A Conversation Analysis Perspective

Abstract

In the following excerpts (see Appendix A), we see a couple having a discussion in which both are orienting to the fact that their talk is dispreferred (Pomerantz, 1984). Wife prefaces her introduction of topics twice using a pre-expansion sequence to delay the start of the talk. Husband gives the go-ahead in both instances, but shows that he disagrees with Wife’s ideas for their vacation, prefacing most of his talk with the negative marker, “Well.” Wife reacts quickly to Husband’s negative markers, continually attempting to rephrase her question in such a way as to affect the response of Husband.