Kotthoff1993

Kotthoff1993
BibType	ARTICLE
Key	Kotthoff1993
Author(s)	Helga Kotthoff
Title	Disagreement and Concession in Disputes: On the Context Sensitivity of Preference Structures
Editor(s)
Tag(s)	EMCA, Conversation analysis, dispute, context studies, expectation management, Preference
Publisher
Year	1993
Language
City
Month
Journal	Language in Society
Volume	22
Number	2
Pages	193-216
URL	Link
DOI
ISBN
Organization
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School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title
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Abstract

This article discusses disagreement sequences in German and Anglo-

American disputes. It is argued that the context sensitivity of preference
for agreement with assessments that Pomerantz 1984 found in her data
has to be elaborated and extended. My findings suggest that the pref-
erence structure can change once a dissent-turn-sequence has been dis-
played; in this case, opponents are expected to defend their positions.
The reduction of reluctance markers creates a new preference structure
which itself has to be accomplished by all participants. Concessions, de-
fined as a participant's agreeing to the central issue after his or her prior
disagreement, show reluctance markers which are viewed as indicators
of the dispreferred status in other types of talk. Concessions can be dis-
tinguished from partially agreeing presequences of dissent turns. Speak-
ers move toward concessions stepwise. Unprepared position shifts can be
regarded by the interlocutors as the inability to defend an opinion. Con-
cessions, being an interactional achievement, reframe the dispute.

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