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Interactional Sociolinguistics/Lnteraktionale Soziolinguistik Transcfj Tants Sociolinguistics Soziolinguistik An International Handbook of the Science of Language and Society Ein internationales Handbuch zur Wissenscha.ft von Sprache und Gesellschaft 2nd completely revised and extended edition 2., vollsHindig neu bearbeitete und erweiterte Auflage Edited by / Herausgegeben von Ulrich Ammon · Norbert Dittmar Klaus 1. Mattheier · Peter Trudgill Volume 1 / 1. Teilband Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York 8. Interactional Sociolinguistics/lnteraktionale Soziolinguistik tranSCfJ tants. C text, ho 1. Introduction: What is interactional example, Gumperz demonstrates that sys­ thing 0 sociolinguistics? tematically different ways of using language but rat 2. Theoretical underpinnings and tnethods to create and interpret meaning contribute view, sp 3. Key terms and concepts 4. Representative studies to employment discrimination against Lon­ guistic f .5. Literature (selected) don residents who were born and raised in (or "di: Pakistan, India or the West Indies. By ana­ cording lyzing interaction in employment interviews, systema 1. Introduction: What is interactional Gumperz follows Erickson's (1975) focus n1eanin sociolinguistics? on the linguistic basis of discrimination in one spe "gatekeeping encounters": speech events in ation 0 Interactional sociolinguistics (IS) is a type which a member of a minority community and sp' of qualitative analysis that sits at the inter­ requires the approval of a majority-commu­ (Ericks( section of linguistics, anthropology, and nity member to advance professionally or sociology. Rooted in the theoretical and me­ receive a societal benefit. It is the job of the 3. Ke thodological approaches developed by John interviewer to assess the interviewee's (}umperz, work in this area typically entails qualifications for the position or the benefit, ForGu case-study microanalysis of the language of but the assessment is made based on lin­ pretatic real interaction in the context of social rela­ guistic performance. Thus Erickson and an intel tionships. It is a tenet of IS that language Shultz (1982) argue that differences in con­ notion can only be studied in th1s context, and ventions for signalling listenership between tive pro further that the language of interaction is Americans of European and of African ongoin! constitutive of social relationships. The goal descent result in European-American school ing. Th of IS, then, is no less than accounting for the counselors "talking down" to African- Ame­ develop communication of meaning through lan­ rican students. In a similar vein, Tannen progres guage use. The word "use" is crucial. IS sees (1981, 1984) analyzes the role of what she vention ITleaning not as inherent in words, but rather calls conversational style in the perception pret wh as jointly created by speakers and listeners and stereotyping of New York Jewish speak­ what is in the act of using language to accomplish ers as "pushy" and aggressive. Maltz and anymoJ interactive goals. Borker (1982) and Tannen (1990, 1993) use linguist Gumperz' model of cross-<;ultural communi­ speaker 2, Theoretical underpinnings and cation to elucidate male/female cOffilnuni­ over, th necessa methods cation. In all these studies, close attention to miscommunication based on ways of speak­ verbal ( According to his own account (Gumperz ing serves the purpose of explaining social meanin 1992a, 1999), Gumperz' early research was phenomena. But analysis of miscoffitnuni­ cern, fc based on field work done in India, Norway, cation is also a heuristic device serving the progres and Central Europe during the 1950's and broader goal of IS to explain how meaning is guage r 1960's. The methodological approach and cOlnmunicated in verbal interaction. Mis­ cept of theoretical framework that became the communication makes visible elements of cursor foundation for IS was developed in the communicative practice that go unnoticed speaker 1970's, culminating in his 1982 book Dis­ when communication proceeds without per­ op and course Strategies. In subsequent essays (e.g. ceptible trouble. dual pI Gumperz 1992b, 1996) he elaborated and Whereas the grammatical sentence is the tion is i explained this approach and updated his ter­ unit of analysis in formal linguistics, for IS expecta minology in keeping with developments in the basic unit of analysis is a smaller entity: speech ( the field, but the underlying tenets and con­ an utterance alternately called a "breath ation pJ cepts remain constant. A collection ofessays group," "intonation unit," "idea unit," or or that edited by Gumperz (1982b) highlights a fun­ "inform-ation unit," characterized by an iden­ emotio] damental aspect of IS that is also found in tifiable intonational contour and typically