Unfinished Turns in French Conversation: How Context Matters

Abstract

On occasion, speakers do not complete their turns in conversation. Such syntactically incomplete turns are not treated with repair or misunderstanding. The responses that they receive display a clear understanding of the actions that the unfinished turns embodied. In this article, using conversation analysis, I describe the systematic occurrence of unfinished turns in French conversation. I show that context is necessary to the understanding of this type of turn, and I describe the nature of that context. Data analysis reveals that unfinished turns are understandable primarily by reference to their sequential position. I conclude that unfinished turns are a locally managed resource fitted to the particulars of the talk in progress and built on the context that the sequences that house them have so far provided.