Some criticisms of Sacks, Schegloff, and Jefferson on turn taking

H. Sacks's, E. Schegloff's, & G. Jefferson's theory of turn taking in conversation is examined (see LLBA X/2, 7601780). The theory is criticized on several counts: (1) It allots no role to nonverbal signals. (2) It asserts, implausibly, that judgments of turn completion depend on syntax. (3) It wrongly claims that the current speaker can use various techniques (eg, addressed questions) that select the next speaker. (4) It sometimes confuses the speaking turn with other kinds of turn (eg, turn to contribute to the main topic). Two general conclusions emerge from examination of the theory: (A) The notion of "turn to speak" is potentially ambiguous & needs to be carefully defined. (B) It is a mistake to assume that any regularity in social behavior must be due to a convention specifically prescribing that regularity. 11 References. AA