Answering machine talk

Abstract

This article examines a data sample of taped answering machine messages in an attempt to describe and discuss their discourse properties and functions. The data are analyzed in terms of their comparability to other types of discourse, both written and spoken. The analysis focuses on the devices utilized by callers to “talk” with an absent interlocutor. Focal questions for analysis are (a) What do people do with their talk when there is no interlocutor present to give them feedback and negotiate meaning and yet they are encouraged to speak as if there were? and (b) What features represent evidence of written language devices within the context of the spoken language which comprises an answering machine message? Answering machine talk appears to be a unique form of discourse employing elements of “performative” spoken language, written language, and special uses of prosodic markers to create “dialogue” with an absent interlocutor.