Extract 6
1 Shona: i:t’s (.) a constantly evolving situation as
2 a parent=
3 Phil: =do you agree with this Karen↑
4 Karen: .hh <no:: i don’t agree> at all and i would say
5 (.) any newborn baby (.) i mea:n- mi:ne are six
6 and eight .h you can chok e you can throw up
7 .hhh y’know in less than a minute that baby
8 could have been dead in the car
In response to Shona’s stance, Karen asserts strong opposition “<no:: i don’t agree> at all”(line 4), rejecting any shared experience implied by Shona’s reference to the “situation as a parent” (lines 1-2). Karen then presents a generalised account concerning “any newborn baby” (line 5), before interrupting her own argument to bolster her credentials via the ‘how many-how old’ manoeuvre. Karen then moves to a bottom-line argument (Edwards et al, 1995), where “in less than a minute that baby could have been dead ” (lines 7-8).
We now consider interactions between Mother-cum-Experts andtopic-relevant Experts who do not make a claim to motherhood category membership. The debate in Extract 7, was previously introduced in Extract 4. Prior to Extract 7, Clare has already categorised herself as ‘a busy mum’.