Small Talk in English

PRACTICAL IDEAS AND RESOURCES

Resources in this section curated by:  Ellie Collins and Holly Shao

MASTERING SMALL TALK

APPROPRIATE TOPICS

SPECIFIC CONTEXTS

HUMOR IN SMALL TALK

FOR TEACHERS

Activities

ACADEMIC RESOURCES ON SMALL TALK IN ENGLISH

Resources in this section curated by: Ellie Collins and Holly Shao

OVERVIEW OF SMALL TALK

al-Qinai, J. B. S. (2011). Translating phatic expressions. Pragmatics : Quarterly Publication of the International Pragmatics Association, 21(1). 23-39. doi: 10.1075/prag.21.1.02qin

This article was written by Jamal B.S. al-Qinai of Kuwait University. In this article, the author compares phatic expressions and informational expressions and the translations of those functions. In this article, phatic expressions are described as a “social function of language which arises in order to maintain rapport between people in line with the maxims of politeness.” The authors consider different kinds of phatic communication including compliments, greeting, and leave-taking. They go on to discuss the importance of context for this phatic communication and consider how different dialects of Arabic deal with this kind of communication.

When considering the differences between Arabic and English in small talk exchanges, the authors consider the importance of how these phrases are translated between languages. They argue that when they are translated word-for-word, phrases lose much of their meaning which relies more on sociopragmatic information than on literal semantics. Mistranslations of these phrases can lead to other real communication problems as the intended and interpreted illocutionary forces might not match. Language teachers can use this information in the classroom as they teach small talk. It is not always sufficient to translate word-for-word small talk from students’ L1 to the target language; there are pragmatic functions that literal translation will not necessarily cover.

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Copeland, George, & Maier, David. (1984). Making smalltalk a database system. SIGMOD Record, 14(2), 316–325. https://doi.org/10.1145/971697.602300

This study explores computers learning the rules of English small talk, providing a discussion of our parameters of small talk in day-to-day use and how we can teach technology to understand those limitations and expectations. Contributors to this academic journal recount issues with existing computer and program models with regards to small talk ability. Included also is a detailed explanation of how the computers are programmed to read certain linguistic features, including semantics, hierarchy, identity, and the basic merging of language data and programming.

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Coupland, J. (2014). Small talk. Routledge.

This study presents a new perspective on small talk and its crucial role in everyday communication. The new approach presented here is supported by analyses of interactional data in specific settings-private and public, face-to-face and telephone talk. Each chapter in the book argues a different perspective on small talk, supported by a number of analyses on social settings and situations; much of these analyses take a methodological approach. Throughout the book, the author considers the placement of small talk in a theoretical framework, the structure and content of small talk, and the role of small talk in social spaces.

This book would be beneficial for anyone who wanted to gain a wholistic view of small talk. The wide variety of topics in the book provides varying perspectives on the pieces and aspects of small talk. Additionally, there are several chapters that focus on varying contexts--including family dinners, medical spaces, and service encounters. This could be a useful resource for native speakers and language learners alike.

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Hinkel, E. (1994). Topic appropriateness in cross-cultural social conversations. Pragmatics and Language Learning Monograph Series, 5, 163–179.

In this article, the author looks at various topics and their level of appropriateness in different cultures. They did this by surveying students from varying language/cultural backgrounds; the participants consisted of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, and American university students. Each participant was asked to rank the appropriateness of various topics and these responses were compared across the different groups. The author notes that the concept of "appropriateness" is not easily defined, but it is important to consider these topics since successful conversations require cooperation between all the interlocutor. Miscommunication can happen if speakers try to breach a subject that the interlocutor finds inappropriate.

This article could be useful for educators and learners alike. Though it is a little dated, the concept of certain topics being appropriate or inappropriate in different cultures still stands. This article gives a good overview of categories of topics as well as a general idea of which ones are consider generally appropriate across cultures and which ones can be touchy in certain cultures.

