Silence takes on meaning based on the contexts of its occurrence. This is especially true in social interactions, where silence after "lemme think" is very distinct from silence after "will you marry me?" This book examines a particular form of silence, the conversational lapse. Using methods from Conversation Analysis (CA), the author analyzes hundreds of lapses in naturally occurring social occasions, focusing on how they emerge, what people do during the silence, and how they restart conversation afterwards. Overall, the research shows lapses to be a particular kind of silence with particular relevancies for the social situations of which they are a part.

• Series Editor's Preface


• 1. Silence and social interaction


• 2. Lapsing out of talk


• 3. Sequence recompletion: Deflecting speakership in a lapse


• 4. Drinking for speaking: Integrating bodily activity and talk


• 5. Lapse resolution: Ending a lapse and continuing with talk


• 6. Lapses as social objects

Elliott M. Hoey is a postdoctoral researcher in Department of Linguistics and Literature at the University of Basel.