A Simplest Systematics for the Organization of Turn-Taking for Conversation

Abstract

The article is the first Russian translation of the most well-known piece in conversation analysis (CA), written by the founders of CA Harvey Sacks, Emanuel Schegloff and Gail Jefferson. It has become a milestone in the development of the discipline. The authors offer a comprehensive approach to the study of conversational interactions. The approach is based on the analysis of detailed transcripts of the records of natural conversations. The authors show that in the course of the conversation co-conversationalists use a number of techniques to organize the turn-taking. These techniques are combined in four rules: (1) the first option is the transfer of speakership via allocation of the next speaker by the current speaker; (2) if this first option is not realized, turn-taking may happen via the self-selection by one of the participants; (3) if the second option remains unrealized too, the current speaker continues speaking, (4) with all three options being recurrently provided at all next transition relevant places. The result of the operation of these rules is an orderly conversation based on the principle “one speaker at a time.” According to the authors, this model is compatible with obvious observations concerning conversational practices that they make. The authors show that in every conversation there is a turn-taking system in operation, which provides for a flexible adaptation of the every conversation’s structure to any possible topics and any possible speakers’ identities. Such approach considers how the participants in social interactions order their communication with each other, achieving a sense of normally occurring interaction.