Sequence

Jack Sidnell
Table of contents

In conversation, actions are not arranged serially, one after the other, like so many marching penguins but rather come grouped together in various ways. An answer, for instance, responds to a question and the two form together a paired unit. Some of the ways in which actions are grouped together and related to one another so as to form sequences are discussed in what follows. This leads to a consideration of the distinctive way in which understanding is achieved and sustained in conversation. It also leads to an examination of “preference” – a set of biases which operate across a wide range of sequence types.

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