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Date: 2015-10-07; view: 421.

h. sacks, e.schegloff, and g.jefferson: 'A simplest systematics for the organization of turn-taking in conversa­tion' in Language 50,1974, pages 700-1

To merit serious consideration, it seems to us, a model should be capable of accommodating (i.e., either be compatible with, or allow the derivation of) the following grossly apparent facts. In any conversation, we observe the following:

(1) Speaker-change recurs, or at least occurs.

(2) Overwhelmingly, one party talks at a time.

(3) Occurrences of more than one speaker at a time are com­
mon, but brief.

(4) Transitions (from one turn to a next) with no gap and no
overlap are common. Together with transitions charac­
terized by slight gap or slight overlap, they make up the
vast majority of transitions.

(5) Turn order is not fixed, but varies.

(6) Turn size is not fixed, but varies.

(7) Length of conversation is not specified in advance.

(8) What parties say is not specified in advance.

(9) Relative distribution of turns is not specified in advance.
(10) Number of parties can vary.

(n) Talk can be continuous or discontinous.

(12) Turn-allocation techniques are obviously used. A current
speaker may select a next speaker (as when he addresses a
question to another party); or parties may self-select in
starting to talk.

(13) Various 'turn-constructional units' are employed; e.g.,
turns can be projectedly 'one word long', or they can be
sentential in length.

(14) Repair mechanisms exist for dealing with turn-taking
errors and violations; e.g., if two parties find themselves

IIO READINGS

READINGS

III

talking at the same time, one of them will stop prema­turely, thus repairing the trouble.

I> Can you divide these fourteen statements into two groups— one that applies to all conversations and one that applies to only some conversations in some contexts? What kinds of situations or people appear to create exceptions?

[> Should these statements be restricted to any conversation that is middle-class American and basically friendly? Can you think of different factors such as social class, culture, ethnic­ity, relationship, age—or any others that will have an effect on how turn-taking proceeds?