Unpacking The Self
Unpacking The Self
Unpacking The Self
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Unpacking “Self”
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in Conversation
Galina B. Bolden1
Abstract
Goffman’s work on footing has paved the way to specifying the analytic concepts of speaker
and hearer in social interaction. This article empirically examines participants’ moment-
by-moment negotiated understandings of speakerhood in the context of conversational
repair—sequences of talk dedicated to resolving problems of hearing, speaking, or under-
standing. I demonstrate that participation in repair sequences reflects interactants’ orienta-
tions to socially distributed rights to knowledge, or epistemics. Even though speakers are
ordinarily entitled to speak on their own behalf and, thus, to repair their own talk, the appli-
cation of this right is a contingent, negotiated, and sometimes contested matter. Using the
methodology of conversation analysis to examine a large corpus of video-recorded English,
Russian, and bilingual multiparty interactions, I show how asymmetries in participants’
experiences and expertise are drawn upon in the process of repair resolution, suggesting
a respecification of the notion of ‘‘self’’ as it pertains to repair.
Keywords
conversation analysis, epistemics, repair, participation, identity
distinct stances a person can assume and the conventional notion of speaker is
enact in relationship to the words being imprecise, specifying (to reappropriate
produced. These stances are grounded Hymes 1974:54) ‘‘sometimes too few,
in participants’ differential rights and sometimes the wrong participants.’’1 Tak-
responsibilities to speak to the matter at ing inspiration from Goffman’s largely
hand—as the words animator (who artic- theoretical work on participation, this
ulates the words), author (who selects the article examines empirically participants’
words), and/or principal (whose views are own, moment-by-moment negotiated
being presented). Furthermore, Goffman understandings of speakerhood by look-
categorized hearers on the basis of their ing at conversational repair—sequences
rights and responsibilities to participate of talk dedicated to resolving problems
in the interaction. of hearing, speaking, or understanding
Goffman’s (1981) work on footing con- (e.g., Hayashi, Raymond, and Sidnell
ceptualizes speaker and hearer as analyt- 2013; Kitzinger 2013; Schegloff, Jeffer-
ically separate, almost entirely isolated, son, and Sacks 1977). Repair sequences
entities (Goodwin and Goodwin 2003). are particularly apt for such an investiga-
However, the picture is more complex tion due to the relevance of the identity of
and dynamic when interaction between the speaker of the problematic talk to
speakers and hearers is taken into repair organization. We will see that the
account. For instance, hearers can be, in person who speaks the words subse-
various ways, implicated in the speaker quently targeted by repair initiation is
role: for example, when a speaker not always treated as having the rights
reenacts the words of a hearer (Goodwin (or exclusive rights) to them, and in
1984) or when words are produced fact, in the course of repair resolution,
together or on behalf of several copartici- several interlocutors may claim—and be
pants (Lerner 2002b). The possibility afforded—epistemic rights to what was
that individuals can act together as a col- said. In other words, the right to repair
lective entity is captured by Goffman’s one’s own talk is a negotiated and some-
(1971) notion of a ‘‘with’’—a participation times contested matter. I will examine
unit in which individuals visibly display how participants’ asymmetrical epistemic
their togetherness in public settings. standing vis-à-vis what is being said
Goffman’s notion of withs has been is enacted and negotiated in repair
extended beyond visible conduct to talk- sequences—a process that brings to light
in-interaction, especially in conversation epistemic underpinnings of the notions
analytic work concerned with aspects of of laminated speaker (Goffman 1981), on
conversational organization that enable the one hand, and withs (Goffman 1971)
several participants to act as a single or collectivities (Lerner 1993, 2002a;
unit (a multiperson ‘‘party,’’ ‘‘team,’’ Schegloff 1995), on the other.
‘‘association,’’ or ‘‘collectivity’’): for exam- The article is organized as follows.
ple, turn-taking (Lerner 1995; Schegloff After a brief discussion of the data and
1995), action sequencing (Lerner 1993), method used in the study, an overview
and storytelling (Goodwin 1984, 1986;
1
Goodwin 1997; Lerner 1992; Mandelbaum Following Egbert (1997), the term multiper-
1987). son rather than multiparty interaction is used
Overall, Goffman’s (1971, 1981) work in this article to allow for the fact that in dealing
with conversational repair, conversationalists
on participation and subsequent conver- may act collectively as incumbents of a multiper-
sation analytic research on organization son party (Lerner 1993) or individually as a sin-
of multiperson interaction indicates that gle-person party.
