The increase of video-mediated interaction (VMI) in different domains has sparked interest in Conversation Analysis (CA) on how video, as a medium, shapes the organisation of interaction and the use of embodied resources for action (e.g., Luff et al., 2016; Seuren et al., 2021). Much of existing CA research has investigated videoconferencing settings in which all participants are “equally remote” and see and hear each other through VMI technology. Consequently, less is known about the organisation of hybrid meetings, which include both co-present and video-mediated interactional spaces (e.g., Büyükgüzel & Balaman, 2023). Contributing to CA research on hybrid interactions, I explore the use of telepresence robots to participate remotely in classroom interaction with classroom-based members. These robots are remote-controlled videoconferencing devices, which enable the operator to control their visual perspective and movement in the ‘local’ space such as the classroom (see e.g., Due, 2021; Jakonen et al., 2024).

Drawing on a broader corpus collected from second language classrooms at universities in Finland, I analyse screen recordings made on remote students’ computers. I investigate remote participants’ camera actions as a form of mundane video production (e.g., Broth et al., 2014; Licoppe, 2015) and demonstrate how they use the robot’s visual and mobility controls to reconfigure the robot’s camera view to follow actions and objects in the classroom and to manage transitions between personal online spaces such as websites and the classroom view. The findings shed light on multimodal practices of addressing technology-induced interactional asymmetries in novel distributed ecologies for action.

Our presentation examines the structure and use of argumentative discourse patterns in data from Finnish everyday conversation. Discourse patterns (DPs) can be produced in speech or writing by a single language user or by several speakers in lengthy argumentative sequences. In discourse studies, DPs have been studied in journalistic and academic texts (on Finnish, see Makkonen-Craig 2005, 2014; Juvonen 2014; Virtanen 2015) where they may form broader structures where confrontation, concession or juxtaposition of facts justify an argument (see, e.g., Juvonen 2010; Lahti 2019).

In conversation analysis, studies of DPs have focused on linguistic practices such as the use of turn-final conjunctions by a single speaker (Koivisto 2011, 2012) as well as on concessive patterns produced by several speakers (Couper-Kuhlen & Thompson 2000; Niemi 2014). Large DPs, so-called projects and activities, have been studied particularly in institutional contexts (e.g., Robinson 2013; Heritage & Clayman 2024).

Using the methodologies of conversation analysis and interactional linguistics, we approach the topic through the fixed se että -cluster, a projector phrase (Aijmer 2007) perhaps best translatable as ‘the thing is’. Previous research (e.g., Laury et al. 2024) has shown that fixed se että typically occurs in long, multi-unit turns in which the speakers express their own knowledge, attitude or understanding, often as part of larger evaluative and narrative sequences. We show that se että functions – together with other argumentative elements – as a means of positioning the current turn/unit as part of a broader DP, relating the speaker’s perspective to previously presented arguments.

In this paper, I will analyze the interactional tasks of the Finnish modal verb “joutua” ‘have to (do)’ in spoken interactions by combining Interactional Linguistics, Conversation Analysis and Cognitive Grammar. The interactional tasks of “joutua” will be examined by using Conversation Analysis. The Cognitive Grammar will be utilized for exploring why “joutua” can have these interactional tasks in terms of the semantics of the verb. Two semantic features of “joutua” observed by Flint (1980: 74-75) are utilized: 1) the verb expresses the absence of volition; 2) the verb expresses external forces. These two semantic features are interrelated by using force dynamics (Talmy 1988) based on which the subject of “joutua” is compelled to do an unwanted event due to external forces.

Several interactional functions of “joutua” were observed. For instance, “joutua” can be used in a generalizing scenario for revising the speaker’s own or the co-participant’s understanding of a telling. By using “joutua”, the speaker can negotiate with the co-participant about what external forces resist the occurrence of a specific event. This can further pursue the alignment from the co-participant and cause early recognitional overlap (e.g., Vatanen 2018). The data consist both face-to-face and telephone conversations.

References:

Flint, Aili. 1980. Semantic structure in the Finnish lexicon: Verbs of possibility and sufficiency. Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society.

Talmy, Leonard. 1988. “Force dynamics in language and cognition.” Cognitive science 12 (1): 49-100.

Vatanen, Anna. 2018 “Responding in Early Overlap: Recognitional Onsets in Assertion Sequences.” Research on Language and Social Interaction 51 (2): 107-126.

This study explores how Turkish politicians construct interpersonal meaning in seemingly trivial small talk interactions, drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to uncover both micro-level linguistic strategies and broader ideological alignments. While official speeches often dominate political discourse analyses, everyday encounters—such as parliamentary lobby chats and impromptu exchanges—offer a unique lens through which face-work, politeness, and power negotiations become visible.

Building upon Halliday's (1994) functional model and Martin and White's (2005) Appraisal theory, this research analyzes spontaneous conversational exchanges both among politicians themselves and between politicians and citizens with diverse political orientations. The theoretical framework integrates SFL's concepts of "prosodic" radiation of interpersonal meanings (Hood, 2006), Mood and Modality systems (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2014), and Negotiation (Martin, 1992), alongside Brown and Levinson's (2016) Politeness theory.

The dataset comprises video clips from the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Presidential Palace, and party events, as well as transcripts of casual interactions. By examining evaluative prosody across these conversations, the analysis reveals a tension between collaborative relationship-building and asymmetrical power structures. Conservative politicians frequently foreground cultural values or hierarchical deference, whereas opposition figures tend to intensify Graduation resources to widen ideological appeal.

In doing so, the paper underscores how small talk serves as a strategic platform for ideological negotiation, challenging the perceived boundary between formal and informal political discourse. Ultimately, this integrated SFL perspective highlights the nuanced ways in which interpersonal meaning is negotiated, sustained, and contested in ostensibly trivial yet ideologically charged moments of political interaction.

Keywords: Systemic Functional Linguistics, small talk, political discourse, Appraisal theory, politeness, prosody

References
Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C. (2016). Politeness some universals in language usage (25th printing 2016). Cambridge University Press.
Halliday, M. A. K. (1994). An introduction to functional grammar (2nd ed.). Edward Arnold.
Halliday, M. A. K., & Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (2014). Halliday's introduction to functional grammar (4th ed.). Routledge.
Hood, S. (2006). The persuasive power of prosodies: Radiating values in academic writing. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 5(1), 37-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2005.11.001
Martin, J. R. (1992). English text: System and structure. John Benjamins.
Martin, J. R., & Rose, D. (2007). Working with discourse: Meaning beyond the clause (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury.
Martin, J. R., & White, P. R. R. (2005). The language of evaluation: Appraisal in English. Palgrave Macmillan.