Chapter 5. The function of formulations in polyphonic dialogues

Formulation can be defined as a specific type of action, in interaction, which has the function of summarising, commenting or developing the gist of previous turns. Furthermore, formulations can elicit a choice of interlocutors’ next turns, in a way that interlocutors provide their own perspectives on the meaning of the interaction, and promote polyphonic dialogues. This chapter concerns video-recorded data collected in intercultural educational communities in English Lingua Franca. It looks at the structured sequences of actions including formulations. Complementarily, it focuses on the ways in which different cultural presuppositions, giving form to expectations, contextualise formulations. In this sense, formulations may be distinguished as referring to different forms of expectations. This study looks at various consequences of these forms of expectations for polyphonic dialogue.