Generalized list completer
| Encyclopedia of Terminology for CA and IL: Generalized list completer | |
|---|---|
| Author(s): | Lotte van Burgsteden (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands) (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2049-0687) |
| To cite: | van Burgsteden, Lotte. (2023). Generalized list completer. 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: [] |
A generalized list completer is a linguistic device used in the construction of lists, where the final item in the list is semantically broad or imprecise (e.g., “or something”, “and things like that”, “and so on”).
List construction is regularly used in everyday talk to denote a general characteristic shared by the separate components of the list. Gail Jefferson (1990) showed how lists regularly consist of three parts. She argued that this three-part structure is an interactional resource that interactants are oriented to and thereby is programmatically relevant for the construction of lists.
Examples of three-part lists with a generalized list completer can be found in the following three extracts from Jefferson (1990: 66-67). In (1), instead of providing an item belonging to the list of “things one can buy at a fair,” Heather concludes the list by a general term, “and that type of thing.” In (2), Ernie completes the list of “male names” with a general third item, “’r something.” And in (3), Rudd terminates the construction of the list not with a specific name of a country, but with the generalized list completer “‘n all over the place.”
(1) [JG:II(a):3] (Jefferson 1990: 66)
Heather: And they had like a concession stand like at a fair
where you can buy [coke and popcorn and that type of
thing.]
(2) [Carey:Bar] (Jefferson 1990: 66)
Ernie: I said no I know his name is something else. [Teddy’r
Tom’r somethin.]
(3) [Labov:Battersea] (Jefferson 1990: 67)
Rudd: Oh they come from [Jamaica en, South Africa’n, all
over the place,]
The use of generalized list completers reveals the programmatic relevance of three-part list construction: Even though no third item seems to be readily available, speakers still produce a generalized lexical item (e.g., “and that type of thing”) in what is projected as the third-item slot.
On the other hand, as Jefferson (1990) noted, it is not always the case that generalized list completers are used to stand in for ‘missing’ third item. A list constructed as [2 items + generalized list completer] might perform other specifiable work. For instance, it may to indicate that the listed items cover the full range of nameables that could be used for the purposes of this particular listing, or, in contrast, it may indicate that the list is “relevantly incomplete” (i.e., there are a lot more relevant nameables that the speaker could mention, but will not, and does not need to, mention).
The programmatic relevance of three-part lists in ordinary conversation also provides a tool for recipients. When a speaker is constructing a list, recipients can infer that when the third item (including a generalized list completer) is produced, the list will probably be finished. Indeed, recipients commonly treat the provision of a third component of a list as a place where they can take a turn (Jefferson 1990).
Additional Related Entries:
Cited References:
Jefferson, G. (1990). List construction as a task and interactional resource. In G. Psathas (Ed.), Interactional Competence (pp. pp. 63–92). University Press of America.
Additional References:
Lerner, G.H. (1994). Responsive list construction: a conversational resource for accomplishing multifaceted social action. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 13, 20–33.
Selting, M. (2007). Lists as embedded structures and the prosody of list construction as an interactional resource. Journal of Pragmatics, 39, 483–526.
