THEME J: LANGUAGE IN SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS
J6 Conversation between friends
Whereas the units in theme H were focused upon the individual in his response to others, the units in this theme explore what happens when individuals interact with each other in groups of different types and sizes. 'Belonging to a group' looks at the way in which we use language to create and maintain a sense of identity with others in forming social groups, while 'How adults see teenagers' looks at the way in which we form judgements about social groups on a basis Of Our reactions to their use of language.
Special factors affect Our use of language as members of it crowd and these are explored in the next unit, 'Crowds'.
The four following units are all concerned with the nature and function of talk and conversation. 'Social talk' looks at the way we use language simply to give expression to our awareness of other people in our day-to-day contact with them. 'What is conversation?' examines popular ideas about conversation and compares these with what television represents as 'spontaneous, unscripted conversation', while 'Conversation between friends' examines the distinctive character of' adult talk between people who have known each other for some time. Finally, 'Family talk' looks at what happens in talk between the members of a group who know each other so well that they do not have to spell out the meaning of many of the things that they say to each other.
The next two units consider a rather different facet of social relationships, the degree of formality that enters into them when the situation is public. 'Being interviewed' considers the degree to which the interviewer's use of language sets the scene for the applicant and what effect this has on the applicant's use of language. 'Interviews on television' explores the linguistic means at the disposal of interviewers for determining the nature and direction of what is said. In particular, it focuses upon the way in which the form of the questions asked can limit the interviewed person's scope for reply.
The last two units both deal with linguistic problems in communicating with others that are often overlooked, because the use of telephones and the transmission of messages are such commonplace features of our society. 'Talking on the telephone' explores the implications of the obvious fact that we talk 'face-to-face' over the telephone, but cannot see the expression of the person to whom we are talking. 'Taking messages looks at the problems presented by the employer who assumes that the accurate transmission of messages is a simple matter in all circumstances and does not have features particular to his own organisation.