Multimodality in English as a lingua franca conversations – finger quotes and embodied try-marking

Speakers: Ivana Leinonen (University of Oulu) and Dr Maria Frick (University of Oulu)

About Ivana Leinonen: Ivana Leinonen is a PhD student at the Department of Finnish Language and Literature at University of Oulu, Finland. Using the methodological and theoretical framework of conversation analysis her research explores multimodal ways by which English as lingua franca speakers co-construct understanding in everyday face-to-face interactions. Her research is part of LinBo (Linguistic and bodily involvement in multicultural interactions) project led by adjunct professor Maria Frick.

About Dr Maria Frick: Maria Frick is a university lecturer and adjunct professor (docent) at the University of Oulu (Finland). She conducts research in interactional linguistics, multilingual and multimodal interaction. Frick leads the project Linguistic and bodily involvement in multicultural interactions (2019–2025) which focuses on how people use language and bodily resources to communicate in multicultural encounters and how their underlying ideologies and attitudes influence their involvement in these encounters and the society at large.

Abstract: Situations in which participants rely on English as lingua franca (ELF) are often characterized as intrinsically multilingual; they bring together interlocutors whose experiences with using English vary and whose linguistic repertoires can also include other languages which may be partially or fully shared by others. This linguistic diversity allows participants to use specific multilingual resources—such as insertions from other languages—to enhance the progressivity and effectivity of their communication, but occasionally it can also cause additional language-related trouble. Using conversation analysis as a method and drawing on 26 hours of video-recorded everyday conversations among a group of friends, we investigate how English as lingua franca speakers secure understanding and negotiate meaning multimodally in their encounters. Our presentation will introduce two topics: First, Leinonen will discuss the results of her study on participants’ use of try-marking as a multimodal resource for securing recipient understanding of codeswitched items (Leinonen, 2022). Second, we will present some preliminary observations of participants’ use of air quotes (Leinonen & Frick, in progress).