(A) Conversation analysis of Q-A sequences in Chinese and American talk shows

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Abstract

Talk show is an interactive process in which hosts and guests are involved. The verbal exchange between hosts and guests is seen as a crucial element in achieving the success of shows. Specifically, a talk show consists mainly of host questioning and guest answering. Host questioning, as a critical factor that affects the interaction, is pervasive in talk show discourse and has drawn much attention in prior discourse analytic research.
As an adjacency pair, a question and an answer constitute an indispensable part of any conversation and its structure is bound up with the intended purpose. There are diverse forms of question answer sequences appearing in various discourse types. There are a considerable body of studies concentrating on hosts’ questioning in talk show such as classification of question types, questioning skills, and functions of different types of questions. In the process of conversation, the host usually mainly discusses some social phenomenon, hot topics or entertainment news with the guest. During the process of communication, although the host has chosen the topic carefully, there will still be some problems that the guest would not or could not answer. However, if the guest blurts the answer out or keeps silent in this special setting of interview program, it makes himself/herself look impolite or make the host embarrassed and even break the harmonious communicative environment. At this time, some guests will adopt various strategies to avoid giving a straightforward answer by being evasive.
The thesis attempts to answer the following two research questions:
1. What are the types of questions employed by the hosts of the respective talk shows?
2. How do the guests of the talk show resist or contest the terms of the questions posed by the hosts?
This study makes a comparative analysis of evasive strategies from the perspective of the linguistic context and the communicative context and finds similarities and differences between the two talk shows. Through studying the context and function of evasive strategies, it will help more guests in future programs and the public to make better use of the strategy of evasion in talk show settings. This study can also provide inspirations for the study of language harmony to broaden the cognitive vision of pragmatic phenomenon, to help to understand the pragmatic mechanisms and their functions better. On a more practical vein, the present study attempts to help readers to get a better understanding of this linguistic phenomenon and to apply evasive strategies appropriately in communication.

국문 초록 (Abstract)

논문요약
토크쇼는 진행자와 출연자가 상호작용하는 담화 과정으로, 이들 간의 언어적 교환은 프로그램의 성공을 좌우하는 핵심 요소이다. 토크쇼 담화는 주로 진행자의 질문과 출연자의 응답으로 구성되며, 특히 진행자의 질문은 상호작용의 전개에 중요한 영향을 미치는 요인으로서 기존 담화 분석 연구에서도 지속적인 주목을 받아 왔다.
질문–응답은 인접쌍으로서 모든 대화에서 필수적인 구성 요소이며, 그 구조는 담화의 목적과 밀접하게 연관되어 있다. 선행 연구에서는 토크쇼 진행자의 질문을 중심으로 질문 유형의 분류, 질문 기법 및 기능 등에 대한 연구가 이루어져 왔다.
토크쇼 대화에서 진행자는 사회 현상, 사회적 이슈 및 오락 관련 화제를 중심으로 출연자와 대화를 전개한다. 그러나 인터뷰 프로그램이라는 특수한 담화 상황에서 출연자가 답변을 꺼리거나 답변할 수 없는 질문이 제기되는 경우도 빈번하다. 이때 즉각적인 응답이나 침묵은 무례한 인상을 주거나 진행자를 곤란하게 만들 수 있어 원활한 의사소통을 저해할 수 있으며, 이에 일부 출연자들은 직접적인 답변을 회피하기 위해 다양한 회피 전략(evasive strategies)을 사용한다.
본 논문은 다음의 두 가지 연구 질문에 답하고자 한다. 1. 각 토크쇼 진행자는 어떠한 유형의 질문을 사용하는가? 2. 토크쇼 출연자들은 진행자의 질문에 대해 어떠한 방식으로 저항하거나 문제화하는가?
본 연구는 언어적·의사소통 맥락의 관점에서 회피 전략을 비교 분석하여 두 토크쇼 간의 공통점과 차이점을 규명하고, 향후 토크쇼 출연자 및 일반 대중이 회피 전략을 보다 효과적으로 활용하도록 돕는 동시에 화용 현상 및 언어적 조화에 대한 이해를 심화하는 데 기여하고자 한다.

주제어: 대화분석, 토크쇼, 인터뷰 프로그램, Q-A 연쇄, 회피 전략

목차 (Table of Contents)

• 1. Introduction 1
• 2. Literature Review 5
• 2.1 Question-Answer sequences in institutional context 5
• 2.2 Type of questions 9
• 2.3 Evasive answers 13
• 3. Research Methodology 17
• 3.1 Data collection 17
• 3.2 Participants 19
• 3.3 Data transcription 20
• 4. Analysis and Discussion of Findings 23
• 4.1 A comparison of Question types used in the two talk shows 23
• 4.2 Evasive Answers following Questions 28
• 4.2.1 Overt Evasive Strategies 28
• 4.2.2 Covert Evasive Strategies 39
• 4.2.3 Other Evasive Strategies 46
• 4.3 Similarities and differences found from the two shows 53
• 4.4 Discussion 54
• 4.4.1 Talk Show Settings 54
• 4.4.2 Contextual Understanding 55
• 5. Conclusion 57
• 5.1 An Analysis of Intersubjectivity from the Perspective of CA 57
• 5.2 Summary of Main Findings 59
• 5.3 Significance 60
• 5.4 Limitations and Future Research 61
• References 62
• Appendix 65
• 논문요약 75