The dialogue that I chose to transcribe for my coursework, the TV soap drama "Emmerdale", is a great emulation of spontaneous

Authors Avatar

Jane Bradley                                                                                                                   6/11/06

A2 English Language Coursework

Transcription Analysis

The dialogue that I chose to transcribe for my coursework, the TV soap drama “Emmerdale”, is a great emulation of spontaneous spoken conversation.  As part of my coursework I will be analysing the text in order to discover whether or not it’s attempt at genuine spontaneous conversation is successful and how it makes use of lexical, grammatical and structural characteristics to do so.

Register  

The transcription’s level of formality is notable low, which follows the typical conventions of spoken conversation. The register is especially low due to the relatively close-knit relationships between the characters, which means that the majority of conversation is informal, with little or no phatic talk.

However, there is once exception to this rule, which is the brief conversation between the two policemen.

Policeman 1:  They’ve worked out whose car it is (.) Good luck

Policeman 2:  Cheers.

I believe that the formality of this transaction is due to the formal relationship between the two characters; they are colleagues therefore their relationship is forced upon them.

However, although the relationships between the other characters are relatively close does not mean that it is equal. The manner of Chastity’s and Debbie’s relationship is far from equal, as due to Chasitity being Debbie’s older sister she automatically thinks that she possesses a higher status than that of her younger sister. This is evident from their interactions in which Debbie appears to instigate the conversation; not speaking for long and when doing so, using interrogative sentences to prompt a reply out of Chasitity.

Debbie:  What’s happenin’ in there?

And

Debbie:  Who to?

And

Debbie:  What if he’s killed Sadie?

Chasitity on the other hand, is quite obviously the dominant speaker, delivering lengthy and mostly assuring responses. The fact that the conversation is co-operative with no overlaps shows that Debbie respects Chasitity and appreciates her contribution.

The relationship between the characters, Sadie and Cain, is interesting as although it is also informal the manner of the relationship appear relatively equal even though the circumstances mean that Cain holds complete power over Sadie.

There is sufficient turn taking and both characters appear confident in their speech. I can only assume that this is due to Sadie’s dominant and confident personality, which is being reinforced by her reaction to her unfortunate circumstances.

As for the field of the text, the semantics are quite obviously based upon hostility. Throughout the dialogue words such as “coppers”, “killer”, “scumbag”, “armed”, “guns” are used which all give impressions of danger and violence. This reflects the theme of the episode; which is a based on a kidnapping plot.

Topic Management

This section links in with the dialogue’s semantic field; the entire episode is focused on or around Cain’s kidnapping plot. However there is also a sub-topic of Debbie’s lesbian relationship with her new girlfriend, Jasmine, who is briefly mentioned in the text.

The topics are hardly chosen by the character’s but are a result of their circumstances; Sadie is forced to plead with Cain whilst the conversation between Chasitity and Debbie is the result of Cain’s kidnapping of Sadie and Tom.

The only topic shift present is Debbie’s sudden apology to Chasititiy:

Debbie:  I’m really sorry I had a go at you yesterday

This had the effect of producing an explanation from Chasitity, which led onto the subject of Cain and the current kidnapping situation, therefore moving the narrative along so although seemingly unconnected it is in fact, logical. The cropping up of seemingly unconnectected topics is particularly true of spontaneous conversation and is a factor in the realistic nature of the dialogue.

Join now!

Structure

Although scripted conversation will often adopt structural devices typical of written language, informal speech has its own distinctive structural features, which the script of “Emmerdale” attempts to mirror.

One of these features, adjacency pairs, is a recognisable structural pattern and can be found in my transcription. In fact, Debbie and Chasitity’s conversation consists entirely of adjacency pairs, which help structure their conversation. The use of adjacency pairs imitates unscripted conversation and therefore adds to the realism of the script.

Another distinct structural device, turn taking, is also evident in my transcription. A prime example of ...

This is a preview of the whole essay