Transcript analysis
Libby: Hi (.) I work in a hairdressers and (.) I like (.) answer the phone do the tills and stuff/
Louise: /What stuff
- This interruption could show Louise trying to be supportive of Libby and attempting to get her to talk more specifically about the 'stuff' she is referring to.
Libby: like answer the phone (.) make sure like when people have like booked an appointment I'm gonna like get it in the right time to give them like about (.) give the hairdresser the right amount of time they need to do the hair (.) and uhm yeah that's a responsibility cos obviously if I get it wrong like four people could come in at once
- The use of the filler uhm could show that Libby is feeling uncomfortable talking about her occupation, this could also be because she is the most powerful participant in this situation and does not like to be the centre of attention. She also uses the word 'like' several times, this could show nervousness or that Libby is putting thought into what she is going to say about her job. Libby uses the elision 'gonna' and slang 'cos' when explaining how her job makes her responsible, this was said toward the end of Libby's air time this could be due to the fact that she has become more comfortable talking to her peers about her roles in the workplace.
Louise: Okay
Libby: And uhm yeah (.) great
_ This could show that she has run out of things, to say about her job, despite saying the word and which implies she had more to say, and wants someone else to take over the power role she is in.
A 4 second pause then happens as the most powerful participant wants to shift the power.
Neve: *Laughs*
-This could be a sign of nervousness shown by the participant as there has been a long period of silence where the power is free for anyone to take.
Libby: So what do you want to do
- The interrogative asked by Libby was aimed at Neve during this conversation although not vocalised she was looking in my (Neve's) direction which showed who the target of the question was.
Neve: Uhm dunno
- The use of the filler 'uhm' here shows that I am thinking about how to answer the question. This is also an example of an adjacency pair as the participant knew that the question was aimed at her even though this was not vocalised.
Libby: Do you have any responsibilities
Neve: No I don't have a job (.) I'm not cool enough to have a job (3) anyone else have any responsibilities(.)
- The long pause during the speakers turn could show anxiousness to talk about the subject, the open question 'anyone else have any responsibilities' is then asked showing the participant want's to shift the power suggesting they could feel uncomfortable being the centre of attention.
Louise: Yeah I drive a car (.) that's it
Neve: You do have to have responsibility driving along(.) like looking out for other cars(.) knowing when to stop.
- This could show the participant feels more comfortable when she wasn't the most powerful participant in the conversation.
Louise: I don't wanna crash (.) get injured
- Louise's airtime is short, this could be due to the fact that she is uncomfortable being the most powerful participant or it could be because the situation the conversation was carried out under was formal as it was a set task.
Alice: I did a life guard course (.) and first aid to learn how to be a life guard
-Although the participant Alice did not contribute to the conversation earlier on, this late contribution suggests that she is shy and prefers not to hold the power in conversations.
Neve: Ooohh
- This use of filler suggests that the participant is intrigued and could also propose that she has caught on to the fact that Alice is shy in this conversation and is attempting to get her to feel more comfortable and open up.
Alice: I learnt how to treat spinal injuries
- This contribution was spoken clearly and with power, suggesting that the participant had been building up the courage to add this to the discussion, showing that Alice is a timid speaker but that once she has built up enough courage she is able to talk using the position of power.
Yorkie
The yorkie chocolate bar by nestle has an interestingly unique wrapper compared to other chocolate bars, it contains the slogans ''it's not for girls'' and ''do not feed the birds''. This wrapper conforms to gender stereotypes, pointing girls out as different and deficient. This links to Lakoff's Deficit model, suggesting that women are not as powerful as men and that their speech and actions are less important than men's. The words ''do not feed the birds'' makes it seem as if women are not worthy of this food, fitting the Deficit theory. This is also an example of semantic derogation with the key word being ''birds'' referring to women, although the origin of this word was used to talk about women in a good way it seems the new use of it is equal to saying a word like 'babe'.
BIC Pens For Her
This set of pens designed for women are in the colour scheme of mostly pinks, purples and pastel colours. As if the stereotypically female colours of the pens was not enough, the packaging the pens are surrounded by has a soft purple floral design to add to the stereotypes set for women. The fact that BIC released a range of pens for women comes across as slightly offencive to the female customers of BIC as it seems to suggest that they should not be using the regular pens as they are unsuitable for females. This connects to the deficit model with men being higher in status than women, eg the normal BIC pens are male and thus BIC created pens for women.
RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds)
This text has interesting graphology as when the webpage is first opened the reader is greeted by a large photograph of a bee, this mixed mode makes the website appealing to younger audiences as it is colorful and contains several images. Although this web page may appeal to younger audiences it also contains a variety of information about projects which the charity have carried out. Owing to the fact that the RSPB is a large and widely respected charity it has a large amount of organisational power. At the top of this website there are various clickable tabs which will take the visitor to different links surrounding information about the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
The next section of the page is titled ''Our mission'' this is surrounded by the vivid colour blue, this colour was chosen as blue is the first colour the human eye sees, making this part of the text very attractive. Under the title ''Our mission'' the text reads ''Our birds and wildlife are increasingly vulnerable in a rapidly-changing world. Together, we will create bigger, better, more joined-up spaces for nature to save our wildlife, and our shared home.'' This makes the reader feel included as the words ''our'' ''together'' ''we'' all give the reader a sense of responsibility and belonging with the rspb, this could be a use of the politeness strategy positive face.
As this particular text is a webpage the majority of the people visiting this page will be visiting it because they are already aware of the charity and would like to find out more about what the rspb do for wildlife or to find out about the reserves across the UK. The other main reason someone would look at this website is for research, eg students or children researching about the aims of the charity for school/college/uni work.
At the very top of this page the RSPBs logo and slogan is shown. The slogan reading ''giving nature a home'' personifies nature as if it is like a homeless person which the public can help by supporting the RSPB. This appeals to the more sensitive side of the audience in turn persuading them to donate to/ join the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
Link to the website- https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/whatwedo/
Take your guess// Tom Rosenthal
I didn't walk how you said I should walk
I walk how I do walk, and that's fine
I didn't go how you said it would go
It went how it did go, and that's fine
[Whistling]
I look out the window some days
I see a million ways and that's fine
I didn't dance how I wanted to dance
I did a bit of prance and that's fine
Take your guess, spurious at best, can't you see its all just chaos
[Whistling]
I breathe in and then I breathe out
I've got a trillion doubts and that's fine
I took a road that wasn't but it was something
I chose and that's fine
Take your guess, spurious at best, can't you see its all just chaos
Take your guess, spurious at best, can't you see its all just chaos
I didn't go how you said it would go
It went how it did go, and that's fine
Take your guess, spurious at best
Can't you see its all just chaos
The phrase ''take your guess spurious at best, can't you see its all just chaos'' is repeated several times. The adjective ''spurious'', meaning false or fake, seems to be aimed at someone, suggesting this song is about an individual who may have treated the speaker poorly. Running with this theory, the phrase ''can't you see its all just chaos'' could be referring to their relationship, with the noun ''chaos'' describing the current situation. The speaker also says ''I've got a trillion doubts'' this could represent the speakers feeling of uncertainty about his relationship with the person this song is about. The words ''that's fine'' are repeated often in this text. The word ''fine'' is an interesting choice as feeling fine is to feel satisfied however it comes across as a snappy remark. the opposite of the true meaning of the word.
To summarise I think in this song the speaker is talking about a relationship, whether that is friendship or a romantic relationship, which has taken a bad turn with the other person in the relationship becoming controlling over the speaker.
