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This dissertation is an empirical study on how people refer to themselves, their recipients, and others in everyday Korean conversation. Person reference is a domain of conversation where we observe an essential aspect of human sociality as it is a vehicle through which we indicate our relationships with each other and perform a myriad of other social actions. As person reference is done using a distinct set of linguistic resources available in each language, it is also an important site of cross-linguistic research. Despite its potential to offer insight into how language, culture, and social interaction intersect, research on person reference in languages other than English has been sporadic. This study aims to contribute to the literature by investigating how various referential expressions are used to accomplish social actions, such as assessing, challenging, or persuading, in Korean. The study employs the analytic framework of conversation analysis (CA) to analyze approximately 15 hours of video-recorded data, 50 hours of telephone conversations, and a few instances of text messages. My findings show that various marked referring expressions for speaker, recipient, and others are used to accomplish diverse social actions in Korean. First, marked first-person expressions are used to launch a new topically-fitted telling, present others’ perspectives in the environment of advancing a position, and resist the terms of a question. Second, overt reference to recipient is used to mark newsworthiness of speculation made about the recipient and to challenge the recipient’s entitlement claimed in a prior utterance. Finally, switching between unmarked referential form for non-present others and marked quasi-pronouns (QPs) occurs when a telling about the referent transitions between reporting and assessing of action or state. The findings of this study not only contribute to the literature of person reference in social interaction but also benefit practitioners in Korean as a Second or Foreign Language (KSL/KFL) by offering a useful description of how various referential forms in Korean can be employed to achieve a speaker’s interactional agenda.

The primary purpose of this study was to explore conversational repair strategies employed by elementary level ESL students in their classroom. This study investigated repair strategies that were employed by ESL students and determined if there were differences in the usage of repair strategies by class types and grade levels. This study examined how elementary ESL students’ repair strategies dealt with communication breakdown in their ESL classroom from a conversation analysis perspective. The data were collected from five participants who were in two different types of ESL classes: (1) instruction centered class; and (2) language related game-playing class. In order to investigate the variable of grade levels, first and second grade students’ ESL class and third and fourth grade students’ tutoring class were chosen. Twenty-four class hours were observed with a video camera. The data were transcribed following the transcription conventions of conversation analysis. The results derived from the study were following; 1. In this study the elementary ESL students used nine types of repair strategies. They were: 1) unspecified, 2) interrogatives, 3) (partial) repeat, 4) partial repeat plus question word, 5) understanding check, 6) requests for repetition, 7) request for definition, translation or explanation, 8) correction, and 9) nonverbal strategies. The elementary ESL students used understanding check and partial repeat more frequently. 2. The findings indicated that both class types and grade levels influenced the types and distribution of the students’ repair strategies. 3. Instruction class produced more amounts of conversational repair than game-playing class. However, in both types of classes, first/second grade students employed understanding check the most frequently, and third/fourth grade students partial repeat the most. 4. In the first/second grade students’ repair practices, understanding check was observed in the teacher’s direction. In the third/fourth grade students’ repair practices, however, understanding check was observed in the content of instruction. Request for repetition and request definition, translation, or explanation were not observed in the first/second grade students’ class but used in the third/fourth grade students’ class. 5. Students’ decisions on the types and frequency of their repair strategies were influenced by their familiarity with the native speakers.

The primary purpose of this study was to explore conversational repair strategies employed by elementary level ESL students in their classroom. This study investigated repair strategies that were employed by ESL students and determined if there were differences in the usage of repair strategies by class types and grade levels. This study examined how elementary ESL students’ repair strategies dealt with communication breakdown in their ESL classroom from a conversation analysis perspective. The data were collected from five participants who were in two different types of ESL classes: (1) instruction centered class; and (2) language related game-playing class. In order to investigate the variable of grade levels, first and second grade students’ ESL class and third and fourth grade students’ tutoring class were chosen. Twenty-four class hours were observed with a video camera. The data were transcribed following the transcription conventions of conversation analysis. The results derived from the study were following; 1. In this study the elementary ESL students used nine types of repair strategies. They were: 1) unspecified, 2) interrogatives, 3) (partial) repeat, 4) partial repeat plus question word, 5) understanding check, 6) requests for repetition, 7) request for definition, translation or explanation, 8) correction, and 9) nonverbal strategies. The elementary ESL students used understanding check and partial repeat more frequently. 2. The findings indicated that both class types and grade levels influenced the types and distribution of the students’ repair strategies. 3. Instruction class produced more amounts of conversational repair than game-playing class. However, in both types of classes, first/second grade students employed understanding check the most frequently, and third/fourth grade students partial repeat the most. 4. In the first/second grade students’ repair practices, understanding check was observed in the teacher’s direction. In the third/fourth grade students’ repair practices, however, understanding check was observed in the content of instruction. Request for repetition and request definition, translation, or explanation were not observed in the first/second grade students’ class but used in the third/fourth grade students’ class. 5. Students’ decisions on the types and frequency of their repair strategies were influenced by their familiarity with the native speakers.

This dissertation is about “getting to know you” conversation, a form of conversation prevalent in everyday interactions. It has been defined (Garner 2004: 181) as an interaction in which participants, usually of equal social status, make initial contact and establish friendly relations, and in which they are largely concerned with finding neutral topics through which they can establish common ground—shared experiences, opinions, interests, and the like. This doctoral research was based on extensive recordings and transcription of such conversations in English between university students (both native with native and native with non-native speakers), in a relatively naturalistic setting. The analysis was conducted in two steps. The first step was to identify and describe the recurrent patterns of the data, through well-established methods of Conversation Analysis. The second was to classify identified structures within a pragmatic framework: in other words, to label utterances and sequences according to their functional properties, and to specify their roles in building relationships between the interactants. Three major sequences were identified and discussed in detail in terms of their forms, functions and distributions in a “getting to know you” conversation. Differences in usage and pragmatic effectiveness between native and non-native speakers were also identified. The research makes a new contribution to the relatively small but growing body of work in the field of conversational pragmatics. The findings of this PhD work can, and it is hoped will be, made available for EFL classroom use in China. Drawing on the present study, a potential model is proposed for an instructional unit on sequences in GTKY conversations. The suggested approach would result in a change to the typical roles of teacher and textbooks currently occurring in Chinese education, which is outlined at the end of this dissertation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 190-196).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Duquesne University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 156-169) and index.

This thesis utilises Discourse Analysis to explore argumentation as a discursive tool in the construction of social life. Focusing upon family argumentation, an indepth empirical analysis is performed upon the single case study of the researcher's own family. Discourse Analysis has traditionally assumed that argumentation is generally avoided by speakers. In this thesis, the enthusiastic, creative, and sociable pursuit of argument is highlighted. Disagreement and argument are seen to initiate topics and topic change and to impassion interaction. Furthermore, sociable argument is celebrated for its conflict-handling abilities.