Example Interview
Words about words
If you are interested in reading more about language, we've gathered together a list of books which you might like to read. To find out more take a look at our further reading section.
Following the flow
Some areas throw the 'r' away, while in others it's highly prized - with so many different formulations, how do we set about studying language variation?
Related programme
Hear what an example interview sounds like and read the transcripts
To give you an idea of how an actual interview might go, we asked broadcast journalist Jodie Campbell to interview an extended family that she knows, the Doyles from Speke near Liverpool. This is not meant to represent the ‘ideal’ interview (in fact a couple of the original participants dropped out at the last minute!), but rather to show you how much can come out of a typical hour’s recording similar to one that you might conduct yourself. You'll also be able to listen to some extracts from this interview, although you'll need the free Quicktime Player.
First, meet the participants in the interview:
 | Karen Doyle, aged 36, sister of Lynnie and mother of Peter. |
 | Lynnie Williams, aged 34, sister of Karen. |
 | Stephen Kirk, aged 19, a neighbour. |
 | Peter Loftus, aged 14, son of Karen. |
 | Jodie Campbell is a broadcast journalist working in Liverpool. |
Highlights from the Interview
In this first extract, you get a chance to hear how Jodie starts the interview off. It’s interesting that she doesn’t launch straight into working through the ‘spidergram’ of words, but gets everyone warmed up and relaxed.
In the next clip we hear Jodie starting to focus on particular sections of the ‘spidergram’, in this instance words from the branches ‘how you feel’ and ‘getting personal’. Below are all the words that the Doyle family members offered under these branches, either in writing or during the interview. The words often fell into two sets – those used by the two older sisters and those used by the two teenage boys. (Whether this was a matter of gender or of generation is hard to say without more information from men of the sisters’ generation and girls of the teenage boys' generation, and we always need to be aware of over-generalising on the basis of the speech of just a few individuals.)
| How you feel... | Karen and Lynnie’s words | Stephen and Peter’s words |
| Pleased | Happy, made up | Happy, buzzing, laughing, cheddar(chees)ed, chuffed, made up, over the moon |
| Tired | Knackered, shattered | Knackered, done in |
| Unwell | Sick | Sick |
| Hot | Hot | Boiling, roasting |
| Cold | Cold | Freezing |
| Annoyed | Angry, pissed off | Mad, pissed off, fuming, on fire |
| Getting personal... | Karen and Lynnie’s words | Stephen and Peter’s words |
| Rich | Minted | Loaded |
| Left-handed | Left-handed | Left-handed |
| Unattractive | Ugly, unfortunate (looking) | Unfortunate (looking), dog |
| Lacking money | Skint, stig, | Skint, broke, dolite (= on the dole), stig, tramp |
| Drunk | Bevvied, pissed | Bevvied, bladed |
| Pregnant | Having a baby | Pregnant, up the duff |
| Attractive | Pretty, nice, lovely | Fit, sexy, gorgeous, fine |
| Insane | Mad, funny , throwing a mental | Mad, off your head, nuts, crazy, up the wall |
| Moody | Narky, sick, stressed (out), cheesed off | Moody |
- Listen to 'Describing People and Feelings' clip - pop-up window (1.6MB)
- Transcript of 'Describing People and Feelings'
The following extract focusses on the ‘What they wear’ branch of the ‘spidergram’. Below are all the words that the Doyle family members offered under this branch, either in writing or during the interview.
| What they wear… | Karen and Lynnie’s words | Stephen and Peter’s words |
| Child’s soft shoes | Pumps, trainees | Pumps, trainees, trabs |
| Trousers | Pants, trackies | Pants, kecks |
| Clothes | Clothes | Clothes, clobber |
In this extract, discussion focusses on just part of the ‘What you call them’ branch of the ‘spidergram’ – the part dealing specifically with family relationships. Below are all the words that the Doyle family members offered under this branch, either in writing or during the interview.
| What you call them... | Karen and Lynnie’s words | Stephen and Peter’s words |
| Baby | Baby, babe | Baby |
| Female partner | Girlfriend, bird | Girlfriend, bird |
| Young person in cheap trendy clothes | Scally | Scally |
| Kit of tools | Tool bag | Tools |
| Something whose name you’ve forgotten | Thingummyjig, whatitsname | Thingummybob, whatitsname |
| Friend(s) | Mate(s), compadres, posse | Mate(s), boy(s), crew (plus homies, from little sister) |
| Male partner | Boyfriend | Fella |
| Grandfather | Gran, granddad, gramps | Grandad |
| Grandmother | Nan | Nan |
| Mother | Mum | Mum, ma |
In the following extract, the family reflect more generally on the topic of generational change in language use. Several of the words they refer to relate to terms under the ‘Inside and outside’ branch of the ‘spidergram’. Below are all the words that the Doyle family members offered under this branch, either in writing or during the interview.
| Generational differences... | Karen and Lynnie’s words | Stephen and Peter’s words |
| To rain lightly | Shower, spit | Spit |
| To rain heavily | Pour down, lash down | Pour down, lash down, piss down |
| Main room of house | Living room | Living room |
| Running water | Stream | Stream |
| Long soft seat | Couch, settee | Couch |
| Narrow walkway | Alley, alleyway | Alley, entry |
| Toilet | Toilet , bog | Toilet , bog |
- Listen to 'Generational Differences' clip - pop-up window (1.5MB)
- Transcript of 'Generational Differences'
In this final extract, we hear how Jodie isn’t too rigid with the interview. She doesn’t automatically stop people when they drift off the main topic, which can be very off-putting and break the flow of the conversation. In this case a question about the word for ‘to play’ (part of the branch ‘What you do’) provoked a long – and fascinating! – digression on the topic of childhood games in general. Below are all the words that the Doyle family members offered under the ‘What you do’ branch, either in writing or during the interview.
| What you do... | Karen and Lynnie’s words | Stephen and Peter’s words |
| To throw | Launch, throw | Chuck, lob |
| To play truant | Sag, bunk off | Sag, skive |
| To sleep | Kip, get your head down | Kip |
| To play (a game) | Play | Play |
| To hit hard | Punch, whack | Slam |
Reviewing the Interview
After you have finished your interview, you might like to listen back to your recording to think about what went well and what you’d do differently another time. Here you can listen to Jodie Campbell talking to Barbara Mayor of The Open University, about the interview she has just conducted with the Doyles. There may well be some lessons that you too can learn from this.
- Listen to 'Review of the Doyle Interview' - pop-up window (967KB)
- Transcript of 'Review of the Doyle Interview'
Content last updated: 08/07/2005
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