Recognitional overlap onset
| Encyclopedia of Terminology for CA and IL: Recognitional overlap onset | |
|---|---|
| Author(s): | Robert Prettner (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands) (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6446-9965) |
| To cite: | Prettner, Robert. (2023). Recognitional overlap onset. 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: [] |
Recognitional overlap (also recognitional overlap onset, or simply recognitional onset), refers to the initiation of talk by a second speaker that orients to a point of semantic adequacy or completeness of a first speaker’s turn. As such, it is not adjacent to the transition-relevance place like transitional onset and is therefore a more specific occurrence of interjacent overlap. According to Jefferson (1984), there are two sub-types of recognitional onset, corresponding to two distinct ‘targets’ that may be attended to by an imminent speaker:
(i) A specific word or item, hence the name item-targeted onset. In line 4, Emma ‘recognizes’ the answer to her question and produces the city name before Lottie finishes her utterance in line 3.
[NB:IV:13:R:12] (adapted from Jefferson 1986: 169) 01 Emm: What city is it in 02 (0.8) 03 Lot: -> Wul ‘t ‘s in Cos[ta Me]:sa] 04 Emm: -> [Costa]mes]a
(ii) The sense or general thrust of the talk in progress, thus thrust-projective onset. In the example below, Gladys anticipates where Emma’s utterance is going (lines 5 & 6), by interjecting before a possible point of completion (line 7).
[NB:IV:11:R:2] (adapted from Jefferson 1984: 29-30) 05 Emm: Yea:h w’l I let ih ring about ten times uh thuh 06 -> well now maybe ye[r’n th’BA:]THtu↓:b. 07 Gla: -> [N o n o :,] 08 .h No:[uh wih] th’t]elevision o:n yih]know
In contrast with overlap occurring as a result of routine turn-taking practices (cf. Sacks, et al. 1974), Jefferson (1984) describes recognitional onsets as “first order overlap of varying degrees of turn incursion” (p. 38). The placement of this type of overlap may therefore be conceptualized as turn competitive (Kurtic, et al. 2013; for prosodic-phonetic design of competitive turns, see overlap). When a second speaker comes in clearly prior to possible completion of a current speaker’s turn, it may colloquially be understood as ‘interruptive’ talk (cf. French & Local 1983; Schegloff 2000). However, such a classification does not take into account whether the overlapping speech is actually treated as interruption by interlocutors. Indeed, Jefferson (1984) observed that turn-incursive laughter may feature as accompaniment rather than competition and that recognitional overlap onset can achieve a display of consensus (Jefferson 1986).
Building on this work, Vatanen (2014, 2018) discusses early recognitional overlap in responses to initiating assertion-type turns. In these instances, interjecting speakers design their turns as highly agentive and can thereby express some degree of epistemic independence or equal commitment regarding a current speaker’s assertion. The findings suggest that at least some cases of recognitional overlap are not treated as interruptive talk or dispreferred but are instead an expression of greater solidarity between interlocutors (Vatanen 2014, 2018).
Additional Related Entries:
Cited References:
Drew, P. (2009). Quit talking while I'm interrupting: a comparison between positions of overlap onset in conversation. In M. Haakana, M. Laakso & J. Lindström (Eds.) Talk in Interaction: Comparative Dimensions (pp. 70-93). Finnish Literature Society.
French, P. & Local, J. (1983). Turn-competitive incomings. Journal of Pragmatics, 7, 17–38.
Jefferson, G. (1984). Notes on some orderlinesses of overlap onset. In V. D’Urso & P. Leonardi (Eds.), Discourse Analysis and Natural Rhetoric (pp. 11–38). Cleup Editore.
Jefferson, G. (1986). Notes on ‘latency’ in overlap onset. Human Studies, 9(2), 153–184.
Jefferson, G. (2004). A sketch of some orderly aspects of overlap in natural conversation. In G. H. Lerner (Eds.), Conversation Analysis: Studies from the First Generation (pp. 43–59). John Benjamins.
Kurtic, E., Brown, G. J., & Wells, B. (2013). Resources for turn competition in overlapping talk. Speech Communication, 55, 721–743.
Sacks, H., Schegloff, E. A., & Jefferson, G. (1974). A simplest systematics for the organization of turn-taking for conversation. Language, 50, 696–735.
Schegloff, E. A. (1987). Recycled turn beginnings: a precise repair mechanism in conversation's turn-taking organisation. In G. Button & J. R. E. Lee (Eds.), Talk and Social Organisation (pp. 70–85). Multilingual Matters.
Schegloff, E. A. (2000). Overlapping talk and the organization of turn-taking for conversation. Language in Society, 29(1), 1–63.
Vatanen, A. (2014). Responding in Overlap: Agency, Epistemicity and Social Action in Conversation. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Helsinki.
Vatanen, A. (2018). Responding in early overlap: recognitional onsets in assertion sequences. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 51(2), 107–126.
Wells, B. & Macfarlane, S. (1998). Prosody as an interactional resource: turn-projection and overlap. Language and Speech, 41(3-4), 265–294.
Additional References:
Couper-Kuhlen, E. (1993). English Speech Rhythm: Form and Function in Everyday Verbal Interaction. John Benjamins.
French, P. & Local, J. (1983). Turn-competitive incomings. Journal of Pragmatics, 7, 17–38.
Lerner, G. H. (1989). Notes on overlap management in conversation: the case of delayed completion. Western Journal of Speech Communication, 53(2), 167–177.
Lerner, G. (2004). Collaborative turn sequences. In G. Lerner (Ed.), Conversation Analysis: Studies from the First Generation (pp. 225–256). John Benjamins.
Local, J. & Walker, G. (2005). Methodological imperatives for investigating the phonetic organization and phonological structures of spontaneous speech. Phonetica, 62(2-4), 120-130.
Local, J. K., Kelly, J. & Wells, W. H. (1986). Towards a phonology of conversation: turn-taking in Tyneside English. Journal of Linguistics, 22, 411-437.
Schegloff, E. A. (2000). Overlapping talk and the organization of turn-taking for conversation. Language in Society, 29(1), 1–63.
