Paul Sbertoli-Nielsen

Doctoral Research Fellow - Ibero-romansk
Image of Paul Sbertoli-Nielsen
Norwegian version of this page
Phone +47 22855229
Mobile phone 97746340
Room NT 1030
Username
Visiting address Niels Treschows hus 10th floor Niels Henrik Abels vei 36
Postal address Postboks 1003 Blindern 0315 Oslo

Academic interests

Generally, I am interested in how talk-in-interaction contributes to building or breaking down interpersonal relationships, and how such dynamics may be affected by the participants' various linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In my PhD project, I am comparing how minimal response and so-called continuers are used in everyday conversations in Spanish and Norwegian. I am particularly curious of how such particles may be used for overt or covert disagreement, and how that may play out in the following conversational turns. In my project I combine methods from Conversation Analysis and Interactional Linguistics with theory from Intercultural Pragmatics. The project yields insights of value for didactics in both Spanish and Norwegian, and will be of general interest for anyone seeking to overcome communicative challenges in intercultural relationships.

Background

My MA is in European Languages from the University of Oslo, focusing on Spanish Language and Linguistics, including courses in Corpus Linguistics, Relevance Theory, and Language and Communication in Multicultural Societies. As part of my BA major in Spanish Language, I did an Erasmus exchange to the University of Valencia, Spain, where I was lucky enough to audit unforgettable lectures by professor Antonio Briz and the Val.Es.Co. research group on Colloquial Spanish. From earlier years, I hold a BA in Philosophy from the University of Oslo, with an emphasis on Epistemology and the Philosophy of Language.

After attaining a general certificate of education (praktisk-pedagogisk utdanning) from the University of Oslo, I worked for four years as a teacher in a Norwegian upper secondary school, giving classes in Spanish and 'Communication and Culture'. The latter course let me draw on a wide range of academic and personal experience in service of the pupils' reflections on their own identity in the cultural complex they are part of, and on how that may affect their communication. I found this very fulfilling, and I am looking forward to the possibility of teaching at University level when my PhD is completed.

From 2009 until 2016, I worked as a Student Councellor and administrator of studies at the University of Oslo, mostly for Romance Studies. My tasks included hosting information meetings, maintaining and developing web pages, time schedules and course admissions, and supporting the faculty in both their daily work and reform processes.

Cooperation

Locally, I participate in the Research Group for Conversation Analysis and Interactional Linguistics at the Department of Linguistics and Nordic Studies, University of Oslo. Regionally, I recently joined the Nordic Network for Intercultural Communication (NIC). Globally, I have started participating in the Seminario Permantente de Análisis de la Conversación, organized by the Conversanalista group for Conversation Analysis in Spanish. Furthermore, I am collaborating on a publication with Chase Raymond (University of Colorado at Boulder, my co-supervisor), Barbara Fox (University of Colorado at Boulder), Emilie Nicolaysen (The University of Southern Denmark), Rosario Neyra (University of York), Matthew Butler (University of York) and Catherine Tam (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg).

Tags: Conversation Analysis, Interactional Linguistics, Spanish Language, Norwegian Language, Turn-Taking, Continuers, Response Particles

Publications

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  • Sbertoli-Nielsen, Paul (2023). Cross-cultural contrasts in the interactional achievement of discourse: Continuation culture in Norwegian and Peninsular Spanish.
  • Nielsen, Pål Sbertoli (2022). Calmly dodge or emphatically negate?
  • Nielsen, Pål Sbertoli (2022). Dodging disagreement? Mhm and mm in Peninsular Spanish and Urban East Norwegian.

View all works in Cristin

Published Sep. 21, 2021 10:22 AM - Last modified Feb. 9, 2024 4:38 PM