Libby: I work in a hairdressers (.) and um (.) I answer the phones (.) do the tills and stuff
Louise: what stuff
Libby: like answer the phones (.) like makes sure when people come in give them enough time for the hairdresser (.) to do their hair (2) has to be good quality and cant have four people come in at once (.) I um (.) wash (.) hair aswell (.) gotta makes sure you got the right shampoo (2) and um (.) yeah (.) great
Libby used the most air time in this transcript as the topic of conversation was jobs and she was the only person who has one so she can talk about it. Although she is the main speaker she seems confident in what she is saying and gives a lot of examples and roles that she does within her job. Throughout the transcript she uses a lot of filler such as 'um'. This tells us that she is thinking on what else to say next or reassure other people in the conversation the responsibilities of a job. As well as fillers she also uses hedges such as like. This could be down to being embarrassed from recording as people don't like the pressure (especially if they are the only one talking). It also means she wouldn't be the powerful speaker as they are usually confident and direct however if you are embarrassed your not.
My part in the transcript was very short as I don't have a job and didn't have much to say. At the start however I interrupted Libby by saying 'what stuff?' so she could elaborate her responsibilities to us.
I hold power to her as I wanted to find out more about her job however there wasn't much power as I was generally talking to her like a friend/classmate.
The fillers are interesting ("like" is a filler here rather than a hedge) and I liked that you talked about them as 'reassuring' devices as well as time to think and perhaps as an indicator of embarrassment, showing that they could be being used for a range of purposes.
ReplyDeleteYour interrogative does help her to develop her answer and create latched talk, showing Schegloff's listener readiness. Was it an interruption?