ABSTRACT
Consider the following extract from a telephone conversation between a health advisor and a female patient. The exchange takes place at the end of the phone consultation.
(5.1)
Advisor: Lovely. I Just need to ask you a couple of questions if I may? Caller: Eh ha Advisor: Can I ask you how you heard about our service please? Caller: From on the Internet I think it was. Advisor: Ah yeah. Caller: Yeah. Advisor: And if you hadn’t called us today what would’ve you done instead? Caller: [in an emotional way] I don’t know. Advisor: That’s fine. That’s fine [laughs]
The health advisor asks a standard question which forms part of a protocol of the particular service and the patient answers his questions. In asking the questions, the health advisor is performing the (speech) action of a request for information. The patient complies with this request and provides the appropriate answers. In this highly institutionalised context, the way in which the request is being made is very explicit so as to avoid any confusion or miscommunication. There are other situations where speech acts are performed in a less explicit way and participants to a conversation have to infer the meaning of what is said through reference to contextual information.
