CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF CONVERSATION: UNDERSTANDING JAPANESE CULTURE AS REVEALED THROUGH CONVERSATION ANALYSIS

Dr. Erica ZimmermanLanguages and Cultures DepartmentUnited States Naval Academy

BACKGROUND Trained in the use of Conversation Analysis

techniques for uncovering how language works. Research focus

Non-native speakers of Japanese Construction of identity in talk

Past research projects Identity construction in conversations between Korean

learners of Japanese and native speakers of Japanese Classroom interactions of non-native speakers of

Japanese

WHAT IS A CONVERSATION?

Talk is: Sequentially ordered (methodic, not random) Two or more interlocutors take turns Repair occurs (false starts, requests for

clarification) Overlap occurs Backchanneling occurs Has a purpose (greetings, request for

something, small talk, gossip, tell a story, request information).

WHAT IS CONVERSATION ANALYSIS? The examination of talk-in-interaction (naturally

occurring data) Data

Audio and Video recorded interactions Production of very detailed transcripts of

interactions Methodology

Systematic micro-analysis of transcripts for patterns No prior assumptions are made before examining

the data.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF CA Political speeches (presidential

debates) Institutional talk (Classrooms,

businesses) Medical profession (doctor-patient,

Aphasia patients) Goodwin (2003): Accomplishment of

meaning in Aphasia Limited vocabulary (three words: yes, no, and) Use of gestures

HOW DOES CONVERSATION ANALYSIS WORK?

Segment 1: (Sacks 1992, Spring 1978, p. 757)

A: I have a fourteen year old son. B: Well that’s alright. A: I also have a dog. B: Oh, I’m sorry.

WHAT HAPPENS IN THIS EXAMPLE? Giving a statement followed by an

evaluation: Approval An apology

Overall context: Landlord and potential tenant

HOW IS CULTURALLY CONTEXTED CONVERSATION ANALYSIS APPROACHED?

Moerman (1988) was the first to propose Culturally Contexted Conversation Analysis, a hybrid of CA and ethnography that provides a more contextualized analysis of talk-in-interaction

Showed how context was sometimes necessary for conducting analysis

CULTURALLY CONTEXTED CONVERSATION ANALYSIS APPROACH TO FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Examine the interactional practices of the participants and how this relates to the wider context

Examples of this type of study are Thai: Bilmes (1992, 1995, 1996) German: Kasper (2004) Japanese: Mori (2003), Saft (2000),

Zimmerman (2004)

HOW IS THIS ACCOMPLISHED? Analysis works line by line to examining

the sequential organization of talk (i.e. what the participants are doing)

Analysis looks at how the grammatical structure and context reflect cultural values (i.e. how the participants index culture in talk)

JAPANESE DATA BACKGROUND Boss (Japanese participant)/employee

(Korean participant) on a break. Korean participant: Highly proficient

speaker of Japanese The two participants work at a bar

(Nomiya) in the sake division (alcohol division)

One segment taken from five recordings made between these two participants.

SUMMARY OF JAPANESE SEGMENT OF TALK

Boss tells a story about his experience at Korean Funeral. This story tells about the first time he was surprised by Korean culture

He describes the differences Korean Funeral: Lively, drinking, dancing, like a

wedding Japanese Funeral: quiet, burn incense,

Employee does not challenge characterization. Employee states their cultures are different.

APPROACHING THE DATA Two approaches to examine culture in this

example Content of talk

Talk about culture (differences between Japanese and Korean funerals)

Sequential ordering and structure of talk Backchanneling and overlap in my data (Ikeda, 2004) Enacting cultural frames of reference (identity

construction) Boss/employee relationship indexed through use of

desu/masu

SOUND FILE AND TRANSCRIPT FOR SKH MD5 TRACK1

Microsoft Office Word 97 - 2003 Document

WHAT HAPPENS THROUGH THIS TELLING?

Explores culture (Korean and Japanese) through conversational activity of storytelling

Shows comparisons about culture (negative impressions, unresolved issues (our cultures are different))

Shows relationship boss/employee without stating this relationship with titles

WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW THE LANGUAGE IN ORDER TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THE CULTURE?

The way people think is embedded in their language

How they see the world is found in how their language is formulated Funeral example: manners are viewed

differently as seen through the eyes of the boss Japanese: quiet and solemn Korean: lively and boisterous.

Construction of boss/employee relationship is found in the grammatical structure of Japanese

CONCLUSIONS Need to examine not just the content (the

what) but also the construction or formulation of language (the how) for cultural differences.

How can you begin the process of learning about the language and culture of a people? Study a language Actively look for cultural differences in language Listen and watch for verbal and non-verbal

language behaviors different from your own

REFERENCES Bilmes, J. (1992). Dividing the rice: A microanalysis of the mediator's role in a Northern Thai

negotiation. Language and Society, 21, 569-602. Bilmes, J. (1995). Dividing the rice II: Achieving agreement. The 21st Annual Meeting of the

Berkeley Linguistics Society: Special Session on Discourse in Southeast Asian Languages, 16-32.

Bilmes, J. (1996). Problems and resources in analyzing Northern Thai conversation for English language readers. Journal of Pragmatics, 26, 171-188.

Goodwin, C. (2002). Conversational Frameworks for the Accomplishment of Meaning in Aphasia. In C. Goodwin (Ed) Conversation and Brain Damage. Oxford University Press.

Hutchby , I. & R. Wooffitt. (1998) Conversation Analysis: Principles, Practices and Applications. Polity Press.

Kasper, G. (2004a). Participant orientations in German conversation-for-learning. Modern Language Journal, 88(4), 551-567.

Moerman, M. (1988). Talking culture: Ethnography and Conversation Analysis. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Mori, J. (2003). The construction of interculturality: A study of initial encounters between Japanese and American students. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 36(2), 143-184.

Sacks, H. (1992). Lectures on Conversation, Vols. 1 & 2. G. Jefferson (Ed.). Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Saft, S. (2000a). Arguing in the institution: Context, culture, and conversation analysis in a set of Japanese university faculty meetings. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Hawai‛i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI.

Moerman, M. (1988). Talking culture: Ethnography and Conversation Analysis. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

ten Have, P. (1999). Doing Conversation Analysis: A Practical Guide. London; Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.

Zimmerman, E. (2004). What’s in a name? Revealing social identity. In C. Dijkum, J. Blasius, & C. Durand (Eds.) Recent Developments and Applications in Social Research Methodology: Proceedings of the RC33 Sixth International Conference on Social Science Methodology. Amsterdam: Barbara Budrich Publishers.

TRANSCRIPT ANALYSIS Aizuchi or backchanneling in Japanese

is a common feature of talk. Let’s look at some types of Aizuchi.

Now let’s listen to and look at transcript for these responses!

Microsoft Office Word 97 - 2003 Document

Microsoft Office Word 97 - 2003 Document