Turn-taking In Talk Shows

This thesis elaborates on the phenomenon of turn-taking between hosts and guests and turn control strategies they adopt in talk shows. The aim of the study is to describe the turn-taking features in talk shows.Following the turn-taking model proposed by Schegloff, Jefferson and Sacks(1974) through the analysis of daily conversation, and taking the nature and characteristics of talk show into full account, the thesis has explored the turn-taking rules and turn-control strategies in talk show programs. Through the analysis of talks taking place in different episodes of a CCTV talk show program, Dialogue, the thesis has demonstrated that the turn-taking rules of daily conversation are not always applicable in talk shows. On this basis, the thesis has proposed amendments to the rules accordingly, and thereby outlined the turn-taking rules in talk shows. When talk show hosts and guests take turns to speak, they will certainly adopt strategies to claim the turn or yield the turn. The thesis also demonstrates different turn-control strategies hosts and guests adopt from the perspective of institutional power.The present study may add to the existing body of work on turn-taking and may help to gain deeper insight into the nature of interactions in talk shows. It is also hoped that the investigation into turn-taking operation in talk shows may benefit the talk show chief editors, sponsors, and especially the host in achieving success in the program.As pointed out at the end of the thesis, much more work remains to be done about turn-taking in talk shows because the present study only makes a macro study on turn-taking based on Sacks et al's model. Future work might be done on subtle things such as turn length, paralanguages, intonations etc.