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Jin, Y. (2018). Small talk in medical conversations: Data from China. Journal of Pragmatics, 134, 31-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2018.06.011 

This paper explores where and how small talk is positioned, initiated, and closed between participants in two types of medical practices that co-exist in China: Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine. Analysis of 69 consultations suggests that small talk permeates into the boundaries of talk. The findings also demonstrate a marked clinical difference in relation to the distribution and discourse functions of small talk.

The article investigates “Small Talk” in the medical field between medical providers and patients through five different components, they are: what is small talk? Theoretical framework, methods and data, analysis, and discussion. The author defines and cites “Small Talk” from multiple sources, rather emphasizes on  “core medical talk” which is high informative conversations occurring during doctor visits in this article. In the “theoretical framework” component, the author states an analytical approach to interactional sociolinguistics that aims to show how participants engage conversation through producing small talks in speeches in order to achieve their communicative goals. In the “method and data” component, the author reports data were drawn from 39WMto 30 TCM audio-recordings between 6 doctors (1 male, 5 female) and 69 elderly patients (34 male, 35 female) with chronic disease in a general public hospital in Mainland China. The “analysis” component provides several conversation examples that occurred at doctor offices, and analyzes the greeting, the exchanging information, and the closing  in each conversation. The author illustrates sociolinguistics analysis into this component, to reveal language and power, and reflect social relations between doctors and patients in China.Finally, the “discussion” component, the variation of small talks in the medical field between doctor and patients are reflections of power, social relations, clinical philosophy and pathology.

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Zegarac, V., & Clark, B. (1999). Phatic interpretations and phatic communication. Journal of Linguistics, 35(2), 321-346.  

This article is written by Vlad Zegarac and Billy Clark from University of Luton and Middlesex University respectively. It covers the basics of phatic communication which covers the function of small talk. The authors first consider what types of communication should be labeled as ‘phatic’ and why. The authors argue that a large part of that decision--whether or not to label something as phatic--relies on the listeners’ interpretation of the utterance. The authors consider phatic communication in terms of Relevance Theory. In light of this, the authors consider several characteristics of phatic communication including language that is used “as a mode of action, rather than the transmission of thoughts” and  “to establish an atmosphere of sociability and personal communion between people.” The authors suggest that listeners tend to have intuitions as to whether language is phatic or not, and this is shown through their interpretation and reaction to it. 

This article could be useful for language teachers who are interested in teaching small talk or other forms of phatic communication in the classroom. This article outlines some of the basics of small talk along with possible reactions and interpretations to phatic utterances. This can also help with the “awareness” quadrant of the IPIC model because it can help learners recognize the success of their small talk.

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PRAGMATICS AND SMALL TALK

Coupland, Justine. (2003). Small talk: Social functions. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 36(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327973RLSI3601_1 

This study analyses small talk in the English language with a specified focus on its social functions. In this article, the author mainly looks at the social and sociopolitical dynamics associated with small talk. The author takes into consideration a collection of articles which have explored small talk in varying contexts including a number of diverse social settings and situations. Additionally, the author considers genres and varying topics that may be utilized during small talk. There is also a focus on what about small talk makes it ‘small’ compared to other forms of conversation. Coupland discusses the social function of small talk beyond the literal content that is covered in conversations.

This article is helpful for understanding the importance of small talk in varying situations. When small talk can be viewed beyond the formulaic exchange of "small" information, learners of English might have some insight into the value of the function of small talk. Mastering small talk will prove to be a useful skill in numerous contexts.

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Holmes, J. (2003). Small talk at work: Potential problems for workers with an intellectual disability. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 36(1), 65–84. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327973RLSI3601_4 

This article talks about the challenges of navigating small talk in a workplace setting for some neurodiverse speakers. The authors look at how small talk is present in the workspace and examines how it changes depending on the specific context. Additionally, the authors explore the functions that small talk serves between co-workers. They find that small talk plays an important role in helping the social sphere of the workplace continue to function, and when speakers are unable to successfully participate in the small talk they must find other ways to negotiate.

