Blocking

From emcawiki
Jump to: navigation, search
Encyclopedia of Terminology for CA and IL: Blocking
Author(s): Nathalie Bauer (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany) (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8501-8079)
To cite: Bauer, Nathalie. (2023). Blocking. In Alexandra Gubina, Elliott M. Hoey & Chase Wesley Raymond (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Terminology for Conversation Analysis and Interactional Linguistics. International Society for Conversation Analysis (ISCA). DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/FMDVQ


A blocking response is a type of response that occurs in pre-sequences and discourages the prior speaker to proceed with the action projected in first position (Schegloff 2007: 30). These responses are referred to as “blocking” since they inhibit the unfolding of the projected sequential trajectory by foreshadowing that a dispreferred response to the main action might follow (Schegloff 2007: 30). An instance of such a blocking response can be found in the following example from Liddicoat (2007: 129):

(Liddicoat 2007: 129)

01  Fiona:    have yuh got any plans for Saddurday?
02  Jill:  -> my sister's coming up tuh visit.
03  Fiona:    o:h that will be nice for yuh.

Jill’s response to Fiona’s turn in line 2 foreshadows that a possible invitation will not be accepted, and “thereby discourages or blocks the invitation from being tendered at all” (Schegloff 2007: 30). As Sacks (1992: 685) put it, the blocking response prevents Fiona from “wasting” an invitation. In the absence of a post-pre, a blocking response may also result in the prior question being handled as a mere request for information rather than, for example, a pre-invitation.

The opposite possibility to react to a pre-sequence is a go-ahead, with which a speaker facilitates the unfolding of the projected sequential trajectory.


Additional Related Entries:


Cited References:

Liddicoat, A. J. (2007). An Introduction to Conversation Analysis. Continuum.

Sacks, H. (1992). Lectures on Conversation. Blackwell Publishers.

Schegloff, E. A. (2007). Sequence Organization: A Primer in Conversation Analysis (Volume 1). Cambridge University Press.


Additional References:


EMCA Wiki Bibliography items tagged with 'blocking'