Researchers from different academic disciplines approach conversation as a form of social interaction from widely differing perspectives. In this article, an overview of the sociological and sociolinguistic approaches and their different concerns in conversational interaction will be provided.
I am interested in these approaches in so far as they present views about conversation as a sociolinguistic instance which reveals interpersonal relations and various social variables. Such views are displayed in the hope of demonstrating that these perspectives fall short of providing structural analyses of conversation as a “social structure” for which participants hold themselves responsible for its maintenance.
Table of Contents
1. Different approaches
2. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This article provides an analytical overview of sociological and sociolinguistic approaches to the study of conversation as a form of social interaction. The primary objective is to examine how these disciplines interpret conversation as a "sociolinguistic instance" and to demonstrate that existing perspectives often fail to capture the full structural complexity of conversation as a stable "social structure" maintained by its participants.
- Sociological perspectives on conversation as social interaction
- The role of rule-governed behavior and "definition of the situation"
- Social psychological dimensions: power, status, and control
- Sociolinguistic views on language, socio-cultural values, and interactional norms
- Limitations of current research methodologies
Excerpt from the book
Different approaches
It is immediately apparent that the notion of rule-governed behaviour is scarcely a novel one in social science. In fact, “it is the most dominant idea in much of the social science… linguistics centers on hypothesizing rules for that important social activity : language. “(Duncan and Fiske, (1985: 30). However, since the area of interaction research lies at the intersection of most, if not all, of the social science, its investigators have been drawn from different disciplines: pragmatics, sociology, Social psychology, Ethnomethodology to mention only a few.
Of course, these investigators have much to point to as beneficent consequences of the study of social interaction products. Benson and Hughes (1983: 155) argue, “While talk has been used by social scientist to obtain their data, how people talk, what its structure and formal properties might be, has been largely untouched.”
Given the priority of the functional aspect of talk in establishing social bonds and phatic communion between individual members of a given community, sociologists of language arguing for the perspective of their research make imperative the examination of the interaction between two aspects of human behaviour: use of language and the social organisation of behaviour. Fishman (1972: 45), in this respect, makes it clear that “the sociology of language focuses upon the entire gamut of topics related to the social organisation of language behaviour, including not only language usage per se but language users”. Such a focus, however, falls short of coping with the organisational mechanism which participant in language activities exploit in maintaining their interaction.
Chapter Summaries
Different approaches: This chapter reviews how various social science disciplines, including sociology and social psychology, analyze the rules and functional aspects governing conversational interaction.
Conclusion: This section synthesizes the discussion by highlighting that while existing research effectively links linguistic and social structures, there is a clear need for new research fields like conversation analysis to better understand structural organization.
Keywords
Social interaction, conversation analysis, sociolinguistics, sociological approaches, social psychology, interpersonal relations, communicative behaviour, conversation management, social structure, linguistic structure, interactional norms, conversational patterns, power, status, ethnomethodology
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this academic article?
The article focuses on how different academic disciplines, specifically sociology and sociolinguistics, approach conversation as a primary form of social interaction.
What are the core thematic areas discussed in the text?
The core themes include the study of rule-governed behavior in speech, the social function of language, the impact of social variables like power and status, and the methodological limitations of current conversational research.
What is the main research objective or central question?
The author aims to evaluate existing perspectives on conversation to show that they often overlook the structural mechanisms participants use to maintain conversation as a "social structure."
Which scientific methods are analyzed in the work?
The text reviews methods such as structured interviews, observational studies, and ethnographic approaches, noting their reliance on external variables rather than the inherent structure of talk.
What topics are covered in the main body of the text?
The main body examines the sociological view of interaction rituals, the social psychological focus on power and control in discourse, and the sociolinguistic interest in how speech reflects socio-cultural values.
Which terms best characterize this work?
Key concepts include social interaction, sociolinguistics, conversational management, structural analysis, and the sociology of language.
How does the author interpret Erving Goffman’s contribution?
The author views Goffman’s work as a framework for understanding social interaction as a "face-preserving activity" governed by general rules and a "chain of ceremony" between participants.
What does the text imply by the "observer paradox" mentioned in relation to Wilson?
It highlights the problematic nature of data collection, noting the distinction between topics introduced in a structured interview versus those that arise naturally in ordinary, unconstrained conversation.
- Citar trabajo
- Nor-eddine Bourima (Autor), 2012, Language and social interaction, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/322103
