How to combine genres in Besѣda®

Content

Design

I am especially excited to introduce embedding/nesting genres which has been the main line of effort. It is magnificent to see the powerful ways in which the fragments of speech can be merged into a whole which is larger than its parts.

This is a milestone in the development of the core product which introduces breaking changes from previous versions.

Issue

There are many occasions where a conversation does not follow the orientational procedures described in the earlier blog article about speech genres and for example - dispute. Pomerantz defines it as dispreference, others define it more generally as reluctance to break the flow of the conversation. Regardless of the definition, it is a tricky situation to simulate.

Requirements

The combination of the genres should be clear to the participants. There should be no confusion originating from the mechanisms of the combination themselves.

Limitations

Currently there are only two main genres (rapport and dispute) therefore the selection of the combination is done on behalf of the conversationalist who triggers the combination.

Research

In the conversation analytic literature there is a gap about this topic. The root cause might be because of the nature of the science - to analyse. Whereas this effort is about synthesis, generation.

What the author found is from another field - computer science. “Games that agents play: A formal framework for dialogues between autonomous agents” offers a hierarchical representation of complex dialogues. Specifically they define the following combinations:

The designer has used these as a point of reference and has made important modifications.

Implementation

Iteration is not applicable to Besѣda® because of the rules of the speech genres: For the rapport genre there is the versioning of pair parts which is itself a form of iteration. For the dispute genre the arguers can make multiple levels of statements which is itself a form of iteration.

In relation to testing - it is possible that in the future when Besѣda® has integrations with external systems this would become relevant.

In relation to sequencing: the back end logic has been modified to restrict the conversationalist such that they can create a new genre only after being in the final stage of the newest (current) genre.

In relation to parallelisation - the conversationalist can undertake multiple speech genres simultaneously based on different themes. There is currently no limitation on the number of open themes.

Embeddeding

Three variations of embedding speech genres have been implemented:

The simplest variation is to embed a resource from another genre within one conversation move. This aligns with the notion of dispreference. See the conversation analysis for an example.

The second variation is about negotiation. When the logic detects it is probable that there has been relationship turbulance or an impasse has been reached, a mini conversation of negotiation is triggered. The functioning of the negotiation matches the definition of embedding from the research: the negotiation is undertaken at a lower level than the current genre and the rules of the current genre do not apply. See the conversation analysis for an example.

The third variation is a complex combination of parallelisation and embedding. Embed a different type of genre at the same level of the current genre and select the rules of which genre type are applicable at a given time. See the conversation analysis for an example.

Conversation Analysis

Dispreference

A very simple (and possibly rude) example is:

A: Would you like salt?
B: No.

The first conversation move is collaborative whereas the second is not - it breaks the flow of the interaction.

In the application, the second move is embedded because the conversationalist cannot decline the suggestion while in the collaborative genre “rapport” - the posture to decline from the genre “dispute” is not available. The easier option to decline is to embed the posture in a single move and continue with the collaboration.

Combination

## Dispute Stage I Confrontation ##
A: You have thrown my dishcloth [Condemn => dispute subgenre quarrel], 

[+ Embed Genre +]
## Rapport Stage I Experimentation ##
A: haven't you? [Give Space]
B: I used it to wash the oven [Appear] 

[Switch Genre]
## Dispute Stage II Contestation ##
B: and it smelled awful. [Discriminate]
A: That was a new dishcloth. [Counter]

[Switch Genre]
## Rapport Stage II Intensification ##
B: I'll buy you a new one this afternoon. [Promise => rapport subgenre planning]

[Switch Genre]
## Dispute ##
A: This is not a question of who will buy it. [Dismiss] 

## Dispute Stage III Conviction ##
[not visible in the graphic because it is displayed in a separate focus space]
A: The cloth is mine, 
A: so nobody but I have the right to decide if it should be thrown away.

Source: Managing rapport in talk: Using rapport sensitive incidents to explore the motivational concerns underlying the management of relations

A simulation of this conversation has been done and the focus space of the combined moves looks the following way:

The wider nodes are those which belong to the genre “dispute”. The shorter - to the genre “rapport”.

Roadmap

Those of you who have been following this blog series may have noticed that this is the first time a few features are discussed: negotiation and topics.

The work on negotiation is in progress and you can check the roadmap link for updates on how Besѣda® mediates between the parties in critical moments.

Currently, the topics are no more than containers.

You are welcome to provide your feedback and make suggest on the roadmap link. Thank you!

Document history

Read Next

What are social images in Besѣda®?

Introducing images and social actions.

How to dispute with precision using Besѣda®

Introducing the genre dispute - an overview of the structure, the progression, the resources and some of the basic rules. See the User manual section.