Lecture 3- Conversations 1 Flashcards
What are possible options as the foundation unit of language?
- Words: The ability to create a sound/form that can link to meaning
- Putting words together
- Conversation: At opposite end of size scale to words
Where is language used?
- Conversation
- Books
- Signs
- Talking to self (Internal monologue)
- Speeches / Lectures
- Texting
- Plays
- Movies
What’s required to be foundational?
- Must be universal
a) To all cultures
b) To all technology levels - People do it commonly
What does the requirements to be foundational rule out from the places where language is used?
Only conversation and talking to oneself is left
What do we see in the talking to baby videos and what does this imply about the foundational unit of language?
- A conversation between parent and child occurs despite there being no words as the father labels the baby’s sounds as having meaning
- This is common where the parents act like the child is part of the conversation and so as the child gets older it starts to make more useful contributions
- This is teaching them conversational skills however they also appear to do it quite naturally (e.g. taking turns is instinctive). Therefore, if a form of conversation shows up before words this may be the functional unit that language is built on.
What are the features of conversation? (mammoth card)
- Co-presence: Both share the same environment
- Visibility: Can see each other
- Audibility: Can hear each other
- Evanescence: It fades quickly
- Recordlessness: It leaves no record
- Simultaneity: Can produce and receive at once
- Extemporaneity: Formulate and execute in real time
- Self-determination: Although influenced by other person participants ultimately determine what to do
- Self-expression: Participants take action as themselves
What does visibility do in terms of conversation?
Opens up for gestures and use of body language to enhance language.
What does the recordlessness of language mean?
Means that the brain has to take in the information and use it as fast as possible as there are no replays.
How are conversations in terms of speed?
- Incredibly fast, roughly 3 words per second
- Turns are also very well timed, if you measure the gap between when one person stops and other starts reply is almost immediate (max 1/2 a second)
What can we conclude from the almost immediate response time in conversations?
You must predicate when the person will stop talking based on verbal (phonetic) and non verbal cues
How does our response time in conversations compare with other animals?
- In marmosets there is a much greater gap in response
- In Siamang Gibbons there is a sequence that repeats if another gibbon accepts the call. But their is no ‘turn taking’ as such.
So slow and they are not creative with very set meanings.
What is meant by the this phrase?
: Conversation is a joint action
Something that we do together and participate in
What is the structure of conversations?
-Entry (greeting)= An invitation to ‘play’ together with
acceptance
-Body= The play
-Exit =Exit from the ‘play’.
What is a conversation in terms of joint projects?
A conversation is a joint action composed of join projects
What are projects?
Projects are an activity with a start and end point.
In simple terms they are the individual topics you talk about in a conversation.
What are the three ways in which joint projects can be arranged in a conversation?
[JP] [JP] [JP] =sequential
[J [JP] [JP] P] =nested
[J[JPP]] =interleaved
What is common ground? What does it form the basis of?
-The set of knowledge that people share. Can be:
• Public
• Personal
-Conversation uses common ground
What is the most basic form of common ground?
Language
What is backchannelling and how is used in conversation?
- Ways of continually showing our participation in the project
- Could be sounds (ahh, ahem, yes) ,gestures (nodding) anything that shows affirmation, that you understand what is being said and you still want to be part of the joint project
What are repair mechanisms and why are they needed in a conversation?
- Repair mechanisms are for when things go wrong
- Things like Huh? or who? =asking for clarification
How often do we use repairs roughly in a average conversation?
- In all languages they are used roughly every 84 seconds
- This means that you can go roughly 252 words before someone gets confused
What can be seen in conversations that are a bit less natural, for example between two people learning English?
- Hyper articulating: announcing very clearly
- Speaking slower
- Long pauses between each exchange
- Not many filler phrases (hmm, ahh)
- Not much overlap when they talk
- Joint projects are very sub sequential (very defined topics of conversation)
- Every time you ask a question someone spells out the options (less common ground)
What psychology concept applies to conversations?
Mind reading, in a conversation you are required to:
- Read what the project is
- Read what is in common ground
- Read what the other is attending to (need joint attention)
- Read the other’s situation model
