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Multiparty interaction: a multimodal perspective on relevance

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, USA

This article investigates a multiparty interaction in an accounting office by applying a multimodal approach to discourse (Norris, 2004a). This approach allows the incorporation of all relevant communicative modes and is based on the following three notions: 1) the notion of mediated action; 2) the notion of modal density; and 3) the notion of a foreground– background continuum of attention/awareness. The article illustrates that a social actor in a multiparty interaction simultaneously co-constructs several higher-level actions with the various participants on different levels of their attention/awareness. On a theoretical level, the article argues that traditional approaches to discourse analysis, with their unconditional focus on language as the primary mode, misconstrue the multiple higher-level actions that a social actor is engaged in simultaneously as dyadic or triadic interactions in quick succession.

Key Words: conversation/discourse analysis • multimodal discourse analysis • multiparty interaction • social interaction

Discourse Studies, Vol. 8, No. 3, 401-421 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1461445606061878


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