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term). Although turns are usually nicely timed, overlaps do happen. In fact, overlaps {not inter-
ruptions) are thought to show alignment between the communication partners.
The overlap is placed so as not to interfere with the content of the message. It also fits in
at a syntactic boundary.
Syntactic completion can also signal a transition-relevant place. For example, assume
that the speaker says, "If you try to use that program, you'll run into trouble." The speaker has a
slight pause after "program," and the listener may give some backchannel signal (e.g.,
"umhmm"). The speaker, though, has projected the end of the turn with the use of an "if." Until
the "then" is finished, the next speaker won't normally try to take a turn. Nonverbal signals, too,
may serve this function. A change in gaze direction (at or away from the listener) can indicate
the end of a turn (Goodwin 1981). Or, if the speaker begins to raise his or her arms at a
possible transition place, listeners can project when the turn will end. Again, the next speaker
won't normally try to take a turn until the speaker's arms are lowered.
Well-aligned speakers may complete turns in a collaborative fashion. Overlaps that show
collaboration are "good" overlaps.
Teachers and tutors often invite collaborative turn completions as a way of checking
students' comprehension. This is projected with rising question intonation followed by a pause,
with the hope that the listener can chime in:
T: That land already belonged to Spain. And then explorers came
and claiming it for …?
Ss: England ((several Ss respond at the same time))
(Data source: Hawkins 1988)
Language learners also use rising intonation as a projection marker to get help from
native speakers. Rising intonation and a pause elicits a collaborative completion, as in the
following example about the dangers of horseback riding.
M: Mmhmm sometimes it dangerous because if you go out of chair = chair is name of it?
S: Yeah the saddle
(Data source: Scarcella)
When the invitation to complete the turn fails, we find pauses after which the speaker
resumes the turn.
While most talk is turn by turn, the amount of overlap can vary a great deal across
language groups and according to the amount of involvement among the participants. In
family conversations or conversations among close friends, we may talk at the same time as a
way of encouraging the speaker. We may give special feedback signals, adding sound effects,
appreciative exclamations, or collaborative completions.
In conversations, the length of each turn is usually fairly short. This gives each participant
the right to a fair share of turns. In more formalized communication – for instance, in
classrooms, faculty meetings, or business meetings – the turns are distributed less evenly; they
are controlled and distributed on a differential basis, and they tend to be longer. However, even
in informal conversations, a speaker can claim very long stretches of talk time in one turn. For
example, when asked "y'know what?" you've responded "What?" you give permission to hold
the floor for a long storytelling sequence. If someone says, "Want me to tell you how to do
this?" and you assent, that person has claimed the floor for an extended period of time. The
phrases that get us an extended turn to talk are sometimes called tickets. We need to obtain
"permission" via such a ticket or a preannouncement, such as
"Did you hear what happened down at the pier?", when we claim more than our fair share
of time.