This article helps to demonstrate some of the challenges that people can face if they are unable to master the function of small talk in English. Additionally, this article could be useful for helping expert speakers understand how to empathize and support speakers who may not have mastered all of the elements of small talk.

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Holmes, J. (2005). When small talk is a big deal: Sociolinguistic challenges in the workplace. Second language needs analysis, 344, 371.

In this article, the author explains the importance of small talk from a sociolinguistic perspective. Learners need to have the ability to manage on-going, dynamic social interaction in a wide range of settings, and this entails accuracy, fluency and other dimensions of sociolinguistic, for instance, power, solidarity, formality, and function. Small talk or social talk are crucial in the workplace. This paper brings attention to the social dimension of language learning and teaching.

Some common topics of small talk, typical distributional patterns, and some of the functions of small talk at work are identified, as well as the problems each of these areas may raise for new employees. Some suggestions are provided for ways in which teachers and trainers may assist workers acquire some of the sociolinguistic skills required to manage small talk effectively in their workplaces. Workers from non-English-speaking backgrounds often face difficulties with social interaction in new cultures and new workplaces. Small talk as an interpersonal aspect of the workplace is sometimes considered too basic to deserve serious attention, as a result, how teachers may assist workers to acquire some relevant sociolinguistic skills in the area of small talk that they need to operate effectively. Small talk at work serves a wide range of functions, primarily social functions, expressing friendliness, maintaining solidarity among people. Selecting appropriate topics for a particular workplace involves sociolinguistic skills. Making a good beginning is important; it establishes a sound basis for developing, with the assistance of supportive and understanding co-workers, more sophisticated aspects of social competence that are most effectively acquired in the workplace context itself.

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Meierkord, C. (2013). Interpreting successful lingua-franca interaction. An analysis of non-native-/non-native small talk conversation in English. Linguistik Online, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.13092/lo.5.1013 

In this article written by Christiane Meierkord, English is observed as a lingua franca in tape-recordings from a student hall at a university in Great Britain. The data consists of naturally occurring face-to-face group conversations. The most notable feature of English as a lingua franca that will be discussed is small talk. One of the aspects that is observed in this data is the concept of turn taking. In the absence of turn taking, it is described as a 'noticed event' by others in the group and results in the use of repair mechanisms. 

The author found that when comparing the pragmatics of English as an international lingua franca and native speakers of British English and American English, they differ in politeness and discourse structure. For example, when two non-native English speakers are having a conversation, they often jump from topic to topic and only discuss them superficially. They also tend to not end the conversation the same way that a native speaker would, like with the phrase "I'd better be off now", and stick with "Bye" instead.

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Padilla Cruz, M. (2001). The relevance of what seems irrelevant: Remarks on the relationship between phatic utterances and sociopragmatic failure. Estudios De Linguistica Inglesa Aplicada (ELIA), 2, 199-212. 

This article was written by Manuel Padilla Cruz, a faculty member of the English Language Department at the University of Seville in Sevilla, Spain. Padilla Cruz looks at sociopragmatic failure through the lens of relevance theory which suggests that the context and pragmatics of an utterance can carry more meaning than the literal semantics of the utterance itself. The author suggests that phatic communication (small talk) can help interlocutors better understand details of the context. Padilla Cruz goes on to say that in order to become a successful member of a language community, a speaker must be familiar with sets of social contexts. These social contexts in phatic communication do not always translate across languages which is where sociopragmatic failures can occur.

This article can help provide some helpful insight for second language teachers teaching small talk in their classrooms. When small talk is framed as communication which helps to define a context, the utility of small talk becomes much more evident. Additionally, if learners can glean contextual information from phatic communication this can help them in choosing what type of language to use in the context. The author provides several strategies that teachers can use in their classroom to help learners recognize the contexts of a situation.