mining the work of many of Gumperz' students and bounded by falling or otherwise phrase-final course. colleagues: the argument that differences in intonation, a pause, and/or a discourse going p linguistic phenomena partially account fOf, marker such as "but" or "and." The focus of resides or aggravate, social inequality, discrimi­ analysis is usually a spoken interchange every a~ nation, and cross-cultural stereotyping. For (audio- or video-taped and subsequently ends cn olinguistics 8. Interactional Sociolinguistics 77 k transcribed) involving two or more interac­ textually-sensitive presuppositions. The tants. Context is key to meaning in IS. Con­ signposts that signal meaning, create coher­ text, however, is conceptualized not as some­ ence (that is, show the relationship among that sys­ thing outside discourse that impinges on it ideas), and guide interpretation are contex­ ~ language but rather as created by discourse. In this tualization cues, defined by Gumperz (1999, ~ontribute view, speakers create context by means oflin­ 461) as "any verbal sign which when pro­ linst Lon­ guistic cues. Furthermore, verbal interaction cessed in co-occurrence with symbolic t raised in (or "discursive practice") proceeds not ac­ grammatical and lexical signs serves to con­ s. By ana­ cording to rules but rather by application of struct the contextual ground for situated in­ nterviews, systematic strategies or principles. Crucially, terpretation, and thereby affects how consti­ 175) focus meaning is not the single-handed creation of tuent messages are understood." In this ination in one speaker but the jointly- constructed cre­ framework, aspects of language which were events in ation of both interactants; indeed, listening previously devalued - dismissed as "margi­ )mmunity and speaking are inextricably intertwined nal" - become the focus of analysis; in other y-commu­ (Erickson 1986). words, they become "core." Key among con­ onally or textualization cues, as specified by Gumperz job of the 3. Key terms and concepts 1992b, 231, are: 1) prosody (including inton­ erviewee's ation, stress, and shifts in pitch and loud­ le benefit, For Gumperz, all meaning is "situated inter­ ness); 2) paralinguistic cues (including rate d on lin­ pretation." The conception of meaning as of speech, rhythm, pausing, hesitation, tone eson and an interpretive process is fundamental to his of voice, latching, and overlapping); 3) the ~s in con­ notion of conversational inference: the ac­ code- or style-switching that was a major ) between tive process by which a listener develops an contribution of Gumperz' early work (Blom , African ongoing interpretation of a speaker's mean­ and Gumperz 1972) - that is, the shifting be­ an school ing. This interpretive process is continually tween two languages, dialects or speech an- Ame­ developing and re-evaluated as discourse styles; and 4) choice of particular lexical , Tannen progresses. Shared contextualization con­ forms or culturally recognizable formulaic what she ventions enable a listener not only to inter­ expressions. erception pret what has been said but also to predict A central concept that both underlies the sh speak­ what is likely to be said. In other words, at theoretical and methodological basis of IS [altz and any moment in an interaction, a listener uses and also illustrates its interdisciplinary na­ 1993) use linguistic signals as guideposts to where the ture is framing. Anthropologist Gregory ommuni­ speaker is heading in the discourse. More­ Bateson [1955]1972 introduced the notion of ommuni­ over, the ability to make such predictions is frame to capture a fundamental aspect of ention to necessary to participate successfully in a meaning in interaction: No utterance or of speak­ verbal exchan8e. This developing thread of symbolic act can be understood except by ng social meaning that a listener must be able to dis­ reference to a "metamessage" that identifies onlmuni­ cern, follow, and predict is called thematic the character of the interaction. Bateson ex­ rving the progression. (Gumperz 1999 credits lan­ plains that while watching monkeys playing eaning is guage philosopher H. P. Grice's [1989] con­ in their cage at the zoo, he wondered how a )11. Mis­ cept of conversational cooperation as a pre­ monkey at play was able to understand a nents of cursor to his own understanding of how bite - an aggressive action - as a friendly ,nnoticed speakers and hearers work together to devel­ move. Bateson concluded that a biting mon­ lout per­ op and interpret thematic progression.) The key sends not only a n1essage - the bite - but dual process of interpretation and predic­ also, at the same time, a metamessage "this ce is the tion is also made possible by co-occurrence is play." One might say that the metamess­ ~S, for IS expectations.
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