Title: Systematics of location inquiries in Farsi mobile phone calls: with reference to social functions, sequential positions and formulations

Authors: Ali Kazemi

Addresses: Department of Finnish, Finno-Ugrian and Scandinavian Studies, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

Abstract: This study seeks to particularise social functions of location inquiries and location-telling, their sequence organisation and locational formulations. Adopting conversational analytic and interactionist sociological approaches, it presents a close analysis of how location figures in mundane mobile phone calls in Farsi, based on 39 calls mainly involving familiars, friends and family members. The specification of practices associated with seeking and providing location information shows that location talk accomplishes a variety of social actions ranging from (co)localisation to checking availability for the incipient (mutual) action. The analysis also suggests that while location may become topicalised due to locally relevant contingencies, it is rarely taken as routine in talk-in-interaction. Social functions of location are performed by means of formulations phrased in proper location - or non-location-related terms in specific sequential environments. These findings explicate how the social actions associated with location are carried out, necessitating reconceptualisation of location in mobile telephony.

Keywords: location; Farsi; mobile phone calls; social function; sequence position.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMC.2023.133098

International Journal of Mobile Communications, 2023 Vol.22 No.3, pp.316 - 339

Received: 04 May 2021
Accepted: 24 Oct 2021
Published online: 01 Sep 2023 *

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