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Yates, L. & Major, G. (2015). “Quick-chatting”, “smart dogs”, and how to “say without saying”: Small talk and pragmatic learning in the community. System (Linköping), 48, 141–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2014.09.011  

In this article written by Lynda Yates and George Major, they focus on the perspective of adult immigrants whose first languages are not English and have low levels of knowledge of English, in Australia. One of their findings was the participants realization of how important small talk is, especially in the work place. For example, they discussed how they'd observed people joking around with one another as a form of small talk and it wasn't just contained to peers, but it extended onto superiors as well. The participants also talked about how they often didn't understand the jokes being made around them during small talk but later attributed it to cultural differences.

At the end of the article, the authors give some suggestions for teaching practice. One of the examples given when having the learners watch a short video that has either naturally or semi-naturally occurring small talk and have the students talk about what they see in terms of who does it, where and when it happens, and then reflect on what they see. They also suggest giving homework assignments where they are supposed to write down when they see small talk happening in the world around them. These activities are supposed to help bridge their own cultures with how small talk happens in English.

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SMALL TALK AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

Dooly, M., & Tudini, V. (2016). ‘Now we are teachers’: The role of small talk in student language teachers’ telecollaborative task development. Journal of Pragmatics, 102, 38–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2016.06.008 

This article considers the importance of small talk discourse in a digital space--more specifically, over video conferencing software. The authors look at how the use of different types of small talk affect an individual's ability to achieve a goal over video conferencing software.  The study in this article focuses specifically on synchronous video computer mediated communication between a student teacher from Spain and a student teacher from the United States. The researchers look at the topics that the student teachers cover in small talk while working together on a task. The small talk in these situations helps to propel the conversation toward completing the tasks together. One interesting thing the authors found was that, though both participants were expert speakers of both English and Spanish, they tended to use English as the main mode of communication between them. 

The content of this article could be useful for both educators and learners interested in small talk. The study in this article provides useful insight into how small talk functions in telecollaboration. Additionally, the authors covers several types of small talk and small talk topics that learners (or English speakers) can implement to improve their small talk skills.

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Hunter, J. (2012). 'Small Talk': developing fluency, accuracy, and complexity in speaking. ELT Journal, 66(1), 30–41. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccq093 

This article points out the challenging question for language teachers: how to ensure that learners develop accuracy and complexity, as well as fluency in their speaking. Through exploring a methodology “Small Talk”, which resolves some of the tension between the need to encourage learners having communicative language ability and to bring focus on forms into the syllabus that are valid and relevant by both teachers and learners. 

The activity provides a comprehensive approach to developing accuracy, fluency and complexity in oral production. In a “Small Talk” session, students have conversations based on their language proficiency without intervention by the teacher, and receive feedback at the end of the activity. Each session has a pre-appointed student leader, who is in charge of choosing topics, providing questions and relevant vocabulary to further discussions, putting cohorts into small groups, timing the conversation, and leading a check-in session at the end. This activity involves preparation and communication before and after the class. For instance, the day before the class, the student leader announces the topic, so that the participants will be able to come to class prepared. At the end of the session, the current student leader reveals the next session date and the new leader, therefore the new student leader will take over the responsibility for the next session. During the session, students are encouraged to report their interactions on the topic and their own part in it. The teacher has no role in the conversations, though the teacher does observations during the session. This activity is designed for a typical 50-minute class, the teacher takes responsibility for the last 10-minute in class to give feedback and comments.

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Morris-Adams, M. (2014). From Spanish paintings to murder: Topic transitions in casual conversations between native and non-native speakers of English. Journal of Pragmatics, 62, 151–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2013.11.008 

In this journal article written by Muna Morris-Adams, the strategies used by non-native English speakers when switching topics during casual conversations with native English speakers are discussed. The data presented consists of conversations recorded between 10 non-native speakers and native English speakers. The aim was to get conversations that were as authentic as possible. One of the findings was the importance of asking questions, this was often a source of topic change between the speakers. Another way that non-native speakers changed the topic was through the introduction of current events or announcements, this can effectively move the conversation from general to more personal ground. 

This study found that non-native speakers produced an equal, if not greater, number of topic initiations in the conversation. The ability to move from topic to topic in a natural way can help with the confidence and interactional competence of the language learner.