English Conversation

Abstract

This book provides a comprehensive description of the functions of conversational utterances in English. Using authentic, naturally-occurring data, the author proposes a descriptive framework for characterizing conversational utterances, organization, and development. In the process, she offers new insights into the sequencing of patterns of interaction. In the final chapter, the author demonstrates how this framework can be applied to the analysis of conversation and outlines aspects of conversational patterning that have yet to be accounted for. This study draws upon insights from several different fields, including speech act theory, ethnomethodology, and discourse analysis, and presents a range of carefully formulated arguments and analyses in an area of great importance to linguistic understanding.