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 sameclass 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 27 PART – CONCLUSION 36 Recapitulation 36 1.1 General patterns of preferreds 36 1.2 Linguistic features associated with preferreds 36 1.3 General patterns of dispreferreds 37 1.4 Linguistic features associated with dispreferreds 37 Limitations of the study 39 Implications for language teaching and learning 39 Suggestions for further studies 40 REFERENCES ix APPENDIX xiii APPENDIX xv LIST OF TABLES & FIGURES page Table – Correlation of content and format in adjacency pairs seconds 11 Table – The general patterns of preferred and dispreferred structures 11 Table – Linguistic patterns signaling dispreferred second turns 14 Figure 1: Percentage of frequency distribution 20 Figure 2: General patterns of preferred second turns 21 Figure 3: Linguistic features indicating preferred second turns 22 Figure 4: General patterns of dispreferred second turns 25 Figure 5: Linguistic features indicating dispreferred second turns 26 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 series have been made so far, in which the 6th 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 4th 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 Well, I‟m going to write to Murray [47‟] Cora, COG: He won‟t say anything different Violet, DCOG: Well, we have to start somewhere Our duty is to Mary Well, give him a date for when Mary‟s out of mourning [48‟] Cora, COG: And Edith, but I don‟t believe you‟ve met my youngest, Sybil DOC: Ah, Lady Sybil [49‟] DOC: I have a confession to make, which I hope won‟t cause too much bother My man was taken ill just as I was leaving, so Robert, EOG: Oh, well, that won‟t be a problem, will it Carson? [50‟] Lady Mary: It feels rather disrespectful DOC: Oh, nonsense It‟s your father‟s house, isn‟t it? [51‟] Mr Carson: It will be if there‟s any justice in the world Mrs Hughes: Well, we‟ll know soon enough [52‟] Anna: There‟s always a place for a man like you Mr Bates: Oh, yes Something‟ll turn up [53‟] Robert, EOG: I hope he proves to be perfect, but I rather doubt it DOC: Ha A very odd thing to joke about [54‟] Robert, EOG: I only meant her portion when she marries will be more than respectable You‟ll be pleased, I promise DOC: Oh, heavens I – I hope I haven‟t given the wrong impression [55‟] Thomas: I don‟t believe that DOC: Well, believe what you like [56‟] 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 getting rid of the new one c Express doubt (2) d Token Yes (3) here? [62‟] DOC: Well, Grantham, this has been a highly enjoyable interlude Robert, EOG: Has it? And I feared it had proved a disappointment [64‟] 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 [65‟] Mrs Hughes: Means you come from a happy home There‟s plenty of people here would envy that William: (0.3) Yes, Mrs Hughes [66‟] [63‟] DOC: Please make excuses Lady Mary: I‟m afraid I‟ve worn you out Tomorrow we can just Anna: There‟s always a place for a man like you Mr Bates: Oh, yes Something‟ll turn up [67‟] Robert, EOG: You knew what you were doing when you came here You encouraged Mary, all of us came to e Apology thinking DOC: (2) Forgive me, but I came to express my sympathies and my friendship, nothing more f Mention obligation (1) [68‟] Mr Bates: Would you care to explore my room, my lady? Lady Mary: Of course not, Bates I‟m sorry to have bothered you We were just going down [69‟] Anna: Could you give us a hand to take the other two up? Miss O‟Brien: I‟ve got Her Ladyship‟s to carry [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 for understanding (9) [71‟] George Murray: Your father tied 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 Bates and stay at a club I won‟t be more than a day or two Cora, COG: I see Are things progressing? [77‟] Robert, EOG: And I was eager that this should work Mr Bates: You see it is unlikely that I should find another position h Make it nonpersonal (2) [78‟] DOC: Whoever marries her will be a lucky man He will not, however, be me Robert, EOG: I see [79‟] Robert, EOG: If you‟re saying you not wish to mourn Patrick as a fiancé, that is up to you Lady Mary: Well, no one knew about it [80‟] Mr Bates: I want to go, Mr Carson Mr Carson: There‟s no obligation for the whole staff to be present outside the family [81‟] Man: I‟ll take it up there now Woman: Don‟t be stupid None of them will be up for hours and what difference will it make? i Give an account (18) [82‟] Robert, EOG: It seems James and Patrick were on board Cora, COG: What? They can‟t have been They weren‟t going till May [83‟] Miss O‟Brien: Mr Crawley was his Lordship‟s cousin and heir to the title Gwen: Well, but I thought Lady Mary was the heir [84‟] [90‟] Cora, COG: But you‟ll stay for luncheon? George Murray: Thank you, but no I‟ll eat on the train [91‟] Mr Bates: I‟ll give you a hand Thomas: Oh, I couldn‟t ask that, Mr Bates, not in your condition [92‟] Daisy: Did it make you feel better? Mrs Patmore: Not much, but it passed the time [93‟] Anna: It‟s time to let it go Daisy: But all the people freezing to death in midnight icy water [94‟] Mr Bates: I want to go, Mr Carson Mr Carson: There‟s no obligation for the whole staff to be present [95‟] Mr Bates: I‟d like to be there [97‟] Cora, COG: Mr Murray, how lovely to see you Do come in George Murray: You‟re very kind, Lady Grantham, but I must get back to London [98‟] Cora, COG: Come on in, you must be worn out DOC: Oh, Lady Grantham I have a confession to make, which I hope won‟t cause too much bother My man was taken ill just as I was leaving, so Cora, COG: There‟s nothing we can about the title Violet, DCOG: No She can‟t have the title But she can have your money [85‟] Robert, EOG: So, Murray, what have you to tell 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 [86‟] 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 Mr Carson: Well, it‟s certainly a great day for Downton to welcome a duke under our roof [96‟] Robert, EOG: We must go and let the servants get in here DOC: I should be grateful if we could stay just a minute more I have – I have something to ask you [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 getting rid of the new one here? [99‟] Cora, COG: You must form the most tremendous bonds Even with a servant Robert, EOG: Really? Even with a servant? j Use mitigators (10) [100‟] 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 [101‟] DOC: The the secret passages and the attics Lady Mary: It seems a bit add, but why not? I‟ll just tell Mama [102‟] Matthew [103‟] Mr Bates: Would you care to explore my room, my lady? Lady Mary: Of course not, Bates I‟m sorry to have bothered you We were just going down [104‟] Cora, COG: Do you want to open the house? Robert, EOG: No, no, I‟ll just take Bates and stay at a club I won‟t be more than a day or two [105‟] Mr Bates: Can I help you, my lady? Lady Mary: We were just exploring [106‟] Robert, EOG: We must go and let the servants get in here DOC: I should be grateful if we could stay just a minute more I have – I have something to ask you [107‟] Lady Mary: Well, aren‟t you coming into the drawing room? DOC: I‟m – I‟m tired I – I think I‟ll just slip away [108‟] DOC: Please make excuses Lady Mary: I‟m afraid I‟ve worn you out Tomorrow we can just Crawley: It‟s from Lord Grantham Isobel Crawley: Really? What on earth does he want? [109‟] Woman: Oh, my God Man: That‟s impossible [110‟] Mr Carson: Thank you everyone Miss O‟Brien: Well, I can‟t see that lasting long k Hedge the negative (13) [111‟] Robert, EOG: My dear fellow I apologise, I should have realised you‟d all be at luncheon Mr Carson: Not at all, my lord [112‟] Robert, EOG: So, Murray, what have you to tell me about the lucky Mr [118‟] Mr Bates: I‟ll give you a hand Thomas: Oh, I couldn‟t ask that, Mr Bates, not in your condition [119‟] Daisy: Did it make you feel better? Mrs Patmore: Not much, but it passed the time [120‟] Mr Bates: Might I make a suggestion? That when an extra footman is required, the cost would come out of my wages Robert, EOG: Absolutely not I couldn‟t possibly allow that [121‟] Daisy: Do me a favour, this is supposed to be sprinkled on the chicken William: Isn‟t there more to go up? 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... 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. .. 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