Narratives revisited: The case of narratives of recurrent events

This article will be devoted to examining the discourse structure of
conversational narratives which, it will be argued, share certain
characteristics with the discourse structure of anecdotes, such as the event
line, the orientation, the evaluation, etc. The question which will be posited
is whether these texts could be designated as anecdotes. It will be argued that
because of the absence of a complication-resolution format which is
considered as an obligatory nucleus for an anecdote these texts do not meet
the criteria of anecdote-like status. The analysis will also highlight the fact
that this particular variety of narratives can be found in great numbers in
ordinary, everyday conversation.