Functions of sequential placement

Conversational co-construction of a single nonverbal contribution

Authors

  • Tobias A. Kroll Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
  • Ben Rutter University of Sheffield
  • Judith D. Oxley University of Louisiana at Lafayette

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jircd.32014

Keywords:

Communication impairment, Conversation Analysis, Interpersonal communication, Sequential placement

Abstract

This study examines how a nearly nonverbal, prelingually deaf young man and his speech-language clinician co-construct a conversation using the client’s nonconventional contributions. It is shown how conversation is made possible through variations in the sequential placement of a single contribution by the client, a nasal sound construed as serving four distinct conversational functions: as a continuer; as a token of turn-constructional and topical completion; as an incomprehension token and signal for lack of verbal resources; and as a comprehension token. These functions are based on variations the sequential placement of the nasal and the differential treatment it receives by the interlocutors as a consequence. Results indicate that unconventional conversational contributions may be untypical in their form but typical in their function; that they may have subtly different functions when compared to their conventional cognates; or that they may have functions not found in typical talk.

Author Biographies

  • Tobias A. Kroll, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

    Tobias A. Kroll, Ph.D., CF-SLP is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, TX, USA. He received his MA in Linguistics from the University of Münster, Germany, and his Ph.D. in Applied Language and Speech Sciences from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA. His research focuses on the fine-grained analysis of interpersonal interaction and on eye movements in reading. To this end, Dr Kroll uses experimental as well as qualitative methodologies including eye movement measurements, Conversation Analysis, ethnography, and various analytical tools from linguistics. He has published conversation-analytic studies of therapeutic interaction as well as survey research on the perception of dialects, and he has contributed to The Handbook of Qualitative Research in Communication Disorders as well as to The SAGE Encyclopedia of Human Communication Sciences and Disorders. Dr Kroll teaches Language Development, Interpersonal Communication, and Multicultural Issues in Communication Disorders at the undergraduate level, and various classes in linguistics and anthropology at the doctoral level. He is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), the International Literacy Association (ILA), the Southeastern Conference on Linguistics (SECOL), and Phi Kappa Phi.

  • Ben Rutter, University of Sheffield

    Ben Rutter, Ph.D. is a lecturer in clinical linguistics in the Department of Human Communication Sciences at the University of Sheffield, UK. He previously held the position of Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (2010–2012). He holds a BA in English Language and Linguistics from the University of York (UK) and a Ph.D. in Clinical Linguistics from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. His research interests include the role of linguistics and phonetics in speech-language pathology, qualitative research methods, and the motor speech disorders. His doctoral research, supervised by Martin J. Ball and Nicole Müller, focused on self-repair in dysarthria secondary to multiple sclerosis. He has published research in the areas of dysarthria, child language development, and interactional phonetics. In particular, Dr Rutter employs key theoretical and analytical concepts from linguistics and applies them to problems related to speech and language therapy. He teaches phonetics, linguistics and research methods to students of both speech-language therapy and linguistics. He is a member of the International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association (ICPLA), the British Association of Clinical Linguistics (BACL), Sheffield Medical Humanities and the Centre for Assistive Technology and Connected Healthcare (CATCH).

  • Judith D. Oxley, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

    Judith D. Oxley, Ph. D., CCC-SLP is a Speech-Language Pathologist and Assistant Professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Her current clinical and research interests include language and speech development in children who use augmentative and alternative communication, translation issues arising from multilingual and multicultural research, and the emergence of metastrategic insight into clinical practice in preprofessional speech-language pathology students. She is part of the Becoming an Aided Communicator (BAC) international research project, led by Dr Stephen von Tetzchner of the University of Oslo. Within the project, her focus is on issues related to vocabulary development, and the interaction of modality and context. As part of her interest in multimodal communication, she has been exploring clinical tools and strategies that can be used with a growing population entering the world of AAC, such as people with hearing impairment, including those who have multiple diagnoses.

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Published

2017-02-01

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 1 (2017)

Section

Articles

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© Equinox Publishing Ltd.

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How to Cite

Kroll, T., Rutter, B., & Oxley, J. (2017). Functions of sequential placement: Conversational co-construction of a single nonverbal contribution. Journal of Interactional Research in Communication Disorders, 8(1), 96-120. https://doi.org/10.1558/jircd.32014