Doing conversation analysis in Mandarin Chinese

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruey-Jiuan Regina Wu
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Analytic Process ◽  
Chinese Scholars

This article aims to introduce Conversation Analytic (CA) methods to the community of Chinese scholars, and especially to linguists who work with Mandarin Chinese and are just beginning to adopt CA methods in their work. I believe doing CA requires not only an understanding of its terminology but also a working knowledge of CA methods. To this end, rather than simply explaining CA methods abstractly, I offer the reader a glimpse of the research process in action by presenting data and findings of my own research and then taking the reader step-by-step through the analytic process — from initial observations of a candidate phenomenon, through the process of making a collection of cases, and finally explaining criteria for establishing an empirically-grounded finding. Special focus is placed on the importance of detecting “participants’ orientations to action” and the more difficult process of finding evidence for the phenomenon from nonconforming specimens.

scholarly journals A Review of Qualitative Data Analysis Practices in Health Education and Health Behavior Research

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilana G. Raskind ◽  
Rachel C. Shelton ◽  
Dawn L. Comeau ◽  
Hannah L. F. Cooper ◽  
Derek M. Griffith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Analysis Data ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Common Coding ◽  
Education And Health ◽  
Analytic Process ◽  
Member Checks

Data analysis is one of the most important, yet least understood, stages of the qualitative research process. Through rigorous analysis, data can illuminate the complexity of human behavior, inform interventions, and give voice to people’s lived experiences. While significant progress has been made in advancing the rigor of qualitative analysis, the process often remains nebulous. To better understand how our field conducts and reports qualitative analysis, we reviewed qualitative articles published in Health Education & Behavior between 2000 and 2015. Two independent reviewers abstracted information in the following categories: data management software, coding approach, analytic approach, indicators of trustworthiness, and reflexivity. Of the 48 ( n = 48) articles identified, the majority ( n = 31) reported using qualitative software to manage data. Double-coding transcripts was the most common coding method ( n = 23); however, nearly one third of articles did not clearly describe the coding approach. Although the terminology used to describe the analytic process varied widely, we identified four overarching trajectories common to most articles ( n = 37). Trajectories differed in their use of inductive and deductive coding approaches, formal coding templates, and rounds or levels of coding. Trajectories culminated in the iterative review of coded data to identify emergent themes. Few articles explicitly discussed trustworthiness or reflexivity. Member checks ( n = 9), triangulation of methods ( n = 8), and peer debriefing ( n = 7) were the most common procedures. Variation in the type and depth of information provided poses challenges to assessing quality and enabling replication. Greater transparency and more intentional application of diverse analytic methods can advance the rigor and impact of qualitative research in our field.

Restrictiveness, exclusivity, adversativity, and mirativity

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Fang Wang ◽  
Mei-Chi Tsai ◽  
Wayne Schams ◽  
Chi-Ming Yang
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Discourse Marker ◽  
Spoken Discourse ◽  
Interactional Linguistics ◽  
English Only ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Turn Taking

Mandarin Chinese zhishi (similar to English ‘only’), comprised of the adverb zhi and the copula shi, can act as an adverb (ADV) or a discourse marker (DM). This study analyzes the role of zhishi in spoken discourse, based on the methodological and theoretical principles of interactional linguistics and conversation analysis. The corpus used in this study consists of three sets of data: 1) naturally-occurring daily conversations; 2) radio/TV interviews; and 3) TV panel discussions on current political affairs. As a whole, this study reveals that the notions of restrictiveness, exclusivity, and adversativity are closely associated with ADV zhishi and DM zhishi. In addition, the present data show that since zhishi is often used to express a ‘less than expected’ feeling, it can be used to indicate mirativity (i.e. language indicating that an utterance conveys the speaker’s surprise). The data also show that the distribution of zhishi as an adverb or discourse marker depends on turn taking systems and speech situations in spoken discourse. Specifically, the ADV zhishi tends to occur in radio/TV interviews and TV panel news discussions, while the DM zhishi occurs more often in casual conversations.

scholarly journals LITERACY WITHOUT BORDERS: THE FINE-GRAINED MINUTIAE OF SOCIAL INTERACTION THAT DO MATTER (ALSO IN PROMOTING HEALTH LITERACY)

