Chapter 10
Processes of language enquiries
The case of the Prague Language Consulting Service
The Czech Language Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague is a public scientific institution, which provides language consulting services over the phone. Since January 2013, the phone interactions between the linguists at the Institute and enquirers have been recorded for further linguistic research. In this paper, I outline preliminary observations concerning the configuration of the interactions. I propose a simple categorisation of the main factors determining the configuration of the dialogue. This categorisation is supported by evidence in the form of authentic dialogues illustrating the ways in which enquirers present their problems, and the arguments both sides use to support their views, etc.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.The Language Consulting Centre and its services
- 3.The structure of the dialogue: An overview
- 3.1Dialogue structure: Simple enquiries
- 3.2Dialogue structure: Complex enquiries
- 4.Summary and concluding comments
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Notes
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References