Service at restaurant: linguistic and multimodal analysis of interactions between service staff and customers.

PhD :

Clémentine HUGOL-GENTIAL

Preview :

Based on a rich array of verbal and multimodal resources, the service is crucial in the organization of the meal at restaurant. Within this study, we are particularly interested in the interactions taking place between service staff and customers. On the basis of a corpus of video recordings realized in natural settings within several restaurants, the empirical analyses have been carried out within a praxeological and interactional perspective. Several interactional patterns within professional practices of service have been identified. These phenomena allow us to underline the importance and the complexity of various multimodal resources implemented by the participants in the organization and the coordination of their activities. This study is interested first of all in the practices by which service staff opens regularly the interaction with customers, then in the various uses of menu, and finally in the organization of the choice and the use of ad hoc categories during the order-taking of dishes and wines. The issue is to understand the detailed organization of the interactions between service staff and customers and so, to underline their fundamental and structuring character for the dining experience.

Supervisor :

Lorenza Mondada

Graduate School :

3LA - Université Lyon 2

Partners :

• Université Lyon 2
• Laboratoire ICAR
• Accor