Abstract
Although transitions are an omnipresent feature of working lives, they remain underrepresented within the field of workplace discourse. In this chapter, we argue that transitions form a distinct category of talk bound by a range of relevant constraints, from wider societal ideologies through industry and organizational-specific norms to micro-discursive patterns. Focusing on the builder’s apprentice, we support this claim using the concepts of frame and positioning to analyze recordings of naturally occurring interaction involving junior builders in two different teams. We demonstrate how layered constraints impact all forms of workplace talk, and discuss the importance of recognizing these constraints when understanding the interactional competences relevant to workplace transitions.
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Appendix: Transcription Conventions
Appendix: Transcription Conventions
[laughs]:: | Paralinguistic features and other information in square brackets, colons indicate start/finish |
[…] | Section omitted |
+ | Pause of up to one second |
(6) | Timed pause in seconds |
... //......\ ... | Simultaneous speech |
.../.......\\... | Simultaneous speech |
( ), (hello) | Unclear utterance, transcriber’s best guess at an unclear utterance |
B1, B2 etc | Unidentified tradesman on site |
- | Cut off utterance |
? | Questioning intonation |
All names are pseudonyms | |
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Marra, M., Holmes, J., Kidner, K. (2017). Transitions and Interactional Competence: Negotiating Boundaries Through Talk. In: Pekarek Doehler, S., Bangerter, A., de Weck, G., Filliettaz, L., González-MartÃnez, E., Petitjean, C. (eds) Interactional Competences in Institutional Settings. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46867-9_9
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