9. Television dialogue and natural conversation: Linguistic similarities and functional differences
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Paulo Quaglio
Abstract
Motivated by ESL (English as a Second Language) concerns, this study compares the language of a U.S. situation comedy, Friends, with natural conversation. A corpus of transcripts of the television show and the American conversation subcorpus of the Longman Grammar Corpus are used for analysis. This data-driven investigation combines multidimensional (MD) methodology (Biber 1988) with a frequency-based analysis of a large number of linguistic features associated with the typical characteristics of face-to-face conversation. The results of the MD analysis indicate that Friends shares the core linguistic characteristics of face-to-face conversation, thus constituting a fairly accurate representation of natural conversation for ESL purposes. However, a closer look at the linguistic features revealed interesting functional differences between the two corpora. These differences pointed to distinct functional patterns (e.g., vagueness, emotional language) suggested by the association of linguistic features sharing similar discourse functions.
Abstract
Motivated by ESL (English as a Second Language) concerns, this study compares the language of a U.S. situation comedy, Friends, with natural conversation. A corpus of transcripts of the television show and the American conversation subcorpus of the Longman Grammar Corpus are used for analysis. This data-driven investigation combines multidimensional (MD) methodology (Biber 1988) with a frequency-based analysis of a large number of linguistic features associated with the typical characteristics of face-to-face conversation. The results of the MD analysis indicate that Friends shares the core linguistic characteristics of face-to-face conversation, thus constituting a fairly accurate representation of natural conversation for ESL purposes. However, a closer look at the linguistic features revealed interesting functional differences between the two corpora. These differences pointed to distinct functional patterns (e.g., vagueness, emotional language) suggested by the association of linguistic features sharing similar discourse functions.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- 1. The challenges of different settings: An overview 1
-
Section I. Exploring discourse in academic settings
- 2. '…post-colonialism, multi-culturalism, structuralism, feminism, post-modernism and so on and so forth' : A comparative analysis of vague category markers in academic discourse 9
- 3. Emphatics in academic discourse: Integrating corpus and discourse tools in the study of cross-disciplinary variation 31
- 4. Interaction, identity and culture in academic writing: The case of German, British and American academics in the humanities 57
-
Section II. Exploring discourse in workplace settings
- 5 . 'Got a date or something?': A corpus analysis of the role of humour and laughter in the workplace meetings of English language teachers 95
- 6. Determining discourse-based moves in professional reports 117
- 7. // --> ONE country two SYStems //: The discourse intonation patterns of word associations 135
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Section III. Exploring discourse in news and entertainment
- 8. Who's speaking?: Evidentiality in US newspapers during the 2004 presidential campaign 157
- 9. Television dialogue and natural conversation: Linguistic similarities and functional differences 189
- 10. A corpus approach to discursive construction of hip-hop identity 211
-
Section IV. Exploring discourse through specific linguistic features
- 11. The use of the it-cleft construction in 19th-century English 243
- 12. Place and time adverbials in native and non-native English student writing 267
- Author index 289
- Corpus and tools index 291
- Subject index 293
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- 1. The challenges of different settings: An overview 1
-
Section I. Exploring discourse in academic settings
- 2. '…post-colonialism, multi-culturalism, structuralism, feminism, post-modernism and so on and so forth' : A comparative analysis of vague category markers in academic discourse 9
- 3. Emphatics in academic discourse: Integrating corpus and discourse tools in the study of cross-disciplinary variation 31
- 4. Interaction, identity and culture in academic writing: The case of German, British and American academics in the humanities 57
-
Section II. Exploring discourse in workplace settings
- 5 . 'Got a date or something?': A corpus analysis of the role of humour and laughter in the workplace meetings of English language teachers 95
- 6. Determining discourse-based moves in professional reports 117
- 7. // --> ONE country two SYStems //: The discourse intonation patterns of word associations 135
-
Section III. Exploring discourse in news and entertainment
- 8. Who's speaking?: Evidentiality in US newspapers during the 2004 presidential campaign 157
- 9. Television dialogue and natural conversation: Linguistic similarities and functional differences 189
- 10. A corpus approach to discursive construction of hip-hop identity 211
-
Section IV. Exploring discourse through specific linguistic features
- 11. The use of the it-cleft construction in 19th-century English 243
- 12. Place and time adverbials in native and non-native English student writing 267
- Author index 289
- Corpus and tools index 291
- Subject index 293
