A study of preferred and dispreferred second turns used in the first episode of the film downton abbey

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FALCUTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES o0o - ĐINH THỊ THANH HUYỀN A STUDY OF PREFERRED AND DISPREFERRED SECOND TURNS USED IN THE FIRST EPISODE OF THE FILM “DOWNTON ABBEY” (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÂU ĐÁP ƯU TIÊN VÀ KHÔNG ƯU TIÊN TRONG TẬP PHIM “DOWNTON ABBEY”) Major: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Training Program: Type Supervisor: Assoc Prof Nguyễn Văn Trào, PhD HANOI – 2016 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis, entitled, “A study of preferred and dispreferred second turns used in the first episode of the film “Downton Abbey” and the work presented in it is my own and has been generated by me as the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts in English Linguistics at University of Languagues and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi I confirm that when I quoted from the work of others, the source was always given and no part of this work has been published before submission Signature: Date: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS During the period of completing this research, I have received great assistance and support from many people First and foremost, I owe my deepest debt of gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Nguyen Van Trao, PhD who has always encouraged me to pursue this study and been willing to give me clear and sighted guidance as well as valuable suggestions and corrections in the completion of this research Second, I wish to thank all of the lecturers, professors and doctors teaching at the Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies of ULIS for their lessons and support during my MA course I would also like to express my warmest thanks to my parents, my beloved sister, and my friend Ngo Thanh Huyen for their love, support and caring Finally, I am also grateful to all the authors whose books, newspapers and works have been referred to in this thesis The research paper could not have been fulfilled without them Hanoi, October, 2016 Dinh Thi Thanh Huyen ABSTRACT This study is carried out in an attempt to investigate the general patterns of preferred and dispreferred second turns as well as the common linguistic features indicating them in the first episode of the film Downton Abbey based on the theoretical frameworks of conversation analysis and preference structure The database comprises 108 conversations, in which 13 contain preferred second responses and 95 consist of dispreferreds Both quantitative and qualitative methods have been employed to seek answers to the research question The findings reported in the study can be summarized as follows Firstly, the mere four patterns of preferred seconds, namely assessment – agreement, invitation – acceptance, proposal – agreement and request – acceptance, can be found in the movie and the assessment – agreement pattern is the most common one Also, there are four linguistic elements signaling the preferreds, among which „saying „Yes‟ as answer‟ ranks the most Next is the appearance of all the five patterns, respectively assessment – disagreement, invitation – refusal, offer – decline, proposal – disagreement and request – refusal, in the examined dialogues including dispreferred second turns The „delay/hesitate‟ feature is the most widely used one Additionally, the data analysis figures out that there is a combination of using several linguistic units to indicate dispreferred second responses and some certain elements express the same-class lines TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES & FIGURES vii ABBREVIATIONS & CONVENTIONS viii PART – INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Aims of the study Research Questions Significance of the study Scope of the study Design of the study PART – DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 Film 1.2 Speech Acts 1.2.1 Definition 1.2.2 Typical types 1.3 Conversation analysis 1.3.1 Definition 1.3.2 Turn-taking 1.3.3 Adjacency pairs 1.4 Preference structure 10 1.4.1 Definition 10 1.4.2 General patterns of preference structure 10 1.4.3 Preferred second turns 12 1.4.4 Dispreferred second turns 13 1.5 Preferred and dispreferred second turn in Episode 1of the film Downton Abbey 15 1.6 Related prior works 16 CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY 18 2.1 Research Methods 18 2.1.1 Database 18 2.1.2 Research Methods 18 2.1.3 Research Procedures 19 2.2 Findings and Discussion 20 2.2.1 Overview of Preferreds and Dispreferreds 20 2.2.2 General patterns of Preferreds 21 2.2.3 Common linguistic features indicating Preferreds 22 2.2.4 General patterns of Dispreferreds 25 2.2.5 Common linguistic features indicating Dispreferreds 26 2.2.5.1 Common linguistic features 26 2.2.5.2 The ways six common linguistic features are used PART – CONCLUSION Recapitulation 1.1.General patterns of preferreds 1.2.Linguistic features associated with preferred 1.3.General patterns of dispreferreds 1.4.Linguistic features associated with disprefer Limitations of the study Implications for language teaching and learning Suggestions for further studies REFERENCES APPENDIX APPENDIX LIST OF TABLES & FIGURES Table – Correlation of content and format in Table – The general patterns of preferred an Table – Linguistic patterns signaling dispre Figure 1: Percentage of frequency distribution Figure 2: General patterns of preferred second turns Figure 3: Linguistic features indicating preferred second turns Figure 4: General patterns of dispreferred second turns Figure 5: Linguistic features indicating dispreferred second turns ABBREVIATIONS & CONVENTIONS SA Speech Act H Hearer S Speaker CA Conversation analysis Q Question A Answer EOG Earl of Grantham COG Countess of Grantham DCOG Dowager Countess of Grantham DOC Duke of Crowborough & And (.) pause in talk less than tenths of a second PART – INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study Downton Abbey is a period drama television series set and filmed in Britain and created and principally written by Julian Fellowes The series is set during the postEdwardian era (after Edward VII's death) and depicts how major historical events such as the sinking of the Royal Mail Ship Titanic, the First World War and the Spanish influenza pandemic affect the fictional estate of Downton