Extreme case formulation
| Encyclopedia of Terminology for CA and IL: Extreme case formulation | |
|---|---|
| Author(s): | Ann Weatherall (University of Bedfordshire, United Kingdom) (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0298-6681) |
| To cite: | Weatherall, Ann. (2023). Extreme case formulation. In Alexandra Gubina, Elliott M. Hoey & Chase Wesley Raymond (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Terminology for Conversation Analysis and Interactional Linguistics. International Society for Conversation Analysis (ISCA). DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/UG5EK |
Extreme case formulations are expressions that use maximal descriptions which function rhetorically to legitimate or counter a claim or assessment. Examples include: all day, never, everyone, nobody and completely. Extreme case formulations can index a speaker’s stance or attitude. In institutional settings where the truthfulness of claims are relevant, extreme case formulations may be challenged.
In a seminal article on extreme case formulations, Pomerantz (1986) analysed how they were used in complaining sequences which included to construct an expressed stance as objective and/or to cast a moral judgement. The following example was used by Pomerantz as an illustration of an extreme case formulation in use. It was taken from a small claims hearing where a plaintiff is asking for reimbursement of the cost of a dress damaged by a dry cleaning firm.
(Pomerantz 1986: 222) 01 Adj: And, you state that- the dress (.) was new 02 Pla: It was brand new
The plaintiff’s formulation of the dress as "brand new" is a maximal formulation that functions both to agree with the adjudicator’s first assessment by upgrading it, and to defend against a possible counter claim that the dress was old and therefore susceptible to damage, thus not the fault of the dry cleaning firm.
Edwards (2000) further advanced knowledge about extreme case formulation by investigating their sequential and functional features that included indexing stance. He noted that extreme case formulations are ‘factually brittle’ -- that is, easily refutable. Extreme case formation-challenge-softener sequences are those where the veracity of the maximal description is challenged which is responded to by something that softens or defeats exceptions. However, overwhelmingly extreme case formulations go unchallenged which is evidence of their rhetorical rather than literal force. That is, parties orient to extreme case formulations as indexing a speaker’s stance or attitude and signalling their investment in the point being made.
A description can be transformed into an extreme case rormulation as it is being produced in-situ with a self-initiated insertion repair. Wilkinson and Weatherall (2011) identified a recurrent function of insertion repairs as intensifying for rhetorical impact. The following example, taken from their paper, shows a radio presenter introducing a news item:
(Wilkinson & Weatherall 2011: 81, simplified) 01 Pre: I’m now at the new (0.2) spanking new (.) Wedgewood 02 museum in Stoke on Trent..hh a:: very swish 03 new modern building
The description of the museum is transformed in the emergent unfolding of the radio presenter’s turn of talk from being “new” to “spanking new”. The more extreme version functions to upgrade the newsworthiness of the report.
The extent to which extreme case formulations are challenged or treated as unremarkable is linked to the relevant accountability of truthfulness in the setting with which they are used (Drew 2003).
Additional Related Entries:
Cited References:
Drew, P. (2003). Precision and exaggeration in interaction. American Sociological Review, 68(6), 917-938.
Edwards, D. (2000). Extreme case formulations: Softeners, investment, and doing nonliteral. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 33(4), 347-373.
Pomerantz, A. (1986). Extreme case formulations: A way of legitimizing claims. Human Studies, 9(2/3), 219-229.
Wilkinson, S., & Weatherall, A. (2011). Insertion repair. Research on Language & Social Interaction, 44(1), 65-91.
Additional References:
Couper-Kuhlen, E., & Thompson, S. A. (2005). A linguistic practice for retracting overstatements: “Concessive repair.” In A. Hakulinen & M. Selting (Eds.), Syntax and Lexis in Conversation: Studies on the Use of Linguistic Resources in Talk-in-Interaction (pp. 257–288). John Benjamins.
Robles, J. S. (2015). Extreme case (re)formulation as a practice for making hearably racist talk repairable. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 34(4), 390-409.
Sidnell, J. (2004). There’s risks in everything: Extreme-case formulations and accountability in inquiry testimony. Discourse & Society, 15(6), 745-766.
