Social interactions and conversation between people convey both verbal and nonverbal meaning. As a result, careful study of individual conversational language can convey the meaning of different forms of body language and choice of words in the conversation. In this section, special emphasis will be dedicated to looking at how Jeremy Paxman, Dizzee Rascal, and Russell Brand use language in different conversations. Generally, speakers have a predetermined intention when engaging in a conversation and the speakers can use different tools and means to achieve their communication intention. Conversation analysis will highlight the structure and communication devices like intonation used in the conversation.
In the controversial BBC Newsnight interview between Jeremy Paxman and Michael Howard, the speakers utilized a lot of feature of the verbal and nonverbal language. Analysis of the interview shows different features of language including, hesitation, overlapping talk, and intonation which convey a specific message. Although the interview sounds complex and intimidating it is easy to point outcome specific parts of the speech and the intended meaning. For example, in the interview the interviewee is defensive and in most cases uses the words, “I did not” which is also complimented with a defensive body language. There are some instances where the speaker answers with uncertainty and also it is important to note how the speaker raises and lowers the voice during the interview. In conversation, it is possible to assume that the interviewer is in control but in this case, Jeremy Paxman finds in difficult to take charge (Calyman and Heritage, 2002). Typically, when posing questions Jeremy pauses for the interviewee to answer that is typical when two people engage in a conversation (Hutchby, 2008). However, in some instance, the interviewee avoids giving direct answers to conceal information. In most instances, the interviewee is the one who controls the topic by turning the questions around and then overlapping them with Paxman’s question. It is evident that there is evasiveness in the whole interview which limits the meaningfulness of the question.
Similarly, in the conversations of Russell Brands and Dizzee Rascal, there is evidence about how individuals try to undermine each other with the objective of overruling others during conversation (Spey, 2018). For example, is Russell's conversation it is evident how the interview is rebellious and defensive when talking about addiction. There is evidence of changes in position with regard to a specific topic. For instance, Russell uses the words “condition” and “problem” as synonyms but this is not right (Question Time Debate, 2017). Also, there is evidence of a shift of power throughout the Russell debate with Russel breaking the traditional formalities in the conversation. There is also the aspect of the use of personal language to appeal to the different audiences where the speakers use possessive pronoun “We” to imply collectively that later contrasts with his use of “you” which creates a distance between the speaker and audience. The occurrence is similar in Dizzee Rascal’s conversation that illustrates the same stylistic devices like Russel Brands Conversation.
However, unlike Russell Brands, and Jeremy Paxman, Dizzee Rascal adopts a less formal approach to the conversations. The utterance in Rascal’s conversation depicts the clear and brief maxim of spoken English that is mixed with local dialect (May, 2012). The violations of grammar and structure mainly happen because of the speaker’s situation at the time of the conversation.
Task 3: AC 2.1, AC 3.1. Write a report about how Jeremy Kyle uses his power and adapts his spoken language while he is at work on the Jeremy Kyle show (900 words)
The media has become an important source of information in particular spoken information. The popularity of television of television has a broad range of audience and it is an important source of engagement (Davies, 2011). The show has over 2 million views in U.K and this is partly because of Jeremy Kyle Show uses a unique approach in developing the conversation around the issues affecting families and people. The important aspect of the show is the fact that Kyle uses a unique and aggressive approach to opening conversations around issues affecting people and the society (Hutchby, 2008). The show addresses issue affecting people of different ages, social classes, and different educational backgrounds. Jeremy Kyle uses a direct and honest approach to appeal to people from different backgrounds as the participants open up to tell the difficult truths.
In Kyle’s show, the anchor uses a forthright and direct approach to greeting and addressing the audience, the interviewees, and the television audience. It is unique how Kyle is able to make the audience hitched to the television. The purpose of the show is mainly to entertain and inform the audience about the different social issues. However, the presenter usually uses a completely informal approach in introducing the show to the respective audiences (Spey, 2018). The television program is able to attract many audiences because of the ability to use a confrontational approach in the process of addressing the issues. It is easy for the audience to connect with issues that they can consider as “sickening” these are issues the show addresses. The show act as some form of moral guardian and this explains the voyeuristic tendency towards the show.
Jeremy Kyle’s show appears to invite and attract guests who are combative and opponents towards the discussions proposed by the studio audience. The presenter in the show is generous in terms of the gestures and the different verbal and nonverbal aspects utilized in the society. The show exposes the dysfunctional nature of the British middle and low social classes and it also looks into the culture and practice to give a better perspective on the issue (Question Time Debate, 2017). As seen in the show, the commentators suggest that the middle class cannot make utterances against the lower class audience or the host. As seen in most of the show discussions including the show between Sara and Jeremy the commentator mostly faces barriers to finding the right dialect and vocabulary that can address Sara’s issue.
Jeremy, Kyle constructs the narrative about the working social classes and the challenges that they face in the process. The wide repertoire used by the shown commentator appeals to the upper-class ideology and addresses the issue of social anxiety that affects many individuals. It is interesting how Jeremy moves the agenda on race by using the prosodic features of the language like “filthy white” to refer to the underclass status of some of the participants (Hutchby, 2008). The issues of accent, educational background, and dress also distinguish the participants and this is played out in the show of figurative form. The show also coalesces the different figurative forms and utilizes public ridicule to address the social issues affecting the society.
The presenter is able to appeal to the different audiences given how he greets the different audiences though informally. The Jeremy Kyle show appeals to both the studio audience, the television audience by the way the presenter moves along with all the respective audiences through positive engagement (Davies, 2011). Kyle is able to relate to each audience through personal connection and involving them in the conversation. All the audiences are able to relate to the issues affecting the guests in the show because they are common social issues that they can easily identify with. It is through repetition that Kyle is able to reiterate the problem being addressed in the show. As a result, it is through adequate communication abilities that the presenter is able to appeal to all the audiences at a go. As a result, Kyle is able to connect with all the audiences hitched to the show at all times.
References
Calyman, S. and Heritage, J. (2002) 'The News Interview: Journalists and Public figures in the air', Cambridge Univerity Press, pp. 2550-258.
Davies, F. (2011) 'Jeremy Kyle Show', Flow Journal.
Hutchby, I. (2008) 'Conversation Analysis ', Cambridge Polity.
May, C. (2012) 'Nothing Powerful Like Words Spoken', Cultural Studies, vol. 27, no. 4, Aug, pp. 611 - 649.
'Question Time Debate', Russel Brand Vs Peter Hitchens.
Spey, M. (2018) 'Qualitative research: Conversation Analysis'.
