either as a solo (the French ballad) or distributed between the voices in such a way as to keep the words always clearly understandable. (Grout, 157)The development of the motet from the thirte enth to the fifteenth centuries can be characterized as a gradual turning away from the abstract, nonsensuous principles of construction toward pleasure of sounds for their own sake, and toward a clarity of structure immediately apparent from the music itself, without reference to esoteric meanings. (Grout, 157) Many of the motets written during the fourteenth century were constructed in a fashion that has come to be called isoperiodic. In these the phrases were normally kept at the same length but were laid out so as to produce overlaps between the various voices. (Saide, 625) Up until the fifteenth century, the principle of cantus firmus, or pre-existent melody use, was rigidly adhered to. Problems In Intercultural Communication EssayTomas Luis de Victoria, a contemporary of Palestrina, was a more subjective composer of the motet. Though his style is like that of Palestrina, Victoria infuses his music with a mystical intensity, a quality which makes it both thoroughly personal and typically Spanish.(Grout, 273)Orlando di Lasso, another great contemporary of Palestrina, composed in a deeply personal tone. In his motets both the over-all form and the details are generated from a pictorial, dramatic approach to the text.(Grout, 274) Lassos In Hora Ultima demonstrates this approach in the abrupt musical depictions of those worldly vanities(Grout, 274)William Byrd, an English contemporary of Palestrina, is noted for his perfection of the imitative techniques of the Continent and, in contrast to Palestrina, his more intimate, subjective language.(Grout, 276)With the end of the sixteenth century, music history ushers in the baroque period. The three hundred year development of the all important motet has laid the foundation of music for the great composers which would follow. The motet is called one of the most important music styles in history and its contributions have been limitless to our music history. Bukofzer, Manfred F., Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Music, W.W. Norton Co. Inc., New York, NY. 1950. Einstein, Alfred., A Short History of Music, Vintage Books, New York, NY. 1954. Grout, Donald J., A History of Western Music, W.W. Norton Co. Inc., New York, NY. 1973. Harman, Alec, Man and His Music, Part One: Medieval and Early Renaissance Music, Schocken Books, New York, NY. 1972. Mathiassen, Finn, The Style of the Early Motet, Dan Fog Musikforlag, Copenhagen, Denmark 1966. Saide, Stanley, The New Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Vol. 12, Macmillan Publishing Ltd., London, England 1980. Thomson, James C., Music Through the Renaissance, Wm. C. Brown Co. Dubuque, Iowa 1968.Bibliography:

Why We Should Keep The Drinking Age At 21 Essays - Drinking Culture

Why We Should Keep The Drinking Age At 21 Why We Should Keep the Drinking Age at Twenty-one By Barry T. Hellman English 116, section 6 Dr. Budler 11 May 2000 Imagine winning the State Basketball Championship. You get back to your house with a few friends and feel a party is in order, so you start drinking a few beers after your parents go to bed. Someone suggests that you drive somewhere to get rid of the empty cans. ?Yes, that's not a bad idea?, so you all pile into the car and take off. A few hours later, your parents receive a telephone call to come down to the station. There has been a terrible accident, and they must identify the body. This is the one phone call all parents dread. This true story is detailed in the Germantown, Tennessee high school newspaper. Stories like this compel me to believe that the legal drinking age should be kept at twenty-one. Almost every state set a legal drinking age of twenty-one, the legal voting age at the time, after prohibition was repealed. Between 1970 and 1975, twenty-nine states lowered the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen, twenty-nine states also lowered their drinking age to eighteen or nineteen. During the late seventies, studies showed that traffic crashes had drastically increased after lowering the drinking age. Once this was announced publicly, many groups created a movement to increase the minimal drinking age, and sixteen states responded. The Uniform Drinking Act was passed in 1984. This strongly encouraged the remaining thirteen states to raise their drinking age. If the states would not agree to do so by 1987, the government said that it would cut highway funding (Encyclopedia of Alcohol and Drugs). Many would argue that when the drinking age were set at twenty-one, there is an unavoidably huge increase in alcohol use when youths, turning twenty-one, ?make up for lost time.? However, a study done by Alexander Wagenaar and PM O'Malley found that when the minimum drinking age was twenty-one, there was a lower use of alcohol after they turn twenty-one. One of the largest arguments in favor of lowering the drinking age is the use of Europe as a comparison. Where as in Europe, where there isn't a prescribed legal age for drinking, the age for obtaining a drivers license is eighteen. Sixteen is the average age for obtaining a license. This lower age for driving in combination with the lowered drinking age incurs a rise in traffic accidents and even death. Drinking before twenty-one causes more deaths than illnesses. On the other hand, those countries have their share of alcohol problems. The rate of alcohol-related diseases such as cirrhosis to the liver is the same, if not higher, as in the United States. Also drunk driving among youth in Europe is lower, but only because the legal driving age in most European countries is higher. Furthermore the use of public transportation is greater in Europe, where as in the United States fewer people take advantage of public transportation. Public transportation is either frowned upon or not ava ilable. It is also argued that even though the legal drinking age is at twenty-one, many youths still can easily obtain and drink alcohol, so the current drinking age doesn't work. It stands to reason to conclude that if the drinking age were lowered to eighteen, even younger children would be using alcohol. This therefore, would have adverse affects on our society, not a positive affect. Because it's illegal for people under twenty-one, many of those people don't drink. Lowering the drinking age would increase alcohol problems among teens, even at an earlier age. (Wagenaar and co. article, page 2) My opinion is further supported by the Correlation between underage drinking and alcohol abuse. Scientists of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism have said that teens that begin drinking before the age of fifteen are four times more likely to become alcoholics. The same institute also found that alcohol abuse doubles, in those who start drinking before the age of fifteen compared to those who first begin drinking at age twenty-one. Continuing, they found that twenty-five percent of those who began drinking before the age of seventeen went on to become alcoholics. Furthermore,