Advances in Spoken Discourse Analysis

Analysing everyday conversation 153

Here, the R part of the exchange would seem to be ‘missing’, but we do not
consider this to be the case. Our line of reasoning runs in this way. If the
exchange were taken in isolation, it would be classified as a Structuring
exchange:

In isolation this Structuring exchange would begin the pre-closing sequence
of the conversation. In our data however, the organizational function of the
exchange is ignored (by the speaker herself). We therefore treat it as having
been ‘pushed down’ to the level of an ordinary Inform exchange. The only
unit that cannot be ‘pushed down’ is the framer, which is lexically defined,
but it must be noted that in normal circumstances a framer cannot realize
the pre-head of a move at I in any but a Structuring exchange. Because it
has been ‘pushed down’, then, we do not consider the exchange as incomplete.
(Sinclair and Coulthard (1975:35) apply the concept of ‘pushing down’ at
act level only; here we have extended it to the exchange and thus to all
ranks lower than the exchange.)
Leaving these apparent anomalies aside, then, we may turn to instances
of exchanges where an unrealized element is ‘heard’ as being present. The
exchange structure of the first example has been altered in accordance with
the decision discussed above (p. 146).

Note: We choose receive as the implied act here simply because, as a mid-
key item, it can be seen as encapsulating the concept of ‘acknowledging’.
In this example, then, the lack of an acknowledging move in the first
exchange is heard as a negative evaluation, which in turn implies that the
question is recycled. We may therefore say that the R part of the first
exchange is ‘there’ although it is unrealized. (The exchange would not, of
course, have been considered incomplete in any case, since it is followed by
a bound exchange.)
In an Elicit exchange initiated by a primary knower, then, the third part of
the exchange will be taken as present, even if it is unrealized, if the institutional
situation allows this. The classroom situation is a classic example. Whether