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etwas aus, wenn ich Aufnahmen machen? ' [Does anybody mind if I make a
recording? ]". The first problem with this arose, paradoxically, out of the fact that
on no occasion was I refused permission. I was all too aware of the effects
refusal would have on my face, the face of the refuser and the interaction in
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. Refusal of such a request would I think be highly dispreferred at such
a moment. I was aware of this and did feel some discomfort as a result of
having created such an awkward situation for all participants. Secondly, I was
aware that active consent could not taken for granted as applying over the
course of the entire discourse. For example, was consent still to be taken as
operative when the presence of tape had been forgotten about (usually only a
matter of minutes after the initiation of taping)? 13
. There are old sayings in
colloquial English along the lines of 'loose lips sink ships' or'walls have ears',
often invoked during wartime when persons are constantly vigilant about what
they say for fear of who might be listening. Although not as dramatic a situation,
in gatherings where my recorder was running quite literally the walls did have
ears. Whatever was said was heard, recorded, and could be repeatedly reheard
by an undefined audience. I was aware that, perhaps particularly during in-
group encounters such as sociable gatherings, things 'for our ears only' might
be uttered and was therefore concerned that speakers might regret having said
this or that particular thing. I therefore regained consent at the end of each
gathering and made it clear to all present that if they were unhappy me using
the tapes, I would destroy them. In fact, I offered to physically break the tape in-
situ and would have done so if objections had been raised. However no person
objected to me taking the tapes at the conclusion of gatherings.
Alongside gaining consent, I felt obliged to provide some explanation of
what exactly I was doing in this obscure activity. My general line was to explain
that my interest was in 'conversational' and how people did it differently (or
similarly in England and Germany). Further, I advised participants that, in order
to fully understand and do justice to the conversations, it was essential to
capture them as fully and accurately as possible, hence the recording. In
general, I had to provide an honest and detailed account whilst not employing
language or concepts too foreign to or intimidating for the participants. I did offer
a more detailed overview of my work for any participant with a more detailed
interest, but this offer was never taken up.
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