Small Talk
Author | : Justine Coupland |
Publisher | : Routledge |
Total Pages | : 336 |
Release | : 2014-06-11 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781317876533 |
ISBN-13 | : 1317876539 |
Rating | : 4/5 (33 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: This study presents a new perspective on small talk and its crucial role in everyday communication. The new approach presented here is supported by analyses of interactional data in specific settings - private and public, face-to-face and telephone talk. They vary from gossip at the family dinner table and intimate 'keeping in touch' phone conversations, to interpersonally-focused talk in institutional settings, such as the government office and the university research seminar. Drawing on a range of methodological approaches, including Discourse Analysis and Pragmatics, Interpersonal Communication and Conversation Analysis, the author elevates small talk to a new status, as functionally multifaceted, but central to social interaction as a whole.