Conversation in Upper Tanana Athabascan

Olga Lovick	Siri Tuttle
First Nations University of Canada	University of Alaska Fairbanks
Olga AT lithophile DOT com	sgtuttle AT alaska DOT edu

What we'll talk about

Upper Tanana

basic info on the language

Conversation Analysis

Theoretical Background

Research Question

What we're looking for

Data

What we're looking at

Methodology

How we looked for it

Findings

What we found

Upper Tanana

is an Athabascan language spoken in eastern interior Alaska and in the western Yukon Territory.

The language area

reaches from the Tanana flats into the Wrangell Mountains:

Background: Conversation Analysis

Conversation Analysis (originally developed as part of sociology primarily by Sacks, Schegloff and Jefferson 1974) is the systematic analysis of recorded, naturally occurring talk-in-interaction (Hutchby and Wooffitt 1998:14).

Its aim is to discover how participants understand and respond to one another in their turns at talk, with a central focus being on how sequences of actions are being generated. (ibid.)

The basic assumption is that verbal interaction is structurally organized and that traces of this organization can be found in the interaction itself (Couper-Kuhlen and Selting 1996:24)

As a result, CA is strictly empirical (ibid.).

Much of this research focuses on well-documented languages; to our knowledge, nothing of this kind has been done for any Athabascan language.

Important terms for CA

Turn

Interestingly, nobody ever defines this! So we assume that this is everything that one speaker says without significant interruption (everything except audible breathing, laughter, noises like "hmm" etc.) by any other speaker.
Turns consist of turn-constructional units (TCUs).

Turn-constructional units (TCUs)

are potentially complete turns (Schegloff 1996:55, quoted after Selting 2005:18). They are not necessarily syntactic units (sentences, clauses, phrases, lexical items). They are interactional units, characterized by the "interplay of linguistic devices, primarily syntax and prosody, in their given semantic, pragmatic, and sequential context" (Selting 2005:39).

Transition relevance places (TRPs)

TCUs end with places of possible completion of unit-types, transition relevance places (TRPs), which make turn transition relevant but not necessary.
Syntactic, prosodic, semantic-pragmatic, and visual parameters are involved. These represent independent resources. (Auer 1996:58)

Components in turn-organization (Selting 2005:18)

The turn-contructional component

deals with the construction of TCUs.

The turn-allocational component

deals with the regulation and negotiation of turn allocation at the end of each TCU for the next such unit.

Maxims of conversation analysis

• give priority to the analysis of naturally occurring data (Couper-Kuhlen and Selting 1996:25)
• Treat data as an integral part of the context in which it occurs (Couper-Kuhlen and Selting 1996:26)
• Treat data as emergent in the real time of ongoing interaction (Couper-Kuhlen and Selting 1996:28)
• Ground analytic categories in the data itself (see next slide! Couper-Kuhlen and Selting 1996:31)
• Validate analytical categories by demonstrating participants’ orientation to them (Couper-Kuhlen and Selting 1996:38)

Grounding analytical categories in the data

The relationship of the device to just prior turns

Turns can be a continuation of a prior (interrupted) turn, or they can be discontinuous; this can be indicated by phonetic cues. (Couper-Kuhlen and Selting 1996:31f.)

Co-occurring evidence within the turn

Different linguistic cues (phonetic, lexical, syntactic) can be used cumulatively (Couper-Kuhlen and Selting 1996:33).

Subsequent treatment of the interactional device in question

The effect of a device may be revealing (Couper-Kuhlen and Selting 1996:33).

Discriminability of the interactional device

Systematic comparison with other places where this device occurs. (Couper-Kuhlen and Selting 1996:35)

Deviant cases in the use of the device.

Cases where something unexpected happens. (Couper-Kuhlen and Selting 1996:36f.)

This means for our data:

In the end, we’ll want to only record what is relevant. But right now, at the beginning of our analysis, we’ll have to carefully note everything and then work out what is relevant, and how it is relevant. Otherwise, our analysis may end up being biased.

BIG Research question
(solution anticipated for 2020)

We want to identify the devices involved in turn-construction and turn-allocation in Upper Tanana Athabascan. This involves

• syntactic
• prosodic
• semantico-pragmatic
• gaze-related
• gestural

cues.

For today, however

we will constrain ourselves to an initial exploration of syntactic and prosodic patterns associated with transition-relevance points.

Syntactic patterns

Following Auer (1996:59), we are not concerned with particular "syntactic structures as the potential output of some abstract grammatical rules", or with issues of grammaticality.

We are instead be concerned with what he terms "syntactic gestalts" (ibid.); typical syntactic patterns.

In Auer's view, "a possible syntactic completion point has been reached when a structure has been produced which is syntactically independent from (...) its following context. (1996:60)

Therefore, we will identify syntactic gestalts for Upper Tanana Athabascan.

