Conversational Analysis

The conversation is set out as a statement, with person A clearly being a policeman and person B being an eye-witness. It is obvious that Person A is a policeman because of the use of interrogatives (this makes him appear authoritative) and Person B is responding to the tag questions. The policeman uses formal lexis (high register) which also contributes to his authoritative nature whereas the witness responds with everyday lexis. There is a standout use of taboo/colloquial language with his response too; there is an instance where he says ‘bloody great crash’. This low register juxtaposes with the high register used by the policeman and furthermore, the response to tag questions helps guide turn taking and emphasises the use of transactional language. The entire purpose of the conversation is based upon transactional language – the policeman needs to find out information and is doing so by using plenty of interrogatives.

Non-fluency features are common in the responses Person B is giving. There is evident use of pauses, where the witness may be thinking and/or nervous and there is use of an ‘er.’ It interrupts the flow of talk as Speaker B is considering what he is saying before he speaks. The use of adjacency pairs (question and answer) also helps with the structure of the conversation; the policeman asks the questions and this sets up the witness to respond. It is evident that the policeman has entire authority throughout the conversation because he has the ability to change the direction of the conversation. We may also get a sense that the witness isn’t particularly intelligent as he uses incorrect grammar: ‘them shops’ when it should be ‘those shops’. Something as subtle as this can allow the policeman to make assumptions of the eye witness. There is also a weakened force by the use of hedging: ‘he must have had it’; there is a sense of uncertainty which in turn alters his manner. It makes the reply seem vaguer and the policeman may doubt what he is saying. The interrogatives also have second person pronouns: ‘you’ which shows the importance of the transactional language – the policeman cannot find out what has gone on without the witness giving any information he knows.