Download (23MB) - University of Salford Institutional Repository
Download (23MB) - University of Salford Institutional Repository Download (23MB) - University of Salford Institutional Repository
suddenly'freak out'), but to mobilise a self which is receptive to the affective nature of the speaker claim. Such alignment of selves may lead to what is known in English as joint gossiping whereby the negative self becomes transformed into a more positively charged entity (see 7.4.1). These emotive bases for negative alignment commonly drawn upon by affected selves - disgust, heightened amusement, contempt - are common in English sociable conversation. They occur far less frequently in my German data set, where such emotive talk seems to be conversationally capped, lest I would argue it signal a loss of control or demeanour on the part of the speaker as player or image. Indeed, there was one particular participant in my German cohort who regularly - and by German norms quite unusually - proffered affected selves in conversational episodes. This person, although often supported temporarily in her sudden outburst of amusement or disgust, often led to collusive 'knowing looks' on the part of other participants, who appeared at these moments to be working hard to avoid the conversation becoming for example'too silly'. The final English negative sociable self that I have identified in table 7.1 is what I have termed the abased self. In English sociable conversation, participants regularly mobilise abased selves. What I am referring to here is what plays itself out conversationally as the routine (both in situ and as invoked figures) downplaying, diminishing, casting negatively, or positing as morally questionable the self as player or image, albeit temporarily and for the duration of any particular period of alignment. For example, English speakers will frequently invoke some abased figure in a narrative. A recurrent example of an abased self is one embedded as the central figure in tales of getting drunk, being embarrassed over some gaffe or faux pas, or engaging in some morally questionable or regrettable activity (see Goffman 1967). In the following excerpt, JUAL proffer abased selves in provide an account of being drunk on the way to Stockport one night. 206
Excerpt 7.6'Up a Hill' The sociable gathering is in its early stages and this particular episode is centred around reports of what each of the participants / couples have been 'up to'. I JL: ALAN HAD had a drink when we was goin' (2) hhhh and we got the taxi 2 3 to go to Stockport=well I've never been before=>we got in the taxi and the taxi driver said to him< (0.5) where is 4 it (. ) >he said up an hill< 5 (0.5) 6 AL: HAHA[HA 7 8 RP: [Up an hill 9 ZW: OUP a Milo= 10 JL: =Up a hill (. ) you know up the hill 11 0 12 RP: Yeah= 13 14 JL: AL: =>So the taxi driver said that don't< tell me a lot [I TOLD HIM 15 16 NEAR THE MARket 17 JL: He said NEA: R the MARket (. ) but you kept sayin' (1) Up the hill (1) on 18 19 20 the hill (1) and that's you got out of you (1) he said well I'll take you -all were I think it is 21 AL: Yeah 22 (0.5) 23 JL: Right=Do you remember 24 (1) 25 AL: Yeah YEAH YEAH=HAHAHAhaha 26 (0.5) 27 28 RP: This was GOING to the pub was it 29 AL: I remember it so:: we:: Il 30 (0.5) 31 JL: And comin' back was WORse As well as the self abased as image in narrative, Abased Selves are also often mobilised in situ. This is perhaps best evidenced in the English tendency to eschew compliments, self-deprecate (see Jefferson 1978), or posit oneself as non-competent or non-knowledgeable one or the other areas - what is referred to in English as'hiding one's light under a bushel'as opposed to'blowing one's own horn. Thus, expressions of narratee memorisation, sudden enlightenment, or manifest incompetence may be used in the face of another's presentation. An example of this recipient abasement can be seen in the following episode where Kev's new PC enjoys the focus of conversational attention. 207
- Page 165 and 166: 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52
- Page 167 and 168: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
- Page 169 and 170: 28 HB: but at the end of the day >1
- Page 171 and 172: approach, I hope to further illumin
- Page 173 and 174: 37 KJ: I never had any day to day (
- Page 175 and 176: 2 bevor (. ) die Schlange nicht zeh
- Page 177 and 178: ot non-ratifi cation and non-suppor
- Page 179 and 180: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
- Page 181 and 182: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
- Page 183 and 184: What happens in this particular exc
- Page 185 and 186: To reiterate, positive threshold br
- Page 187 and 188: 41 LIP: [IN FACT THERE WAs quite a
- Page 189 and 190: What happens here is that KIP proff
- Page 191 and 192: 17 KH: the road (1) >and if he want
- Page 193 and 194: 1 2 3 4 5 6 which a new set of indi
- Page 195 and 196: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
- Page 197 and 198: and English differences in conversa
- Page 199 and 200: Notes to Chapter 6 1 The only insta
- Page 201 and 202: study is a sociological one, and it
- Page 203 and 204: performer, a player, an image, a fi
- Page 205 and 206: English cultures respectively. In a
- Page 207 and 208: I will shortly illustrate how each
- Page 209 and 210: 18 KJ: [(Graphic drawin)= 19 LM: =O
- Page 211 and 212: The in-the-know self is a second sy
- Page 213 and 214: documentaries to having witnessed r
- Page 215: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 is
- Page 219 and 220: RP&EP's mobilisation of an in-the-k
- Page 221 and 222: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
- Page 223 and 224: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
- Page 225 and 226: Excerpt 7.10 Was muss Mann machen?
