La reparación conversacional en español : un analisis de los talk shows

Abstract

This thesis examines one type of repair mechanism occurring in Spanish conversation known as self-initiated self-repair. This type of repair occurs when the production of the current conversational turn is interrupted by the current speaker who proceeds with a self-repair operation, which may consist of a repetition, a replacement, an insertion, or a deletion that alters an earlier segment of the turn. This study analyzes the different types of repair which occur in the data obtained from the transcriptions of two talk shows in Spanish, and focuses on self-repair as the dominant type. The effect of self-repair in Spanish syntax is examined and patterns of self-repair observed in the data are compared. The data reveal instances of all repair types; however, self-initiated self-repair is the predominant type in the Spanish talk shows. Regarding the effect of repair on the syntax of Spanish, the data show that all instances of repair were new coherent segments consisting of grammatical constituents. The final research question focuses on the similarities and differences among English and Spanish repair mechanisms. Differences are shown with regard to the nature of the syntax of each language. Similarities include the fact that both languages are word and phrase orientated, and that they make use of the recipient disigned strategy. Due to the pervasiveness of self-repair in conversational discourse, a thorough understanding of self-repair is needed for an adequate theoretical account of grammar as it is employed in conversation.