ATLAS OF LANGUAGE

AT-088-011 · ATLAS 251

Turn-taking

The orderly transfer of the right to speak between conversation participants.

Explanation

The orderly transfer of the right to speak between conversation participants. In the atlas, the term is not treated in isolation: it conceptualizes conversation as a temporally coordinated system. This reveals the distinctions that the form enables and how it relates to related phenomena.

Example

After a question is asked, the person addressed takes the floor.

Counterexample

Chaotic, simultaneous speech indicates a lack of successful coordination.

Distinction

Chaotic, simultaneous speech does not indicate successful coordination.

Effect on thought and perception

The term draws attention to the fact that it conceptualizes conversation as a temporally coordinated system. What previously appeared to be a uniform process becomes perceptible as a structured relationship.

Resonance

Resonance arises when speaker changes are not merely named but experienced as a dynamic interplay between form, expectation, and effect.

Cite this entry

Reich, Michael (Hrsg./ed.): „Turn-taking“. Atlas der Sprache, AT-088-011. ATLAS 251, data model 1.6.0. https://atlasoflanguage.com/concept/AT-088-011

https://atlasoflanguage.com/concept/AT-088-011

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