A conversation analytical study of telephone conversation openings between native and nonnative speakers

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is twofold: First, it contrasts "ritual routines" in telephone conversation openings in Iran and Germany. Specifically, it focuses on the interactional organization of the ritual "how are you" sequence in both cultures. Furthermore, it illustrates how the ritual "how are you" sequence is expanded in Iranian telephone conversation openings: in opening a conversation on the phone, after inquiring about one another's well-being, the Iranian co-participants move one step further and inquire about the well-being of their respective families. Unlike Iranian telephone conversation openings, however, German telephone conversation openings often do not include the ritual "how are you". When German coparticipants do perform a set of a "how are you" sequences, they are not reciprocated. The first part of the "how are you" sequence frequently functions as a topic elicitation. In other words, the response to an inquiry about the co-participant's well-being is usually topicalized. The second part of this paper presents some instances of transfer of the culture specific differences in telephone conversation opening routines in conversations between Iranian normative speakers of German and German native speakers. Specifically, it illustrates how German native speakers understand and orient to the ritual inquiries about themselves and their family as topic elicitation.