- Page 227 and 228: Often, knowledgeable selves are ali
- Page 229 and 230: 7.4 Positive Selves I suggested ear
- Page 231 and 232: 27 RP: =get out of it= 28 LM: =. HH
- Page 233 and 234: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
- Page 235 and 236: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 is
- Page 237 and 238: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
- Page 239 and 240: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
- Page 241 and 242: of these selves at conversational w
- Page 243 and 244: develop the comparative focus, one
- Page 245 and 246: CHAPTER 8 ALIGNING SELVES IN THE AC
- Page 247 and 248: atification and support of unique,
- Page 249 and 250: Fig 8.2b The Individuated Selves (a
- Page 251 and 252: Excerpt 8.1 'Cookie's Party' I LM:
- Page 253 and 254: Beginning with the topic of convers
- Page 255 and 256: as re-invoking selves. The category
- Page 257 and 258: An interesting phenomenon which is
- Page 259 and 260: An additional consequence of alignm
- Page 261 and 262: Conversely, in considering the next
- Page 263 and 264: 100 KP: I mean you see two or three
- Page 265 and 266: however, such narrating selves are
Excerpt 7.6'Up a Hill'<br />
The sociable gathering is in its early stages and this particular episode is centred<br />
around reports <strong>of</strong> what each <strong>of</strong> the participants / couples have been 'up to'.<br />
I JL: ALAN HAD had a drink when we was goin' (2) hhhh and we got the taxi<br />
2<br />
3<br />
to go to Stockport=well I've never been before=>we got in the<br />
taxi and the taxi driver said to him< (0.5) where is<br />
4 it (. ) >he said up an hill<<br />
5 (0.5)<br />
6 AL: HAHA[HA<br />
7<br />
8<br />
RP: [Up an hill<br />
9 ZW: OUP a Milo=<br />
10 JL: =Up a hill (. ) you know up the hill<br />
11 0<br />
12 RP: Yeah=<br />
13<br />
14<br />
JL:<br />
AL:<br />
=>So the taxi driver said that don't< tell me a lot<br />
[I TOLD HIM<br />
15<br />
16<br />
NEAR THE MARket<br />
17 JL: He said NEA: R the MARket (. ) but you kept sayin' (1) Up the hill (1) on<br />
18<br />
19<br />
20<br />
the hill (1) and that's you got out <strong>of</strong> you (1) he said well I'll take you<br />
-all<br />
were I think it is<br />
21 AL: Yeah<br />
22 (0.5)<br />
23 JL: Right=Do you remember<br />
24 (1)<br />
25 AL: Yeah YEAH YEAH=HAHAHAhaha<br />
26 (0.5)<br />
27<br />
28<br />
RP: This was GOING to the pub was it<br />
29 AL: I remember it so:: we:: Il<br />
30 (0.5)<br />
31 JL: And comin' back was WORse<br />
As well as the self abased as image in narrative, Abased Selves are also<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten mobilised in situ. This is perhaps best evidenced in the English tendency<br />
to eschew compliments, self-deprecate (see Jefferson 1978), or posit oneself as<br />
non-competent or non-knowledgeable one or the other areas - what is referred<br />
to in English as'hiding one's light under a bushel'as opposed to'blowing one's<br />
own horn. Thus, expressions <strong>of</strong> narratee memorisation, sudden enlightenment,<br />
or manifest incompetence may be used in the face <strong>of</strong> another's presentation. An<br />
example <strong>of</strong> this recipient abasement can be seen in the following episode where<br />
Kev's new PC enjoys the focus <strong>of</strong> conversational attention.<br />
207
Change language