WK7 L3: Readings

• What is the core matrix for human social life?

  Informal verbal interaction
• What mechanism coordinates informal verbal interaction?

  A system of turn-taking
• What does the anthropological literature report about turn-taking?

  Significant cultural differences in timing
• What did the study find about response latency in conversation?

  There are striking universals in response latency
• How many languages were tested in the study?

  10 languages
• What do all tested languages show regarding overlapping talk?

  Clear evidence for avoidance of overlapping talk
• What is minimized between conversational turns in all languages tested?

  Silence
• What do the languages show regarding within-language variation in response speed?

  Same factors explain variation in speed
• What is the range of the average gap between turns across languages?

  250 ms from the cross-language mean
• What leads to a subjective perception of differences in conversational style?

  A natural sensitivity to tempo differences
• What is crucial to understanding the nature of human language?

  The social-interactional matrix
• Where is language primarily learned?

  In informal conversation
• What is a fundamental part of the infrastructure for conversation?

  Turn-taking
• How do speakers in English conversation manage turn-taking?

  They avoid gaps and overlaps
• What do speakers use to project when to start a next turn?

  Grammar, prosody, and pragmatics
• What are the two hypotheses tested in the study regarding turn-taking?

  Universal system and cultural variability hypotheses
• What does the universal system hypothesis predict about turn transitions?

  A unimodal distribution of turn transitions
• What does the cultural variability hypothesis predict about turn transitions?

  Overlap is more common in some languages
• What is the significance of deviations in turn transition timing?

  They imply natural communicative significance
• What can inhibit speakers from producing responses in conversation?

  Responses that fail to conform to questions
• What nonverbal behaviors can affect turn transition speed?

  Head movements and gaze
• How does gaze behavior influence response speed?

  It increases pressure to respond quickly
• What do the two hypotheses predict about delayed turn transitions?

  Different factors explain variation in different languages
• What type of questions were used for optimal comparability in the study?

  Polar questions
• What percentage of total questions in the sample were polar questions?

  67%
• How can yes be conveyed in conversation?

  By repeating key information or nonstandard expressions
• What did the examination of Dutch conversation reveal about response times?

  No difference between response times after questions and nonquestions
• What is the term for the temporal relation between a turn and its response?

  Response offset
• What does a positive response offset indicate?

  There is a gap between turns
• What does a negative response offset indicate?

  There is an overlap between turns
• What was the overall mode of response timings across languages?

  0 ms
• What were the medians of response timings across languages?

  Ranged from 0 ms to 300 ms
• What do sequences represent in conversation analysis?

  Turn-taking in general
• What was examined in the Dutch conversation corpus?

  Timing across all types of turns
• What was found regarding response times after questions and nonquestions?

  No difference in response times
• What does the use of question–answer sequences suggest?

  They are a proxy for turn-taking
• What is the definition of response offset?

  • Temporal relation between a turn and its response
  • Measured in milliseconds
  • Positive offset indicates a gap
  • Negative offset indicates overlap
• What is the mode offset for each language found in the study?

  Between 0 and -200 ms
• What is the overall mode of response timings?

  0 ms
• What is the range of medians for response timings across languages?

  0 ms to -300 ms