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 330-352
Author(s):  
Ana Cristina Ostermann ◽  
Minéia Frezza ◽  
Roberto Perobelli
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Public Hospital ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Ultrasound Images ◽  
Fetal Ultrasound ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Risk Pregnancy

ABSTRACT This paper explores the fine-grained interactional minutiae involved in promoting health literacy in medical interactions. More specifically, it explores the multimodal interactional resources (verbal and nonverbal) that health professionals and lay participants mobilize in order to make sense of fetal ultrasound images. We adopt the ethnomethodological perspective of Multimodal Conversation Analysis (SACKS; SCHEGLOFF; JEFFERSON, 1974; GOODWIN, 1981; 2010; MONDADA, 2018) to investigate 10 audio and video interactions that were recorded during fetal ultrasound exams that took place at a moderate and high-risk pregnancy ward in a public hospital in Brazil. Our aim is to ‘make visible’ the multimodal ethnomethods that interactants employ in order to render ultrasound images intelligible ‘texts’. Among the various semiotic resources mobilized to achieve intersubjectivity in this complex setting, special focus is given to the healthcare professionals’ use of similes, and the fundamental importance of the temporality in which verbal and nonverbal resources are mobilized in the process of making images intelligible. In that sense, we hope to bring to this special thematic issue the methodological advantages that a Multimodal Conversation Analytic perspective can afford to the discussion about multiliteracies and, in practical terms, to the advancement of health literacy. In medical contexts, health literacy can (and perhaps should!) be a concern ‘at all points.’ There might be no ‘borders’ to what constitutes a health literacy source or resource. Our claims, thus, are the following: (i) ultrasound images do constitute materials to be ‘read’ and understood - also by lay participants; (ii) healthcare professionals can (and perhaps should) promote health literacy among patients by employing efforts to make images ‘readable’; and, finally, (iii) social interaction is one of the constitutive loci for the promotion of multiliteracy events.

A study of repeat-formatted repair initiations in Mandarin Chinese conversation

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-186
Author(s):  
Lihong Quan ◽  
Jinlong Ma
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Epistemic Stance ◽  
Research Findings

Abstract Using the methodology of Conversation Analysis (or CA), this study examines three types of other-initiated repair initiators (henceforth OIs) that repeats some element in the trouble-source (henceforth repeats) in Chinese conversation: repeats suffixed with question particles ma (吗), repeats suffixed with question particles a (啊), and question-intonated repeats. It attempts to explore the differences between these typical formats, in terms of their forms/functions and the epistemic stance of the speaker who initiates repair. The main research findings indicate that question-intonated repeat implements an understanding check while repeat suffixed with question particles (ma or a) tends to serve different functions, in that, ma-suffixed repeat is inquiry-implicated while a-suffixed repeat contributes to constructing surprise, (dis)agreement or (dis)belief.

Emotions, Experience, and Identities in L2 Narrative Research

2017 ◽  
pp. 214-233
Author(s):  
Masuko Miyahara
Keyword(s):  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Analysis Model ◽  
Learner Identity ◽  
Context Sensitive ◽  
Methodological Choices ◽  
Balanced Approach ◽  
Narrative Studies ◽  
Analytic Process ◽  
Researcher Identity

The main purpose of this study is to propose a more balanced approach in the conceptualizing of identity in the poststructuralist paradigm. Using gathered data, the study also offered a unique perspective on the intricate interplay in which learner identity and researcher identity are negotiated. A narrative analysis model is presented to offer transparency to the analytic process in narrative studies, and calls for a reflexive approach that is context-sensitive to the co-construction of interview interaction between the participant and the researcher. The use of ‘reflexive notes' at various stages of the research process is shown as a forceful vehicle that allows researchers to make explicit their assumptions, and evaluate how it shapes the interview interaction. In addition to the aim of the research, the study demonstrates how methodological choices, interests, subjectivities, and identities are intricately intertwined to influence the entire research process.

scholarly journals The Pragmatics of Emotions in Interlinguistic Healthcare Settings

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Farini
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Healthcare Provider ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Emotional Expressions ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Healthcare Settings ◽  
Medical Terms ◽  
Intercultural Pragmatics

Data-based studies on interlinguistic medical interaction show that frequently migrant patients encounter difficulties in expressing their emotions and concerns. Such difficulties are not always overcome through the intervention of an interpreter, as emotional expressions tend to “get missed” in translations which focus on problems and treatments in medical terms. The main question addressed here is: what types of interpreters’ actions cut out, or make relevant, migrant patients’ emotions? Our data is based on a corpus of 300 interlinguistic medical interactions in Arabic, Mandarin Chinese and Italian in two public hospitals in Italy. The conversations involve one Italian healthcare provider, an interpreter and a migrant patient. The corpus is analyzed drawing upon Conversation Analysis, studies on Dialogue Interpreting and Intercultural Pragmatics.

