Conversation Analysis

Jack Sidnell is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on the structures and practices of talk and interaction in a range of settings. In addition to extensive research in the Caribbean, Sidnell has examined talk in court and among young children. He is the author Talk and Practical Epistemology: The Social Life of Knowledge in a Caribbean Community (2005) and the editor of Conversation Analysis: Comparative Perspectives (2009).

• Acknowledgements viiTranscription Conventions ix1 Talk 12 Methods 203 Turn-Taking 364 Action and Understanding 595 Preference 776 Sequence 957 Repair 1108 Turn Construction 1399 Stories 17410 Openings and Closings 19711 Topic 22312 Context 24513 Conclusion 258References 271Index 281

“Overall, I was very favorably impressed by Conversation Analysis: An Introduction . . . n its own terms, Iparticularly liked the straightforward, accessible style that Sidnell uses to discuss complex ideas and materials.”  (Journal of Sociolinguistics, 1 February 2013)“To conclude, this introduction is a rich source of authentic examples and will serve interested students and scholars very well.”  (Discourse and Communication, 1 November 2012)"The book is overall an excellent introductory text for the undergraduate level ... On the whole, the book provides a good foundation for a student entering the field, with the main concepts and questions of CA discussed in an informal and engaging way." (Discourse Studies, 2011) "The interdisciplinary research method and field of conversation analysis (CA) is remarkably well-suited to helping teachers achieve this objective, because CA provides tools that enable first the perception, and then the scientific description and analysis of regular patterns of human social conduct - patterns that organize, and make meaningful, the world of everyday life." (Language in Society, 2011)