Sequence organisation in conversation: Sequence expansion

Sequence expansion Adjacency pairs can be expanded in various places in their production. Expansions may occur prior to the articulation of the base FPP (pre-expansion), between the base FPP and the base SPP (insert expansion), and following the base SPP (post-expansion). Expansions are commonly also sequences made up of an FPP and an SPP.

Pre-expansion Pre-expansions are designed to be preliminary to some projected base sequence and are hearable by participants as preludes to some other action. Pre-sequences come in two basic kinds: generic pre-sequences, which are used with any form of following talk type-specific pre-sequences, which are designed to lead to some particular kind of base sequence.

Generic pre-expansion There is one pre-sequence type which can be found with any base sequence: the summons-answer sequence. It is designed to gain the attention of a recipient. The FPP may consist of an address term, a politeness term such as excuse me, an attention getting token such as hey, or A nonverbal element such as touching the intended recipient.

Generic pre-expansion The SPP may consist of: redirecting eye gaze to the summoner using verbal tokens such as what or yes/yeah, changing body position to orient to the summoner. The production on an SPP makes further talk by the summoner conditionally relevant

Generic pre-expansion Silence constitutes a failure to respond and may be repaired. Some responses block or delay the projected talk. delaying responses: just a minute, I’ll be right there, etc., blocking responses: I’m busy, I’m on the phone, etc., rejecting responses: leave me alone, go away, etc.. 

Type specific pre-expansions Type specific pre-expansions project a particular upcoming action. The FPP of type-specific pre-sequences projects the next activity as relevant for talk. The SPP influences the way in which the subsequent talk will unfold, and even if the projected base sequence will be done

Pre-invitations Pre-invitation FPPs are designed determine if the response is likely be preferred by asking about availability. Answers such as nothing show there is nothing to prevent acceptance (go-ahead response). 

Pre-invitations Answers with a competing activity indicate the invitation is likely to be declined and prevent an invitation being made (blocking response). Why-type answers indicate that the response depends on the invitation (hedging response).  

Pre-invitations Speakers may display their orientation to invitations as relevant next activities after pre-invitation sequences. 

Pre-requests Pre-requests also orient to whether or not a response will be preferred. They gauge the likelihood of the request being granted.

Pre-requests Pre-requests also receive go-ahead, blocking or hedged responses  

Preliminaries to preliminaries The form is typically Can I … or Let me … + projected base sequence ‘Can I ask you a question?’, ‘Can I make a suggestion?’, ‘Can I ask a favour?’, etc. Pre-pres are project preliminary matters relating to a base sequence. 

Preliminaries to preliminaries There are two main types of preliminaries which follow pre-pres: pre-mentions: speakers provide information to their recipients relevant to the upcoming FPP. pre-conditions: speakers ensure that the necessary conditions for complying with the base FPP exist.

Multiple pre-expansions Several pre-expansions may precede a base FPP: a generic and type-specific sequences, a number of type specific sequences. 1 2 3

Insert expansion Insert expansion occurs within the adjacency pair itself and separates the FPP from the SPP. Insert expansion does not cancel the relevance of the projected SPP but does preparatory work for it. Insert expansion is realized through a sequence (insert sequence). Once the sequence is completed, the base SPP once again becomes relevant as the next action.

Post-first insert expansion Post-first insert expansions are designed to address issues arising from the FPP. They typically repair problems in the FPP.

Post-first insert expansion Insert sequences can be implicated in the possible production of a dispreferred SPP.

Post-first insert expansion Post-first insert sequences can be repeated if the first attempt is not successful.

Pre-second insert expansion Pre-second insert expansions are designed to do work relevant to the up-coming SPP. They are type-specific: the work that needs to be done is different for different SPPs.

Pre-second insert expansion Direction giving

Pre-second insert expansion Requests

Post-expansion Sequences can be expanded after the completion of the base SPP (post-expansion). Post-expansions may be sequences (non-minimal post-expansion, post-sequences) single turns (minimal post-expansion, sequence closing thirds)

Minimal post-expansion Minimal post-expansion is minimal in several senses: It consists of the addition of only a single turn after the SPP. It may be made up of a single item although longer turns are also possible. They do not project any further talk beyond their turn. Minimal post-expansions are designed to propose closing of a sequence (sequence closing thirds).

SCT: oh The SCT oh registers receipt of information and that the recipient has moved from a state of not knowing to a state of knowing. 

SCT: okay Okay usually claims acceptance of an SPP and what the SPP has done in the sequence 

SCT: assessments Assessments display a stance toward what an SPP speaker has said or done in the prior turn. 

Composite SCTs SCTs may be made up of several components in the one turn. In this case, each SCT does something additional. 

Non-minimal post-expansion Non-minimal post-expansions are made up of sequences with FPPs and SPPs of their own. Non-minimal expansions take a number of different forms, each of which undertakes a different interactional project following the base SPP.

Post-second repair Post-second repair deals with problems of hearing or understanding the base SPP. They may also relate to upcoming disagreement.  

Rejecting SPPs Post-expansion provides a location for challenging an SPP, for disagreeing with it or for rejecting it, without initiating a repair sequence. 

FPP reworkings Sequences can be expanded by reworking the FPP as a consequence of a dispreferred SPP. 

Post completion musings Post-completion musings are designed to be “out aloud” mutterings related to the prior talk which have an ambiguous status between being public talk and private thinking out aloud. 

Topicalization Speakers may prolong a sequence of talk after a base SPP by marking the SPP itself as something of interest about which they would be prepared to continue to talk. Topicalizations include include devices such as repeats tokens such as really, or questions such as did you?. 

Sequence closing sequences In sequences which have a lot of post-expansion, the organization of the sequence becomes less clear or less orderly as the post-expansion proceeds because there is no clearly projected end point. Participants in talk need to achieve closure for these sequences in the absence of a projectable future point. Sequence closing sequences consist of a series of “empty” turns and work to negotiate closure in such cases.

Sequence closing sequences 

Sequence closing sequences Participants can resist closure in such sequences by withholding alignment with the closing. 