Nonverbal aspects of turn taking in Mandarin Chinese interaction

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Yang
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Interpersonal Communication ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Video Data ◽  
Nonverbal Cues ◽  
Chinese Universities ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
Turn Taking

This paper examines the nonverbal aspects of turn taking system in Mandarin Chinese talk-in-interaction. Based on the audio and video data collected from real conversational settings in Chinese universities, this project uses conversation analysis (CA) theory to analyze how university-educated Mandarin Chinese speakers utilize various nonverbal resources with reference to turn yielding, turn up-taking and turn maintaining strategies to achieve effective interpersonal communication . The research results show that the current speaking party (SP) and listening party (LP) use nonverbal tokens such as hand drop in yielding turns, gaze and touch in taking up turns, and non-gaze, thinking face and finger count in maintaining turns. Understanding of these nonverbal cues employed can help prospective intercultural communicators interact with Mandarin Chinese speakers more effectively and successfully.

scholarly journals Denying, Qualifying, or Diverting with “meishier” in Open-Class Repair in Mandarin Chinese Talk

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. p1
Author(s):  
Quanxi HAO
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Profound Knowledge ◽  
Repair Procedure ◽  
Open Class

When engaging in a conversation, interact ants frequently encounter problems of hearing, speaking and understanding. Under such circumstances repair is usually resorted to ensure the progressivity of the talk. With the methodology of Conversation Analysis, one specific repair procedure has been investigated in this paper which is open-class repair initiated by the recipient with “huh?” or “what?” followed by the speaker denying the existence of the previous action, qualifying or diverting the previous action in the trouble source turn (the turn with the problem) with “meishier”. And in these three situations “meishier” can be probably translated respectively into “nothing”, “nothing serious” and “I’m ok”. Therefore, this research would provide a profound knowledge about the actions conducted by “meishier” as well as a specific guidance to the translation of “meishier” into English.

Inference-embedded yes/no interrogatives in Mandarin Chinese conversation

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Guo ◽  
Yaxin Wu
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Epistemic Stance ◽  
State Of Affairs

In talk-in-interaction, the details of the design of a yes/no interrogative (YNI) index the speaker’s epistemic stance about the issue in question. Adopting conversation analysis as the research method, the present study examines the interactional deployment of inference-embedded YNIs in Mandarin Chinese. The analysis of the turn designs and sequential environments of these interrogatives, as well as the design of the responses to them, indicates that a sequence organisation is engendered in and through the production of inference-embedded YNIs. Since the recipient has epistemic primacy over what is questioned, the questioner’s inference embedded in YNIs may be congruent or incongruent with the recipient’s own state of affairs. In this respect, the questioner’ s inference may be right or wrong. If the recipient finds that the inference is wrong, he or she has the responsibility to execute correction of the questioner’s wrong inference. Indeed, the recipient does display his/her treatment of the inference as wrong through correction. It is through such reflexive connection between the production (action formation) and the interpretation (action ascription) of the YNI that the inference-embedded YNI is treated as a practice for projecting a correction of what is inferred to the question recipient.

analysis of Mandarin Chinese final particle ba in dispreferred responses

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-261
Author(s):  
Jun Xu
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Final Particle ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Close Relationship

In Mandarin Chinese conversation, the final particle ba is considered to performvariousfunctions. Using conversation analysis, this article examines the use of thefinal particle ba in dispreferred responses. It is argued that the particle ba is usedto mitigate negative valence with delays, alternative choices, accounts, and pro-formaagreement as well as other linguistic features in disagreements and decliningsuggestions or invitations. Also, the results reveal a close relationship between theparticle ba functioning as a mitigator or displaying a speaker's uncertainty in socialactions as well as sequential positions.

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