Elisabeth Gülich

Story-Telling in Conversation: Cognitive and Interactive Aspects.

In a first step this article gives some definitional properties of a linguistic concept of narrative and discusses a few of the data provided by the papers in the first part of this volume in relation to this concept. Narration is taken as an interactive process, which is accomplished jointly by narrator and listener and which is always part of a larger frame of activities. This view has certain consequences as to the way in which narrative data should be elicited, documented and analyzed in all the relevant disciplines. These consequences are discussed briefly. In a second step, three different types of narration distinguished on the basis of formal properties of the narrative interaction are introduced. The ‘replaying’ conversational narrative, the report and the brief statement are described; emphasis is put upon the formal characteristics of the replaying discourse pattern: direct speech, historical present, imitation, evaluation and high degree of detailedness. In a third step, a cognitive aspect of story-telling is dealt with, namely the features of information processing typical of the transformation which an event undergoes when it becomes the referent of conversational narrative. In a final step, the methodological consequences of a linguistic theory of narrative as has been outlined before are shown in a sample analysis of one of the narratives documented by Wiedemann (pp. 43–55).

Gesprächsanalyse im Kontext der Telefonseelsorge

Die Telefonseelsorge (TS) ist eine kirchliche, uberwiegend okumenische Einrichtung, die in der Bundesrepublik rund 80 Stellen umfast. Diese Stellen sind Tag und Nacht besetzt und bieten die Moglichkeit zu anonymer telefonischer Aussprache und Beratung, ohne wie die meisten anderen Beratungsinstitutionen auf bestimmte Typen von Problemen (z.B. Eheprobleme, Alkohol, Suizid) spezialisiert zu sein. In der TS einer mittleren Grosstadt wie Bielefeld werden pro Jahr etwa 11.000 bis 12.000 Anrufe registriert; das sind im Durchschnitt 31 bis 32 Anrufe pro Tag. Abgesehen von den wenigen hauptamtlichen Leiterinnen und Angestellten (in der TS Bielefeld sind es z.B. drei) arbeiten in der TS nur ehrenamtliche Mitarbeiterinnen (in Bielefeld z.Zt. etwa 90 Personen); sie stammen aus den unterschiedlichsten Berufsfeldern und gehoren verschiedenen Altersgruppen an.

Alltägliches erzählen und alltägliches Erzählen

Abstract Storytelling occurs in everyday conversation as much as in literary texts, where the commonplace is often a topic. This article focuses on both aspects: the ordinary as context and as subject matter of narratives. Generally, narrative research practices a division of labor: everyday narratives belong in the field of linguistics. Here, an example is provided for the analysis of an oral story within the scope of linguistic research that focuses on aspects of narratability and orientation. Literary narratives are treated within the framework of literary studies; the stories, however, are many times the object of textual linguistic research, out of which a few aspects will be sketched here. By way of example, a narrative from Franz Hohler that uses the everyday as its subject matter is analysed linguistically. In addition, the aspects of narratability and orientation are taken from research in conversation and linked to the textual analysis with the concept of textuality from text linguistics. On the basis of various criteria of textuality, this article shows how the commonplace becomes narratable through certain formal techniques in Hohlers texts. The essay advocates a stronger cooperation between linguistics and literary studies in narrative research.

Mündliche Verfahren der Verschriftlichung: Zur interaktiven Erarbeitung schriftlicher Formulierungen

SummaryThe paper deals with collaborative writing as a specific type of interaction in the field of oral and written communication. The situation of collaborative writing forces two ore more actors to reveal their cognitive concepts as they have to plan, write or revise a text together. By analysing the corpus of exercises in scientific writing it is shown how writers mark constraints for their writing process, how they refer to textual norms, and, finally, how they co-operate in writing.

Selbst- und Fremdbilder im Gespräch. Theoretische und methodologische Aspekte

Nationale Selbst- und Fremdbilder sind im Gesprach: Sie kommen in den verschiedensten Gesprachszusammenhangen vor und sind oft auch ausdrucklich Gesprachsoder Diskussionsgegenstand. Es gibt die verschiedensten Anlasse, um sie ins Gesprach zu bringen, d.h. sich selbst als Mitglied einer bestimmten nationalen Gruppe zu prasentieren, Gesprachspartner als Mitglieder solcher Gruppen anzusprechen oder Dritte unter dieser Perspektive zu betrachten bzw. zu beschreiben. Wird eine nationale Gruppe zum Gesprachsthema gemacht, so last sich die konversationelle Konstitution von Selbst- und Fremdbildern in konzentrierter Form beobachten.

Subjektivität im Gespräch

The authors start in discussing Benveniste’s theory on subjectivity in language and come to the conclusion that language itself is essentially subjective and that, on the other hand the subject constitutes itself lingustically in dialogue. Two main devices in the conversational constitution of identity are the techniques of categorization (as far as social categories are implied) and of characterization. These techniques are described and illustrated on the basis of a French radio corpus.