- ah (.) great tips there Kevin (.) however why should i choose McClure’s pickles (.) seeing as I’ve never tried them before (.) which one would i choose
- well there’s the difference Simon (.) whilst wines offer an overwhelming variety of classifications (.) but there are only two types of McClure’s (.) perhaps you’re visiting bold people who enjoy bold flavours (.) your neighbour Ted the fireman for instance or your friend Raphael the matador (.) some wines may be suitable (.) then again some may not (.) a riojo perhaps (.) a Borolo a priorats (.) there are so many ways to go wrong
- would you want to take the chance with a matador
- exactly (.) however for this host a jar of McClure’s spicy pickles is always right (.) the spicy pickle flavours are infused with cayenne and habanero peppers (.) leaving the pickle taster with a bright look on their face
- but if your friends are like me and are more meek and mild and would rather prefer a nice bottle of Chardonnay Kevin
- let’s be honest ok (.) Chardonnay has an embarrassing variety of flavours (.) some oaky (.) some flinty some buttery (.) who can say which your host would prefer (.) but then there are McClure’s garlic dills whose taste is always consistent (.) perfect pickles pleasantly complimented with precise notes of garlic and dill
- ah but Kevin (.) which one to choose for someone in the middle (.)
- Simon I’m sure that whatever you choose to bring your gift will be long recalled (.) any fool can bring booze (.) but your gift of pickles is unique and thoughtful (.) and they’ll want to invite you back for more pickles
- I know what I’m bringing to your house Kevin [laughter] but what if my local shop doesn’t have McClure’s pickles (.) is it still acceptable to bring normal pickles=
- =no no no (.) just bring wine [laughter]
- I guessed as much [laughter] that was Kevin Adams talking on the relevance of McClure’s pickles at a dinner party for food hour in conjunction with culture month right here (1) on the nation’s number one for entertainment radio (1) Select FM
[RADIO JINGLE] (16)
I chose to adapt the multimodal advert that I analyzed in Task 1, turning it from a magazine advert into a transcription of a radio interview between a representative of McClure’s and the host for a radio station. Naturally this change entailed a modification of register and fluency, though the purpose remained the same: to persuade people to take pickles to a dinner party instead of wine. Whereas the magazine advertisement was written and intended to be read, the radio transcript that I have created is for an interview that could be heard by anyone so these modifications were made so that it would be able to address an audience instead of a sole reader.
The manner of the interview is formal as it is a radio broadcast; however the two participants are of equal status so they are at ease and often slip into informal registers: “I bet you would (.) well (.) when would you Simon” This does conform to the complete formality of the original advert; however the radio broadcast does feature some colloquialisms: “let’s be honest ok (.)”, which are necessary in a radio broadcast to conform to the personable manner in which the advert addresses the consumers.
Both the advert and the transcript feature subject specific lexis, which help to establish the context of the interview: “a riojo perhaps (.) a Borolo a priorats (.)”
The radio interview begins and ends with a formulaic utterance introduction to the station which includes a jingle, and also a vocative to personalise the discourse, as well as a hospitality token: “Kevin (.) how are you”. This is different to the advert as by reading the advert the audience has no need for an introduction, as they can clearly see what is being advertised with the modal picture, however the listeners of the broadcast do not necessarily know what is coming up next so they require an introduction and conclusion so that they know when the interview has ended. Also the aim of the radio station is not purely to advertise McClure’s pickles, so the interview naturally ends when Kevin Adams finishes advertising the product and has completed his objective and reason for coming, there is no verbal indication that the interview has ended.This is different to the multimodal advert, whose ending is marked by a full stop, and a visual ending to the text, which the radio broadcast, does not have.
Unlike the monologue of the multimodal advert, Radio interviews are normally based on adjacency pairs, and this framework is used throughout the transcript, in typical question and answer, turn taking fashion, as the presenter tends to make a statement or direct question, whilst the interviewee tends to make fully developed answers, allowing Kevin to inform the audience about why they should bring McClure’s to a dinner party, and advertise his product. The presenter is clearly in the dominant role as he is responsible for the shifts in conversation. Because of this, i have not needed to vary the structure of Kevin’s answers from the advert, as the copy serves as a suitable monologue already, with its direct addressing of the reader. The typical turn taking fashion also allows the interview participants to latch on to each other’s sentence’s very smoothly, meaning that many of the turns are marked by: = in the transcription. This is because of time limits; there isn’t enough time for pauses in conversation. This pre-organised turn taking means that the interview does not stray into discourse and sticks to the topic of the advert. However, even with smooth turn taking typical of a radio interview, there are still overlaps as is normally featured in natural speech, as the interviewer is trying to create the image of a natural discourse between the two participants, to make the radio broadcast entertaining to listen to; however overlaps are less frequent than they are in normal discourse,
Unlike in the multimodal advert, prosodic features are often prominent in radio broadcasts as the participants are performing for their radio audience and therefore exaggerate the prosodic to animate the conversation for the listeners. This is why laughter is quite prominently featured in this interview, even though what is said is not always humorous, as this is a method used to engage the listener and make the interview more attractive to listen to. More frequent pauses also achieve this aim, by structuring the responses, and drawing attention to specific words, especially on the interviewer’s part, as he tries to make the discourse more dynamic, as well as advertise the radio station. Also longer pauses, such as before Simon begins the interview, and also during the phrase leading to the radio jingle, makes the interview sound more dramatic, as silence is as effective in attracting the listeners attention as speech: “right here (1) on the nation’s number one for entertainment radio (1) Select FM” However the normal non fluency features typical of any spontaneous speech are not found in this interview, such as voiced hesitations. This is because both the interviewer and representative from McClure’s are experienced in the medium and are well rehearsed. These are all features not found in the multimodal advert. This is because the multimodal advert does not need to try as much as the radio broadcast to attract the consumer’s attention as it is able to use typographical features such as the image, text and font, and this needs to be addressed when converting the copy into a transcript. The intonation patterns reflect the semantics of the interview, with rising intonations representing questions, and falling representing the completion of a statement. This is necessary without the presence of punctuation like in the advert. Also the pitch remains midway throughout which is typical of everyday speech encounters, representing the comfortable setting.
The use of sound in the form of the radio jingle at the beginning and end of the radio is common in radio broadcasts as it signifies the beginning and end of each segment, and helps to direct the listener’s attention. The jingle is also the personality of the radio station that the presenter Simon is representing, and this differs from the advert as the adverts sole party is the McClure’s company, whilst the radio interview, benefitting McClure’s, is made at the expense of the radio station, which is why the interviewer begins and ends the discourse, as he is representative of the radio station, whose presence is signified by the radio jingle.
