Interactional Sociolinguistics

Activities

Week 8

Fieldwork (include this in your field journal)

Record and transcribe a short segment (around twenty lines) from a television drama, talk show or entertainment show in which two or more people are having a argument, dispute or debate. Analyze the segments, discussing how the people try to position themselves and the other people in the conversation, what kinds of 'storylines' these positions are related to, and how the positions and sorylines affect the 'force' of what is being said.

Reflection (include this in your field journal)

Reflect on a time when someone was trying to position you in a way that you did not want to be positioned and discuss if and how you resisted this positioning.