Response space
| Encyclopedia of Terminology for CA and IL: Response space | |
|---|---|
| Author(s): | Rein Ove Sikveland (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway) (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6322-5800) |
| To cite: | Sikveland, Rein Ove. (2023). Response space. 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/HBE7X |
A response space is a sequential environment where a responsive action is made relevant by a first action. What type of response is relevant in a response space is shaped according to the constraints and affordances of the first action.
Consider lines 2-6 (in bold) in the following extract from Clayman (2013):
[Erhardt 10] (Clayman 2013: 298) 01 K: Will I be invited next week? 02 (0.4) 03 V: tch 04 (0.2) 05 V: Karen you’ve been invited every week b'tchu just 06 never:: (.) get around tih coming do:wn.
In the example above, a response space is observed in the lines 2-6, following the initial query (and potential complaint) in line 1. In response, the turn-initial address term (“Karen”, line 5) projects an action independent of the query in line 1. In the rest of the turn, Vicky (V) issues a complaint (or counter-complaint) that Karen has indeed been invited before but not taken up on it. Thus, Vicky uses the response space in lines 2-6 to undercut Karen’s initial action (Clayman 2013).
A response space is restricted by the conditions set by a first action, such as the type of answer made relevant by a question (e.g., seeking confirmation with a yes/no; or requesting information with a what- or why-formatted question); however, a next speaker may also resist those conditions (Kim 2013), for example by answering ‘more than’ the question (Stivers and Heritage 2001). A response space is thereby a sequential environment whereby (a post-first) action is shaped in response to a first action, and during which producers of first actions and their recipients manage the ‘answer possibility space’ (Stivers 2019, 2022).
A response space starts from the transition-relevance place (TRP) of the first action to the initiation of a response, or until there is a pursuit for response following which there is a new response space at the next TRP. There is no fixed time limit for a response space, and participants may forego the option to respond (see, e.g., Hoey 2015, on lapses).
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Cited References:
Clayman, S. E. (2013). Agency in response: The role of prefatory address terms. Journal of Pragmatics, 57, 290-302.
Hoey, E. M. (2015). Lapses: How people arrive at, and deal with, discontinuities in talk. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 48(4), 430-453.
Kim, H. R. S. (2013). Reshaping the response space with kulenikka in beginning to respond to questions in Korean conversation. Journal of Pragmatics, 57, 303-317.
Stivers, T. (2019). How we manage social relationships through answers to questions: The case of interjections. Discourse Processes, 56(3), 191-209.
Stivers, T. (2022). The Book of Answers: Alignment, Autonomy, and Affiliation in Social Interaction. Oxford University Press.
Stivers, T., & Heritage, J. (2001). Breaking the sequential mold: Answering ‘more than the question’ during comprehensive history taking. Text & Talk, 21(1-2), 151-185.
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