Prosodic patterns

We look for patterns associated with the following phonetic cues, inspired by those listed by Gumperz (1982); Ogden (2004) and Selting (2005):

• fundamental frequency/pitch
• intensity
• non-lexical vowel duration
• TCU stress/accent, "a perceptual feature generally comprising variations in pitch, loudness and duration" (Gumperz 1982:100)
• pause position and duration; changes in speed
• use of non-modal voice qualities (creakiness, breathiness, whispering, voicelessness)
• other changes in speech register as necessary

Data

consists of a brief segment of conversation and two segments of monologue:

• Conversation between Cora David (Tetlin) and Avis Sam (Northway), discussing a volcanic eruption in 1911/1912. Recorded by O. Lovick on June 23, 2009.
• Monologue by Cora David, discussing a volcanic eruption in 1911/1912. Recorded (audio only) by O. Lovick on June 24, 2009.
• Monologue by Avis Sam, discussing the collection of eggs in early summer. Recorded (audio and video) by O. Lovick and Siri Tuttle on August 22, 2007.

Problems with the conversational data

• The subject of the conversation is iffy; Katmai did erupt in 1912, but it is unlikely to have had such an impact in the Upper Tanana valley. Most likely, the speakers describe a "questionable" eruptive event at Mt. Wrangell in 1911.
• The frame captured by the video camera is not ideal; the speakers are far apart. A freezer is no tripod.
• Only the first 3.5 minutes were transcribed with the help of a native speaker. The rest was transcribed by Lovick alone -> imperfect transcript.
• This was the first time conversation was recorded in this language. The speakers were not used to the situation and a bit self-conscious. Also, Upper Tanana is not used as the language of daily communication by either speaker, so there is a fair amount of code-switching.

Dialect issues

Two dialect issues are worth mentioning:

• Upper Tanana is a low-toned language, with the exception of the Tetlin dialect. Avis Sam is a speaker of the Northway dialect (low-toned), Cora David a speaker of the Tetlin dialect (toneless).
• The dialects also differ in their realization of the non-human relative suffix; in the Tetlin dialect, the suffix may be -i or -e, while in the Northway dialect it is usually a nasal consonant in the same place as the preceding oral stop.

We follow Gumperz (1982:39ff.) in assuming that the dialect difference does not constitute a communication barrier, as mutual intelligibility is not at stake; the dialect difference rather affirms the speakers' social identity.

Methodology (Conversation)

1. The conversation was transcribed and translated with the help of Cora David.
2. We prepared an annotated Elan file, with time-aligned transcription (indicating speaker overlaps), translation, notes on gestures/gaze, and notes on phonetics.
3. We exported these tiers into a Praat TextGrid file.
4. We measured (using Praat) all syllables for pitch, intensity and phonation; this information was entered into additional tiers.
5. Everything was re-imported into Elan.
6. And then it looked like this:

Background narrative analysis

We analyzed one 2-minute segment for each speaker in order to get an idea about basic prosodic patterns, including:

• basic pitch range; typical steps out of the pitch range
• basic intensity range; typical steps out of the intensity range (fading, shouting)
• creaking
• typical position and duration of pauses
• pitch and intensity patterns preceding pause
• pitch and intensity patterns preceding a pause that occurs at a possible syntactic completion point

Baseline prosody for Cora David

• CD speaks the toneless Tetlin dialect of Upper Tanana.
• CDs pitchrange is 152-335 Hz, with the overwhelming majority of syllables between 170-250Hz.
• Pitch preceding a pause is frequently held steady. Falling pitch at a pause unit frequently co-occurs with possible syntactic completion points.
• Intensity in unit-medial position is between 71-79dB, with most syllables being around 75-78dB.
• Intensity in unit-final syllables is between 60-75dB, with most unit-final syllables being around 63-69dB.
• In addition to syntactic criteria, we can say that narrative units are characterized by a decrease in pitch and intensity

Baseline prosody for Avis Sam

• AS speaks the low-toned Northway dialect of Upper Tanana.
• AS has a low speaking voice with a pitch range of 69-282Hz, with the overwhelming majority of syllables between 150-190Hz.
• Pitch preceding a pause is frequently held steady. Falling pitch preceding a pause frequently co-occurs with possible syntactic completion points.
• Intensity is between 61-71dB in unit-medial position, with most syllables being around 63-69dB.
• Intensity in unit-final syllables is between 53-66dB, with most unit-final syllables being 60dB or lower.
• In addition to syntactic criteria, we can say that narrative units are characterized by a decrease in pitch and intensity. The speaker actually increases her amplitude before a unit-medial pause.
• AS also has a tendency to creak.

Example

This is a narrative unit fairly typical for Avis Sam.

Syntactic completion points

"(...) a possible syntactic completion point has been reached when a structure has been produced which is syntactically independent from (...) its following context." (Auer 1996:60)

Based on our knowledge of Upper Tanana syntax, we identify the following possible syntactic completion points:

• verbs (Upper Tanana is a verb final language)
• post-verbal particles such as ntsʼąʼ 'and' or eh/eł 'and'
• verbs of saying. These are a special case, since they usually follow a direct discourse complement, which typically is itself verb-final.
• constituents marked by the focus particles duʼ, chʼa and chʼale. We regard them as left-dislocated components.

Increments/Expansion

In addition, speakers have the possibility of expanding a turn-constructional unit past a possible syntactic completion point. An example of this in our dataset is the following:

Cora David, Great Fire, pause unit 018

Findings

On the next few slides, we'll show you brief segments of the conversation.

