Small TalkThis study presents a new perspective on small talk and its crucial role in everyday communication. The new approach presented here is supported by analyses of interactional data in specific settings - private and public, face-to-face and telephone talk. They vary from gossip at the family dinner table and intimate 'keeping in touch' phone conversations, to interpersonally-focused talk in institutional settings, such as the government office and the university research seminar. Drawing on a range of methodological approaches, including Discourse Analysis and Pragmatics, Interpersonal Communication and Conversation Analysis, the author elevates small talk to a new status, as functionally multifaceted, but central to social interaction as a whole. |
Contents
Locating small talk theoretically | |
Silence and small talk | |
regular and habitualised telephone calls as | |
small talk leisure talk and the travel industry | |
Social rituals formulaic speech and small talk at the supermarket checkout | |
Small talk sociability and social cohesion | |
female speakers backstage | |
Professional and commercial applications | |