Conversation Analysis

by Ian Hutchby, Robin Wooffitt

Talk is a central activity in social life. But how is ordinary talk organized? How do people coordinate their talk in interaction? And what is the role of talk in wider social processes? Conversation Analysis has developed over the past forty years as a key method for studying social interaction and language use. Its unique perspective and systematic methods make it attractive to an interdisciplinary audience. In this second edition of their highly acclaimed introduction, Ian Hutchby and Robin Wooffitt offer a wide-ranging and accessible overview of key issues in the field. The second edition has been substantially revised to incorporate recent developments, including an entirely new final chapter exploring the contribution of Conversation Analysis to key issues in social science. The book provides a grounding in the theory and methods of Conversation Analysis, and demonstrates its procedures by analyzing a variety of concrete examples. Written in a lively and engaging style, Conversation Analysis has become indispensable reading for students and researchers in sociology, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, social psychology, communication studies and anthropology.

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 27, 2008

Reviews

[Malola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for my thesis on conversational analysis to help me figure out how to collect data.
So it deals with all types of conversations which it nice, though I didn't actually used as much. It's very informative and easy to read, but doesn't go deep because its scope its too broad. Perhaps a chapter on the programms (IDK, elan, c-lan or whatever) would have been nice, but I guess those things change to quickly.
I understand this is not fiction, but the ending is oddly abrupt. I think it's missing a conclusion, it doesn't necessarily has to be its own chapter, but a paragraph at the end of turn-in interaction during phone conversations is hardly a way to learn.
This book is for people who specializes in the area. If you're not into sociolinguistics, you won't get much out of this.

[Alia Amir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!