Conversation Analysis: An Introduction (Language in Society)

Combining the main findings, methods and analytic techniques of this central approach to language and social interaction, along with real-life examples and step-by-step explanations, Conversation Analysis is the ideal student guide to the field.

• Introduces the main findings, methods and analytic techniques of conversation analysis (CA) – a growing interdisciplinary field exploring language and social interaction
• Provides an engaging historical overview of the field, along with detailed coverage of the key findings in each area of CA and a guide to current research
• Examines the way talk is composed, and how conversation structures highlight aspects of human behavior
• Focuses on the most important domains of organization in conversation, including turn-taking, action sequencing, repair, stories, openings and closings, and the effect of context
• Includes real-life examples and step-by-step explanations, making it an ideal guide for students navigating this growing field

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).