Occupational Analysis - Hospital

To what extent does the represented language of medical occupation reflect real language use in this kind of workplace, or language in the work place more generally?

The language used in the Holby City clip successfully reflects work place jargon in a hospital.

In the clip, the language used follows a researched concept that when participants are engaged in genuine enquiry or information sharing, language tends to become grammatically more complex. In the clip, the surgeons exchange saying ‘’Then we need to make a small incision over the vessel that were going to bypass’’ ‘’Her blood pressures dropping…right why don’t we convert her to an open procedure’’. Here we see the engagement of conversation between two surgeons. As the speakers get more involved in what they’re saying, the language used starts to become more complex. They begin to use hospital jargon which outsiders would not understand. The other surgeons who do not talk comply with what they are saying, and so this also supports the study that the common use of technical vocabulary binds it’s users together, whatever relative formal status.

The lack of power constrains a person’s language, even when the powerful participants in a dialogue are using their language for entirely benevolent purposes. The new surgeon tells the experienced and most power surgeon ‘’Why don’t you let me do my job’’. This supports the theory because we see a drop in the use of technical occupational language. The speaker uses common forms of speech despite how he is trying to do something for the purpose of the patient in order to express opinion that he is capable. The experienced surgeon demands ‘’We need to open her up now’’ and again this supports the fact that language is constrained in benevolent purposes as she gets straight to the point in order to save time and help the patient.

My chosen clip from Holby City challenges the idea that equality in the dialogue between participants tend to produce less predictable content and turn taking, as well as more interruptions. During the scene, the surgeons stick strictly to talking about the procedure they are undertaking and use technical jargon in order to communication. The two surgeons jump straight in at each other at the talk which defeats the idea of turn taking as they are eager to express their point.

Occupational Language

Easkin & Eakins 1976
In seven university faculty meetings, the men spoke for longer. The men's turns ranged from 10.66 to 17.07 seconds, the women's from 3 to 10 seconds.


Edelsky 1981
In a series of meetings of a university department, men took more and longer turns and did more joking, arguing, directing and soliciting of responses during the more structured segments of meetings. However, during the 'free-for-all' parts of the meetings, women and men talked equally, and women jokes, argued, directed and solicited responses more than men.


''This study into the nature of “the floor” inquiry into sex differences that might occur beyond the sentence level in the multi-party interaction of five informal committee meetings...In the analysis, “floor” and “turn” were distinguished on the basis of “participant-sense” rather than technical criteria. Two kinds of floors were subjectively identified: F1, a singly developed floor; and F2, a collaborative venture where several people seemed to be either operating on the same wavelength or engaging in a free-for-all''
As the men took more and longer turns etc, these are responses of F1's.
Women then used F2's, using turn length and frequency differences and language functions were used to a greater extent.


Herbet & Straight 1981
Compliments tend to flow from those of higher rank to those of higher rank to those of lower rank.


Herring 1992
In an email discussion which took place on a linguistics 'distribution list', 5 women and 30 men took part, even though women make up nearly half the members of the Linguistic Society of American and 36% of the subscribers to the list. Men's messages were twice as long, on average, as women's. Women tended to use a personal voice, e.g ''I am intrigued by your comment...''. The tone adopted by the men who dominated the discussion was assertive: ''It is obvious that...''


Holmes various studies from 1998
Women managers seem to be more likely to negotiate consensus than male managers, they are less like to just 'plough through the agenda', taking time to make sure everyone genuinely agrees with whats been decided.


Holmes and Marra 2002 2005
Contrary to popular belief, women use just as much humour as men, and use it for the same functions, to control discourse and subordinates to contest superiors,although they are more likely to encourage supportive and collaborative humour.


Hornyak 1994?
The shift from work talk to personal talk is always initiated by the highest-ranking person in the room.


Tracy and Eisenberg 1990/1991
When role-playing, delivering criticism to a co-worker about errors in a business letter, men showed more concern for the feelings of the person they were criticizing when in the subordinate role, while women showed more concern when in the superior role.


Various Studies 1998-2004
When giving a directive to an equal, workers tend to use more indirect devices, (such as we instead of you, hedged structures and modals).When giving directions to a subordinate workers are often more direct.




List of many language studies: https://quizlet.com/10969360/english-language-theories-flash-cards/