Spoken Speech Analysis

Person 1: when you saw him (.) I mean he was well made up /

Person 2: just thinking of Danny (.) innit

Person 1: yeah (.) that’s what I was gonna say she (.) he suddenly walked in and said are you ready and she said I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready and he comes in (.) he’s got this long wig his face is all made up (2) dress and well (.) it was hilarious cos he’s bald headed and he’s nothing to look at you know /

Person 2: yeah

Person 1: (laughs) and so Sandra said to me yesterday oh did you see that Friday she said wasn’t it funny (.) so she said I couldn’t handle it she said if (.) if Terry suddenly (laughs) said to me /

Person 2: (laughs)

Person 1: (laughs and continues sentence where she left off) I like dressing as a woman she said mind you he’d never be able to get his legs in my knickers (laughs, speaks louder)

Person 2: (laughs) she’s funny Sandra

Person 1: and we were in hysterics (3) when Danny said would she go in and see him /

Person 2: yeah and he’d dressed up

Person 1: and she said oh it was horrible (.) it was horrific but /

Person 2: you know who we’re talking about don’t you

Person 3: what

Person 2: well you wouldn’t say it (.) you know Amanda and Mel we had told you their Dad used to (.) cross dress /

Person 3: no way /

Person 2: he did seriously he asked Keeley’s mum to go in once and have a look at him dressed up seriously /

Person 1: he said would you come and see me dressed up /

Person 3: that’s so weird

Person 1: (laughing and continuing where left off) and see if you think it’s alright for me to go out like it

Analysis of spoken speech

The majority of the conversation is between my mum and nan, with my sister joining in later on. As the conversation is between family members, the register is low. There is clear use of elision on multiple instances which reinforces the sense of informality. Two examples are ‘gonna’ and ‘innit’. ‘Innit’ is a word commonly used by people in the younger generation, however the fact my mum used it conveys that it was probably said to save time. Liaison, along with elision is something else my nan used; she pronounced bald-headed as ‘bald-eded’ – this could’ve been used to avoid a hiatus between the words and helps the syllables to run together more smoothly. My nan appears to be speaking in a narrative tone in the beginning as she is talking for an extensive period. Two of Grice’s Maxims were put into practise here: quantity as she was giving an appropriate amount of detail and relevance as the topic was cross-dressing shown on the telly. Cross-dressing itself is mentioned, which could be considered a form dysphemistic language as it doesn’t attempt to disguise what could be considered a sensitive topic. Turn taking is not something greatly evident throughout the conversation as the members appear to bounce off of each other/interrupt where necessary; however having said this, it is clear my nan is the more dominant as she speaks quicker whilst trying to get across her points. It is also relevant to note that she speaks the most. She tends to speak in the same tone throughout the conversation however when she is about to laugh, intonation-wise, her voice gets more high-pitched. It is clear that my nan speaks rather quickly due to the lack of pauses; although there are pauses, for how much she speaks, you would expect there to be more.

Back challenging is used in particular by my mum. Whilst my nan is speaking, she often contributes a ‘yeah’ to the conversation to show that she is following what she is saying and that she is engaged. Non-fluency features, as expected, appear in the conversation. There is one instance where my nan is explaining what her friend was saying, and “she said” is mentioned three times. It interrupts the flow of talk however it doesn’t mean to say that she is not making herself clear as my mum laughs in response. Often my mum interrupts the flow of my nan speaking but having said this, these interruptions often show that she is an active listener because it is encouraging the speaker to continue with what they were saying. It is evident that my mum and nan are close to one another as my mum is allowing my nan to speak a great deal without the need for clear turn-taking between them; often when close to someone, in a conversation sometimes one person speaks for a long time whereas the other person chips in occasionally to show that they are engaged in what is being said.

Referential language is a huge feature throughout this conversation. My nan is providing my mum with information and in turn, she is additionally using expressive language as she is highlighting her attitudes and feelings, for example, she found something ‘hilarious’. Furthermore, the use of laughter in-between her speech shows that it is a particularly humorous topic. Towards the end of the conversation, my sister is included. Here is where turn taking is slightly more noted; for example, my mum uses the conversational marker: “you know who we’re talking about don’t you?” and this tag question encourages my sister to respond. Intonation is clearly used by my sister when she responds with ‘no way’ – her pitch gets higher which reflects a sense of shock. My nan’s dominance in the conversation is shown by the fact that she also interrupts when my mum is talking to finish what she was going to say. Although this conversation was unprepared, it supports the fact that there will always be someone/multiple people who dominate the conversation.