conversation analysis


conversation(al) analysis

an approach within ETHNOMETHODOLOGY which analyses naturally occurring forms of talk. The objective is to uncover those general principles which govern the organization of talk, e.g. the rules governing turn-taking (i.e. how a conversation is managed by its participants, H. SACKS et al., 1974), and the implications of these in specific contexts (e.g. in clinical relationships, Atkinson, 1981).