Co-Topical Small Talk

Troubles-Telling in Traditional Chinese Medical Encounters

Datos Bibliográficos

ID22871983
AutoresYing Jin (0000-0002-1316-7323, Department of English , University of Macau , Macau, SAR, China), Younhee Kim (0000-0001-7393-7767, Department of English, University of Macau , Macau, SAR, China, autor de correspondencia), Andrew P Carlin (0000-0001-5138-9384, Department of Portuguese, University of Macau , Macau, SAR, China)
Año2022
Volumen43
Número3
Páginas493-516
Fecha de publicación2022-06-02
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaApplied Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0142-6001 • E-ISSN: 1477-450X
EditorialOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/applin/amab057
OpenAlexW4212833359
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas35

Research has suggested that a rigid dichotomy between small and professional talk is misleading given the porous nature of ‘types’ of talk. Yet, other research considers this distinction helpful in understanding the functions of talk in situated contexts. This article contributes to this discussion by discussing one type of small talk—co-topical small talk (CST). Drawing from Hudak and Maynard’s (2011) understanding of CST as talk that combines instrumental and small talk, we further discuss the bigness of such talk in holistic medical encounters. Specifically, we focus on the ambiguity embedded in participants’ turns that allows the navigation of topics between the small/big talk distinctions. We use Conversation Analysis focusing on a routine traditional Chinese medicine doctor–patient encounter. Our data present a case where CST comfortably and appropriately emerges and develops into extensive troubles talk that forms the main activity in caring for older adults. We conclude that the smallness/bigness of talk is determined by the nature of the context and the relevancy of the topic to the encounter.

Ambiguity · Context (archaeology) · Conversation · Conversation analysis · Epistemology · Focus (optics) · Linguistics · Situated · Sociology · Communication · Computer Science · History · Interpreting and Communication in Healthcare · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Philosophy · Psychology