Backchannels in video-mediated ELF conversations: a case study
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Francisco Javier Fernández Polo
Francisco Javier Fernández Polo is a Tenured Lecturer in English at the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), where he teaches translation, oral communication skills and English for academic purposes. He has a background in translation studies and applied linguistics. His latest research focuses on English as a lingua franca of academia, with a special interest in the analysis of spoken interactions and computer-mediated communication in general.
Abstract
There are few studies on backchannels in ELF and none concerns computer-mediated conversations. Backchannelling has been associated with good listenership and enhanced cooperativeness, an intrinsic feature of ELF. They would also play a key role in computer-mediated communication, maintaining a sense of affective equilibrium among participants and compensating for medium-related limitations. We analyze backchanneling in an ELF conversation between a Spanish female and a German male student from the Corpus of Video-Mediated English as a Lingua Franca Conversations (ViMELF). Backchanneling seems to be particularly intense in the opening and closing sections of the exchange, where interpersonal work is the most needed. While significant idiolectal differences are observed between the two participants, both show a marked preference for and a tendency to concentrate realizations on a few weak backchanneling forms, conferring the exchange a general impression of monotony and emotional flatness. Some backchanneling features in the exchange may be described as typical of ELF: backchannels tend to occur in moments when speakers sense that understanding may be compromised and are frequently complemented by supportive material reinforcing the speaker’s point. The analysis also reveals some characteristic awkward usage, with tokens which are clearly “overdone,” while others are too weak and disappointing or behave disruptively by occurring in unexpected positions and interrupting the flow of the conversation. Research on ELF video conversations is particularly timely given the recent surge in videoconferencing propitiated by the COVID pandemic, a tendency which is likely to stay in post-pandemic times.
Resumen
Son pocos los estudios que existen sobre el uso de los llamados backchannels o turnos de apoyo en inglés como lengua franca (ILF) y ninguno sobre su uso en contextos de comunicación por ordenador. El backchanneling se suele asociar con una actitud constructiva y cooperativa por parte del oyente en la conversación, un rasgo inherente al inglés como lengua franca. También es un rasgo común en la comunicación por ordenador, donde contribuye a mantener el equilibrio afectivo entre los participantes y a compensar las limitaciones del medio. En este estudio, analizamos la naturaleza de estos turnos de apoyo en una conversación entre dos estudiantes, una española y un alemán, extraída del Corpus of Video-Mediated English as a Lingua Franca Conversations (ViMELF). Los turnos de apoyo son especialmente frecuentes en las secciones inicial y final del evento, donde más se precisa el trabajo interpersonal. Si bien se observan diferencias idiolectales entre los dos participantes, ambos muestran una marcada preferencia por expresiones débiles que repiten una y otra vez, lo que confiere a la conversación un aire de monotonía y falta de emoción. Algunos de los rasgos observados podrían ser característicos de los backchannels en ILF: tienden a aparecer en contextos donde el hablante manifiesta dudas sobre la calidad del mensaje y suelen ir acompañados de material de apoyo adicional con el que se refuerza la intención comunicativa del hablante. El análisis también revela algunos usos problemáticos, incluyendo formas que resultan demasiado fuertes o débiles en su contexto de aparición, o bien interrumpen el fluir natural de la conversación. El estudio de las videoconferencias en inglés como lengua franca reviste un especial interés en estos momentos, dado el espectacular aumento de este tipo de intercambios propiciado por la COVID-19, una tendencia destinada a perdurar tras la pandemia.
Funding source: The Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and UniversitiesXunta de Galicia
Award Identifier / Grant number: PGC2018-093622-B-I00
Award Identifier / Grant number: ED431B2021/02
About the author
Francisco Javier Fernández Polo is a Tenured Lecturer in English at the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), where he teaches translation, oral communication skills and English for academic purposes. He has a background in translation studies and applied linguistics. His latest research focuses on English as a lingua franca of academia, with a special interest in the analysis of spoken interactions and computer-mediated communication in general.
Acknowledgments
The research reported in this article was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (grant PGC2018-093622-B-I00) and the Xunta de Galicia (grant ED431B2021/02). These grants are hereby gratefully acknowledged.
Appendix CASE transcription conventions[7]
| word. | Falling tone |
| word? | Rising tone |
| word, | Continuing intonation |
| wo- | Cut-off |
| CAPS | Heavy stress, loudness |
| °words° | Spoken more softly |
| …/…/(x.x) | Pause: < 0.5 seconds/> 0.5 seconds, timed (in seconds) |
| wo: | Lengthening |
| <words> | Spoken more slowly |
| >words< | Spoken more quickly |
| [words] | Overlap |
| = | Latching (between different speakers) |
| .h | Inhalation |
| h | Exhalation |
| .t | Alveolar suction click |
| (words) | Transcription uncertain (with interpretation) |
| ((words)) | Aspects of the utterance, e.g., incomprehensible whispers, coughing, laughter |
| ((c/ɜ:/rse)) | Phonemic transcription |
| {words} | Nonverbal behavior, e.g., gestures, movements and looks |
| h_yeah | Liaison |
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© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- The influence of context on language alternation practices in English as a lingua franca
- English as an Academic Lingua Franca: discourse hybridity and meaning multiplicity in an international Anglophone HE institution
- The perceptions of translanguaging through English as a lingua franca among international students in Korean higher education
- Normativity in language teacher learning: ELF and the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL)
- Backchannels in video-mediated ELF conversations: a case study
- Examining authenticity from an ELF perspective: the development of listening test papers in Hong Kong (1986–2018)
- Book Reviews
- Hopkyns, Sarah: The Impact of Global English on Cultural Identities in the United Arab Emirates: Wanted Not Welcome
- Illés, Éva: Understanding Context in Language Use and Teaching: An ELF Perspective
- Wang, Ying: Language ideologies in the Chinese context: Orientations to English as a Lingua Franca
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- The influence of context on language alternation practices in English as a lingua franca
- English as an Academic Lingua Franca: discourse hybridity and meaning multiplicity in an international Anglophone HE institution
- The perceptions of translanguaging through English as a lingua franca among international students in Korean higher education
- Normativity in language teacher learning: ELF and the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL)
- Backchannels in video-mediated ELF conversations: a case study
- Examining authenticity from an ELF perspective: the development of listening test papers in Hong Kong (1986–2018)
- Book Reviews
- Hopkyns, Sarah: The Impact of Global English on Cultural Identities in the United Arab Emirates: Wanted Not Welcome
- Illés, Éva: Understanding Context in Language Use and Teaching: An ELF Perspective
- Wang, Ying: Language ideologies in the Chinese context: Orientations to English as a Lingua Franca
