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Professional discourse analysis: Specific language features in telephone communication breakdown
Author(s)
Date Issued
2015
Citation
In Proceedings of First International Conference on Linguistics and Language Studies, ICLLS 2015 (p. 164-179).
Type
Conference Paper
Abstract
In call centre communication, the only channel of communication between Customer Service Representative (CSR) and customer is the telephonic conversation. However, little attention has been focused on linguistics analyses of authentic complaint calls or calls with “communication breakdown”. In the present study, 100 English telephone conversations (approximately 52,600 words) have been collected from the Philippines and transcribed in Hong Kong. These spoken data are complex conversations between the Filipino CSRs and American customers. Systemic Functional Linguistics approach (SFL) is chosen as the theoretical framework (see Halliday & Matthiessen, 2014). This is because SFL is a model of grammar, with a rich account of lexicogrammatical features, and also an approach which locates language and meaning at the level of context, culture and discourse (Halliday, 1978). The study examines the generic stages, lexico-grammatical and voice quality features. The findings are significant to enhance understanding of the language of this rapidly developing industry.
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