2.1.6 Overlapping talk
You may have been wondering about the overlapping talk in Text 5. The system as we have seen earlier is that when nobody has been selected, anybody can self-select. This is exactly what happened there, leading to overlapping talk. Most overlaps are of this kind, where people are not making a mistake. They are actually applying the rules of the turn-taking system.
Have a look at the following extract:
You may have been wondering about the overlapping talk in Text 5. The system as we have seen earlier is that when nobody has been selected, anybody can self-select. This is exactly what happened there, leading to overlapping talk. Most overlaps are of this kind, where people are not making a mistake. They are actually applying the rules of the turn-taking system.
Have a look at the following extract:
Text 7 (Coates 1998: 143-44)
How do you explain the overlap between C and A in lines 3 and 4?
Answer
A transition relevance place (TRP) has occurred after the word ‘go’. So there are two possibilities: the current speaker could continue (which is what C does) or another speaker can self-select (which is what A does) and the result is the overlapping talk between A and C.]
Of course not all overlaps are due to rule following. Some occur when speakers break the rules. Have a look at the following:
Text from Video 1 (Laurier 2011)
In line 1 the waitress has selected the customers as next speakers. When they fail to take the turn thus breaking the rule, the waitress self-selects. Customer 1 does not wait for a TRP to take her turn to belatedly answer the first question at line 1. Overlapping talk occurs as a result of the system being disrupted twice.
Whether overlap as a result occurs as a result of application of the rule or breaking the rule the problem then arises of how overlapping speech is dealt with. Overwhelmingly one of the two speakers relinquishes the turn. In Text 9 below, in line 2 and 3, there is overlap. At line 4 Irene gives up the turn and what she was doing in that turn – narrating a story – and responds to Zelda’s request at line 3.
Text 8: (Schiffrin 1994)
How do you explain the overlap at turn 8 and 9?
Answer
To understand what is going on we start at turn 6. Here Irene asks the question and therefore selects Zelda as next speaker. In turn 7, Zelda appropriately takes the turn to answer Irene’s question. At turn 8 Irene takes the turn to confirm the acceptability of the answer ‘the kids’ at line 7. At the same time Henry violates the turn-taking system and takes a turn as if to also confirm Zelda’s answer (the logical speaker to confirm the answer is Irene). The result is overlapping talk, which as we have said above, is solved by Henry abandoning his turn.]
Now that we have covered the basics it is your turn to have a go.
End of Core 1.2
End of Core 1.2