We'll play a segment, and then we'll talk about interesting things we notice in that segment.

There is some code-switching in some of the segments, but they are mostly in Upper Tanana.

For your convenience, we provide subtitles.

Turn-holding through steady pitch

In this segment, the speaker has a long pause (1940ms.) after the complex noun phrase dineh iin deltthʼii iin 'the people staying".

deltthʼii iin is a relativized verb form; this is a possible (albeit unlikely) syntactic completion point.

The phrase before the pause is produced at mid-high pitch (228-202Hz.); there is a slight fall.

The hesitation noise ah is produced with slightly lower pitch (180Hz.), then pitch rises again above 200Hz.

We assume that the mid-high steady pitch preceding the pause is an indicator of turn-holding, since the other speaker does not cut in.

Turn-holding through steady pitch

Turn-holding through rush-through

Avis indicates her intention to hold the turn through several cues:

• In this segment, Avis Sam holds a turn by simply rushing through a possible syntactic completion point (the subordinate clause hahdo::gn ddhäł tah natsetdek tah 'when we walk up there among the mountains'.
• There is no pause following tah 'when'; pitch is held steady across the syntactic boundary.
• There is noticeable acceleration in the vicinity of the syntactic completion point.
• She also seems to be continuing a sweeping gesture with her left hand; unfortunately, the gesture isn't entirely visible due to the poor position of the camera.

Turn-holding through rush-through

Interruption, turn resumption

Cora David is talking and gives several cues of turn-yielding such as:

• decreasing intensity (fading)
• lowering of pitch
• leaning back

She isn't finished however (note that she doesn't put her hand down!), and continues with her topic. Upon the interruption by Avis Sam, she increases intensity again (from ~57dB in preceding utterance to ~68dB) and raises her pitch into the 220Hz range.

Avis waits until Cora has finished that turn, and then cuts in very quickly:

• repeating verbatim the beginning of her first attempt ay la 'and for sure'
• using higher pitch (197Hz first time, 227Hz the second time (she steps clearly outside her normal pitch range)
• with similar intensity (63.3dB the first time, 63.2dB the second time)

Interruption, turn resumption

Change in register

Avis Sam is talking; she is creating suspense at the climax of her story using the following means:

• lowered pitch (152-174Hz, as opposed to 170-205Hz in preceding sections)
• lowered intensity (48-55dB, as opposed to 54-59dB in preceding sections)
• more and longer pauses, slower pacing
• 3 repetitions of words and phrases

Change in register

Conclusion

We have looked at several strategies in Upper Tanana conversation, and have identified cues that may be associated with these strategies:

• Turn-holding can be achieved by rush-through or by holding steady mid-high pitch before a pause.
• Turn-yielding can be indicated by fading, pitch lowering, and body language such as leaning back, completing hand gesture.
• Turn-resumption can be characterized by higher pitch on identical lexical items.
• Dramatic developments can be signaled by a change in speech register, including low pitch, low intensity, and changes in pacing.

We are only at the beginning of learning about Upper Tanana conversation strategies, and we hope to tell you more soon.

Conclusion

We have looked at several strategies in Upper Tanana conversation, and have identified cues that may be associated with these strategies:

• Turn-holding can be achieved by rush-through or by holding steady mid-high pitch before a pause.
• Turn-yielding can be indicated by fading, pitch lowering, and body language such as leaning back, completing hand gesture.
• Turn-resumption can be characterized by higher pitch on identical lexical items.
• Dramatic developments can be signaled by a change in speech register, including low pitch, low intensity, and changes in pacing.

We are only at the beginning of learning about Upper Tanana conversation strategies, and we hope to tell you more soon.

Tsinʼįį!

We gratefully acknowledge Cora David and Avis Sam, for having and letting us record the conversation, for giving us permission to use this segment of it, for being such good transcribers, and generally for working with us.

You can look at this presentation on-line at:
http://www.lithophile.com/olga/lovick_tuttle_ssila2010/

References

Auer, Peter. 1996. On the syntax and prosody of turn-continuations. In: Elizabeth Couper-Kuhlen and Margaret Selting (eds.): Prosody in conversation, pp. 57-100. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Couper-Kuhlen, Elizabeth, and Margaret Selting. 1996. Towards an interactional perspective on prosdy and a prosodic perspective on interaction. In: Elizabeth Couper-Kuhlen and Margaret Selting (eds.): Prosody in conversation, pp. 11-56. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Gumperz, John. 1982. Discourse Strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hutchby, Ian and Robin Wooffit. 1998. Conversation Analysis. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Ogden, Richard. 2004. Non-modal voice quality and turn-taking in Finnish. In: Cecilia E. Ford and Elizabeth Couper-Kuhlen (eds.) Sound Patterns in Interaction: Cross-linguistic Studies from conversation, pp. 29-62. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Selting, Margret. 2005. Syntax and prosody as methods for the construction and identification of turn-constructional units in conversation. In: Auli Hakulinen and Margret Selting (eds.): Syntax and lexis in conversation: Studies on the use of linguistic resources in talk-in-interaction. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.