LINGUIST List 21.2505 Mon Jun 07 2010 Diss: Disc Analysis: Abdelhaleem: 'A Stylistic Analysis of ...' Editor for this issue: Mfon Udoinyang <mfonlinguistlist.org> To post to LINGUIST, use our convenient web form at http://linguistlist.org/LL/posttolinguist.cfm. Directory         1.    Mahmoud Abdelhaleem, A Stylistic Analysis of Conversation Opening and Closing: A contrastive study Message 1: A Stylistic Analysis of Conversation Opening and Closing: A contrastive study Date: 07-Jun-2010 From: Mahmoud Abdelhaleem <mahmoud.abdulhalimgmail.com> Subject: A Stylistic Analysis of Conversation Opening and Closing: A contrastive study E-mail this message to a friend Institution: Ain Shams University Program: Department of English Dissertation Status: Completed Degree Date: 2004 Author: Mahmoud Mohammad Abdelhaleem Dissertation Title: A Stylistic Analysis of Conversation Opening and Closing: A contrastive study Linguistic Field(s): Discourse Analysis Subject Language(s): Arabic, Standard (arb) Dissertation Director: Ali Ezzat Hassan Attiah Taman Dissertation Abstract: This is a contrastive study that investigates the opening and closing phases in face-to-face English conversation on one hand and analyzes the same in two Egyptian Arabic varieties, namely the Cairene and the Upper Egyptian on the other hand. The specific Upper Egyptian speech community under examination in this work is that of Dishna, Qena governorate, 600 km south of Cairo. This study, contrastive as it is, tries to shed light on this vital, though quite stereotypical, aspect of human interaction in both languages. Without thorough examination of such aspects based on reciprocal appreciation of cultural discrepancies, better communication among members of different cultures, such as English and Arabic, or even within the same culture, Cairene and Upper Egyptian in this case, shall not be a possibility. Pragmatic failure between members of these two different cultural identities within the same language, as well as between Arabic and English in general, stemming from culturally determined differences, produces hard feelings. The instruments used in this study are actual cassette recordings of naturally occurring exchanges and natural observation of mundane conversations with special emphasis on opening and closing as their main archetypal elements. Transcriptions are embedded line by line in each conversation while full translation comes later in the appendix. Two different keys to transcription, one for the Cairene variety and another for the Upper Egyptian one are used. Based on Grice's Cooperative Principle, the level of analysis applied in this study is pragmatic: how openings and closings are used within social context in face-to-face English and Egyptian Arabic conversations represented in the Cairene and Upper Egyptian varieties. Linguistic tokens used in opening and closing phases are always manipulated by interactants to perform different functions. The pragmatic implicature that lies behind introducing items of either category in the other's well known location is duly outlined. Recurrent patterns and systematic properties of opening and closing across records of naturally occurring exchanges, shall be analyzed in a bid to detect the frequent tactics and gambits adopted by interlocutors. Sociolinguistic and contextual details shall not be forsaken so long as they enrich this research work and broaden the spectrum of understanding. It is true that the main emphasis of this study lies on talk in interaction as advocated by the pioneers of Conversation Analysis. However, it shall outline the cultural discrepancies or ethnographic nuances when it comes to produce these phases of interaction. The study is in six chapters. Chapter 1 is an introduction that provides an extensive review of Conversation Analysis. As the literature available on English conversation is the point of departure of this study, Chapter II deals first with English openings' aspects. Chapter III presents an introduction to Arabic language before dealing with openings in Egyptian Arabic either in Cairo or in Upper Egypt. Chapter IV deals with closings in English conversation. Chapter V deals with closings in the two Egyptian Arabic varieties. Chapter VI is a conclusion that sums up the points common or different in both languages. The appendices have the full texts of Cairene conversations with English translation. Read more issues|LINGUIST home page|Top of issue Page Updated: 07-Jun-2010       About LINGUIST    |   Contact Us       While the LINGUIST List makes every effort to ensure the linguistic relevance of sites listed on its pages, it cannot vouch for their contents.