Turn-constructional unit (TCU)
| Encyclopedia of Terminology for CA and IL: Turn-constructional unit (TCU) | |
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| Author(s): | Shimako Iwasaki (Monash University, Melbourne, Australia) (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6593-7203) |
| To cite: | Iwasaki, Shimaki (2024). Turn-constructional unit (TCU). 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: [ ] |
Within Conversation Analysis (CA), talk-in-interaction is conceptualized as the coordinated alternation of turns that are composed of turn-constructional units (TCUs) (Sacks et al. 1974). Sacks, Schegloff and Jefferson (1974: 702) proposed that turns are incrementally built out of a series of TCUs (either single TCUs or multiple TCUs), where TCU “unit-types for English include sentential, clausal, phrasal, and lexical constructions.” The following example shows TCUs of various unit types, each of which terminates in a place of possible turn completion:
(1) [Debbie and Shelly 5:33-40] (adapted from Sidnell 2010: 41) 33 Debbie: Ma:ll ya shoudn't be defensive I mean theres been 34 pa:rtie:s like here comere here do this or 35 whatever:an [.hhh Multi-unit turn 36 Shelley: [you were at the halloween thing. Sentential TCU 37 Debbie: huh? Lexical TCU 38 Shelley: the halloween p[arty Phrasal TCU 39 Debbie: [ri:ght. Lexical TCU
At possible turn completion the speaker arrives at a transition-relevance place (TRP). This marks where transition to a next speaker becomes relevant. Single-unit turns terminate in a TRP, but multi-unit turns have multiple places of possible completion before reaching a TRP. For example, in a story-telling sequence the speaker may hold the floor with several TCUs and places of possible completion before a TRP and turn transition occur.
As suggested by the range of possible turn types that a TCU may take, strictly linguistic criteria for defining a TCU are insufficient (Ford 2004; Selting 1996, 2000; Szczepek Reed & Raymond 2013). Instead, a TCU is perhaps better viewed as “the smallest interactionally relevant complete linguistic unit, in a given context, that is constructed with syntactic and prosodic resources within their semantic, pragmatic, activity-type-specific, and sequential conversational context” (Selting 2000: 477). Furthermore, as Couper-Kuhlen & Selting (2018: 39) put it, “TCUs are interactionally achieved, flexible and adaptable units in turns at talk that are oriented to as relevant by the participants. They are not ends in themselves. They are epiphenomena of turn construction, which itself delivers action.” In other words, a TCU is a unit of talk that accomplishes particular action in conversation and is an interactionally-relevant unit that interlocutors monitor and respond to.
A key notion for the production and recognition of a TCU is projectability. This is the property whereby TCUs foreshadow or project the likely trajectory of a turn-at-talk and what it might take for that TCU to reach a possible completion (Sacks et al. 1974; Schegloff 1996). The recognizable completion of a turn or TCU is not merely marked by its occurrence but is also projected in advance. Participants must be able to both recognize the type of action underway and project its possible completion. For example, in Extract (1), Debbie monitors the unfolding production of Shelly’s turn in line 38 in order to start her own turn in line 39 in overlap. Such precision timing is based on participant’s online analyses of TCU completion. The completion of TCUs is identifiable through a combination of grammatical, prosodic, pragmatic (Ford & Thompson, 1996; Ford, Fox & Thompson 1996, 2013; Selting 1996; Szczepek Reed & Raymond 2013), and embodied practices (e.g., Lerner & Raymond 2021; Mondada 2006, 2007). For example, in line 36 Shelly provides a declarative question with final falling intonation that is grammatically and intonationally possibly complete and the action of questioning is completed.
As dynamic and contingent components that facilitate turn-taking within temporally unfolding interactions, TCUs provide a foundational infrastructure for human sociality (Schegloff 1996, 2006). TCUs are a rich topic for continued investigation as CA and interactional linguistics scholars identify their properties and roles across a range of languages (e.g., Ford 2004; Kim 2001; Li 2019; Selting 1996, 2000; Szczepek Reed & Raymond 2013; Tanaka 1999). As Couper-Kuhlen and Selting (2018: 34-39) noted, some areas of examination include TCUs as cooperatively achieved entities (e.g., Goodwin 1979, 2017), TCUs as flexible units with projection and expansion (Ford et al. 1996; Sacks et al. 1974), whether participants orient to TCU completion (e.g., Mazeland 2007; Schegloff 1979), whether recipient action can be relevant within the boundaries of a TCU (e.g., Goodwin 1979, 1986; Hayashi 2003), in particular, within a compound TCU (e.g., Lerner 1991, 1996) and whether TCUs can be further subdivided into smaller interactionally relevant sub-unit components, creating interactive turn spaces (e.g., Iwasaki 2009, 2013). Our understanding of TCUs has also continued to expand through consideration of the roles that multiple resources and senses play in demarcating boundaries and negotiating transitions between interlocutors (e.g., Ford et al. 2012; Goodwin 1986, 2006, 2017; Iwasaki 2011, 2022; Li 2019). In addition, the concepts of turns and TCUs have provided valuable frameworks for examining language and social interaction across a wide diversity of spoken (e.g., Holler et al. 2016; Stivers et al. 2009) and signed language interactions (e.g., Girard-Groeber 2015; Iwasaki et al. 2022).
Additional Related Entries:
Cited References:
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