Initiating Interactive Turn Spaces in Japanese Conversation: Local Projection and Collaborative Action

Abstract

Shifting from a focus on transitions between speakers at turn boundaries, this study examines projective and multimodal structures inside a turn-constructional unit (TCU), out of which any turn is built. It analyzes how particular noun-phrasal components within a TCU become projective and shape interactive turn spaces (ITSs) where co-participants legitimately provide a relevant next action. The speaker projects spaces, which create opportunities for responses and facilitate collaborative participation. The analysis explicates where and how the speaker projects ITSs through emerging syntactic components and multimodal resources such as gazes, gestures, and facial expressions. Demonstrating how participants understand emerging local actions and how they analyze prior actions to which they are responding (i.e., the impact of reflexivity) reveals the interactive organization of spaces inside a TCU where multiple dimensions of projection work together to facilitate micro-collaboration in Japanese conversation.