It is argued in this paper that a multimodal analysis of turn-taking, one of the core areas of conversation analytic research, is needed and has to integrate gaze as one of the most central resources for allocating turns, and that new technologies are available that can provide a solid and reliable empirical foundation for this analysis. On the basis of eye-tracking data of spontaneous conversations, it is shown that gaze is the most ubiquitous next-speaker-selection technique. It can function alone or (...) enhance other techniques. I also discuss the interrelationship between the strength for sequential projection and the choice of next-speaker-selection techniques by a current speaker. The appropriate consideration of gaze leads to a revision of the turn-taking model in that it reduces the domain of self-selection and expands that of the current-speaker-selects-next sub-rule. It also has consequences for the analysis of “simultaneous starts”. (shrink)

The framework of depicting put forward byClark (2016)offers a schematic vantage point from which to examine iconic language use. Confronting the framework with empirical data, we consider some of its key theoretical notions. Crucially, by reconceptualizing the typology of depictions, we identify an overlooked domain in the literature: “speech-embedded nonverbal depictions,” namely cases where meaning is communicated iconically, nonverbally, and without simultaneously co-occurring speech. In addition to contextualizing the phenomenon in relation to existing research, we demonstrate, with examples from American (...) TV talk shows, how such depictions function in real-life language use, offering a brief sketch of their complexities and arguing also for their theoretical significance. (shrink)

Drawing on Arabic data sets, this study examines reported speech in naturally occurring conversations. Building on earlier work in discourse analysis, the study demonstrates how reported speech is a multiparty social field in which much of the reporting involves not only speech but also intricate forms of voice patterns and embodied reenactments. The study argues that speakers create an integrated complex of reporting, including multimodal utterances that go beyond the stream of speech to include relevant nonlinguistic sounds and embodied gestures. (...) Analysis also shows that participants engage in verbal and nonverbal forms of stance toward the reported activities. The speaker makes certain these stance displays are available to the addressees to achieve co-participation. In contrast to studies which restrict analysis to linguistic phenomena, this study approaches reported speech as a fine performance in which different kinds of semiotic resources are brought together. (shrink)