Alternating gaze in multi-party storytelling

Abstract

Abstract We present a single case study on gaze alternation\xa0in three-party storytelling. The study makes use of the XML method, a ‘combinatorial approach’ (Haugh and Musgrave, 2019) involving multi-modal CA transcription converted into the XML syntax. We approach gaze alternation via (i) the addressee-status hypothesis, (ii) the texturing hypothesis, and (iii) the acceleration hypothesis. Hypothesis (i) proposes that the storyteller alternatingly looks at the recipients not only when their addressee status is symmetrical but also when their addressee status is asymmetrical. Hypothesis (ii) predicts that gaze alternation ‘textures’ the telling by occurring when the storytelling progresses from one segment to another. Hypothesis (iii) states that gaze alternation accelerates toward Climax and decelerates in Post-completion sequences. The analyses support the hypotheses. They suggest that alternating gaze works against the danger of exclusion caused by the dyadic structure of conversation. It further partakes in story organization as it occurs at points of transition from one story section to another section. Finally, accelerated gaze alternation constitutes an indexical process drawing the recipients attention to the immediate relevance of stance display (Stivers, 2008). We conclude that the three hypotheses warrant further investigation to determine their generalizability across speakers and speech situations.