Abbey in Yorkshire Six th series have been made so far, in which the one has recently been confirmed to be the final The first series of the seven episodes in Series was broadcast in the UK in 2010, exploring the lives of the Crawley family and their servants from the day after the sinking of the RMS Titanic in April 1912 to the outbreak of the First World War on th August 1914 The focus of the discussion is the first episode of Series One of the film Downton Abbey because it is the commencement of all events and shows the main features of the characters, notably their social status, attitude and personalities through conversations with others However, from a functional approach to analyze this work, little research based on pragmatic knowledge has been carried out Therefore, this study is intended to find out how Conversation Analysis (CA) can be applied to conversations in movies or drama to inform audiences‟ understanding of the interpersonal dynamics between characters through an investigation into a small aspect of CA – common patterns of preferred and dispreferred second turns and linguistic units used to signal them In short, the self-interest in the film series Downton Abbey, especially the first season, and the lack of attention to the link between English film works and preference Anna: There‟s alway place for a ma like you Mr Bates: Oh, yes Something‟ll up e Apology (2) f Mention obligation (1) [67‟] Robert, EOG You knew wh you were doin when you cam here You encouraged M all of us came thinking DOC: Forgive me, b came to expre my sympathie and my friendship, nothing more [70‟] George Murray: His special field is company law His mother is alive and he lives with her, his father obviously is not; he was a doctor Robert, EOG: I know It does seem odd that my third cousin should be a doctor g Appeal [71‟] for under- George Murray: standing Your father tied (9) the knots pretty tight; I‟d say it‟s unbreakable Robert, EOG: I see [72‟] Anna: Oh, he was Lord Grantham‟s batman when he was fighting the Boers Lady Mary: I know that, but even so [73‟] Lady Sybil: I know you‟re sad about Patrick Whatever you say, I know it Lady Mary: You‟re a darling But you see, I‟m not as sad as I should be [74‟] Robert, EOG: You know I don‟t care to talk about all that Cora, COG: Of course, I understand what it must be like to have fought alongside someone in war [75‟] Violet, DCOG: But to lose Cora‟s fortune! Robert EOG: Really, Mama, you know as well as I that Cora‟s fortune is not Cora‟s fortune anymore [76‟] Robert, EOG: I‟ll just take B and stay at a c I won‟t be mo than a day or Cora, COG: I see Are thin progressing [77‟] Robert, EOG And I was eag that this shoul work Mr Bates: You see it is unlikely that I should find another positi h Make it nonpersonal (2) [78‟] DOC: Whoever mar her will be a lucky man H will not, howe be me Robert, EOG I see [79‟] Robert, EOG If you‟re sayi you not wi to mourn Patr as a fiancé, th up to you Lady Mary: Well, no one knew about it outside the family [81‟] Man: I‟ll take it up there now Woman: Don‟t be stup None of them be up for hou and what difference wil make? i Give an account (18) [82‟] Robert, EOG It seems Jame and Patrick w on board Cora, COG: What? They c have been Th weren‟t going May [83‟] Miss O‟Brie Mr Crawley w his Lordship‟ cousin and he the title Gwen: Well, but I thought Lady Mary was the heir [84‟] Cora, COG: There‟s nothi we can abo the title Violet, DCOG No She can‟t have the title she can have money [85‟] Robert, EOG So, Murray, w have you to te me about the lucky Mr Crawley? Nothing too terrible, I hop George Murr I‟ve only mad few inquiries, no, there‟s, e much to alarm you [86‟] Lady Sybil: I know you‟re about Patrick Whatever you say, I know it Lady Mary: You‟re a darli But you see, I not as sad as should be [87‟] Mr Bates: You see it is unlikely that I should find another position Robert, EOG: But surely in a smaller house where less is expected of you [88‟] Robert, EOG: You knew what you were doing when you came here You encouraged Mary, all of us came to thinking DOC: Forgive me, but I came to express my sympathies and my friendship, nothing more [89‟] Thomas: I want to be a valet I‟m sick of being a footman DOC: Yeah, Thomas, I don‟t need a valet I –I thought you were gett rid of the new here? [99‟] Cora, COG: You must form the most tremendous bonds Even w a servant Robert, EOG Really? Even with a servant j Use mitigators (10) [100‟] Violet, DCOG But to lose Co fortune! Robert EOG Really, Mama you know as w as I that Co fortune is not Cora‟s fortun anymore [101‟] DOC: The the sec passages and attics Lady Mary: It seems a bit but why not? just tell Mama [102‟] Matthew Crawley: It‟s from Lord Grantham Isobel Crawl Really? What earth does he want? [109‟] Woman: Oh, my God Man: That‟s impos [110‟] Mr Carson: Thank you everyone Miss O‟Brie Well, I can‟t that lasting lo k Hedge the negative (13) [111‟] Robert, EOG My dear fello apologise, should have realised you‟d be at luncheon Mr Carson: at all, my lord [112‟] Robert, EOG So, Murray, w have you to te me about the lucky Mr Crawley? Nothing too terrible, I hope George Murray: I‟ve only made a few inquiries, but no, there‟s, er, not much to alarm you [113‟] Robert, EOG: That is it That is all of it Violet, DCOG: Robert, dear, I don‟t mean to sound harsh [114‟] Gwen: I expect you saw worse things in South Africa, eh Mr Bates? Mr Bates: Not worse, but pretty bad [115‟] DOC: Lady Grantham, this is so kind of you Cora, COG: Not at all, Duke I‟m delighted you could spare the time [116‟] Robert, EOG: And I was eager that this should work Mr Bates: You see it is unlikely that I should find another position [117‟] Robert, EOG: And I feared it had proved a disappointment DOC: Not at all, not at all A short stay in your lovely house has driven away my cares ... general patterns of preferred and dispreferred second turns as well as the common linguistic features indicating them in the first episode of the film Downton Abbey based on the theoretical frameworks... linguistic features indicating them in the first episode of the film ? ?Downton Abbey? ??? What are the general patterns of dispreferred structures and the common linguistic features indicating them... preferred and dispreferred structures and the common linguistic features indicating them in the first episode of the film Downton Abbey The findings of the research can be condensed as follows: Dispreferred