consists of repair initiation, which occupy the identities of self and other:
launches a repair activity; repair solution, that is, the person who articulates the
which effects repair; and the target of words that are being repaired and the
repair, referred to as the trouble source person initiating repair. While much of
(or repairable). The initiation of repair the work on repair was based on tele-
suspends the ongoing course of action phone (i.e., two-person) conversations,
until the problem is dealt with and the this view of repair as a dyadic exchange
repair solution is provided. Repair can is largely supported by data from multi-
be initiated by either the speaker of the person interactions (Egbert 1997). Thus,
trouble source (referred to as self) or by other-initiated repair is typically treated
a recipient (referred to as other). This as having been addressed to the producer
article examines other-initiated repair of the trouble source (self), who then
sequences—namely, sequences in which resolves the repair by providing a repair
repair is initiated by a recipient of the solution. This can be seen in Excerpt 1,
trouble source turn via a repair initiation taken from a dinner conversation
(e.g., What?). between four participants. In line 3,
Michael initiates repair on Vivian’s com-
Organization of Participation in plaint (in line 1) with an ‘‘open class’’
Repair Sequences repair initiation ‘‘What?’’ (Drew 1997).
In the transcript, TS stands for trouble
Schegloff et al. (1977:361) show that other-
source, RI for repair initiation, and RS
initiated repair sequences are dyadic
for repair solution.
exchanges between two interlocutors that
2 (0.6)
4 (1.2)
In line 5, Alex is looking down while ‘‘speak for yourself,’’ according to which
initiating repair (‘‘Four what¿’’) and thus people have a special right (and a respon-
does not—explicitly—address anybody. sibility) to speak on their own behalf (cf.
However, because the repair initiation Goffman 1971). It is also consistent
targets Irina’s talk, she is the one who is with the structural preference for self-
being tacitly selected (Lerner 2003) to correction (over other-correction) in
respond to the repair initiation (which allowing the producer of the trouble
she does at line 6). source to repair his or her own talk
Note that the other copresent partici- (Schegloff et al. 1977). In Heritage’s
pants in these two conversations could (2008:307) words, ‘‘the organization of
potentially respond to the repair initia- repair is generally designed to respect
tion since they may well have access to the rights of speakers to ‘say what
the information the repair initiator is they wish to say’ and to own it.’’ In
seeking (that is, they may have heard other words, repair mechanisms—with
and understood the trouble source their built-in structural bias for self-
turn).2 Yet it is the speaker of the repair- correction—support and enable the distri-
able who typically resolves repair (Bolden bution of participation in repair activities
2011; Egbert 1997). This empirical gener- such that the speaker’s rights to his or her
alization is consistent with what Lerner own talk are respected.3
(1996) calls the conversational maxim to Even though other-initiated repair is
typically a dyadic exchange between
a recipient who initiates repair and the
2
In both instances, the repair is initiated in speaker of the trouble source who
the next turn, the prototypical position for initiat-
ing repair (Schegloff 2000b) that creates the
3
‘‘prior-as-next’’ turn-order bias (Sacks, Schegloff, Note that while the preference for self-
and Jefferson 1974:708–709). Instances of correction is grounded in the organization of turn-
delayed repair initiation (especially those that taking, the relative infrequency of other-correction
rely on tacit addressing) are hard to find, but (vis-à-vis other-initiation of repair) is indicative of
there is some indication that even delayed repair participants’ orientation to the trouble source speak-
initiations are ordinarily treated as being (tacitly) er’s epistemic primacy over his or her own words
addressed to the speaker of the trouble source. (Schegloff, Jefferson, and Sacks 1977).
organization, a distinction will be made Goffman’s [1981] terms, acts as the ani-
between situations in which an interlocu- mator, the author, and the principal)
tor who is not the trouble source speaker and, thus, has a right and a responsibility
is explicitly addressed and selected by to repair the trouble source (Heritage
the repair initiator to provide a repair 2008; Stivers et al. 2011). In a multiperson
solution (i.e., other-selection) from situa- conversation, it is, however, possible that
tions in which somebody self-selects to other participants have (or are assumed
provide a repair solution in addition to— to have) access and sometimes even pri-
or in place of—the addressed trouble mary epistemic rights to what the trouble
source speaker. I show that these are alter- source turn conveys. This produces
native ways of dealing with asymmetries in a rather complex situation in which partic-
participants’ epistemic rights. I also argue ipants have competing claims to the
that the analytic concept of self as an indi- repairable and thus competing rights to
vidual speaker who produced the trouble provide a repair solution. In the following,
source (Schegloff et al. 1977) should be I examine how interlocutors resolve these
replaced with the concept of self as a some- differently grounded epistemic claims by
times-multiperson party. This reconceptu- analyzing their participation in repair
alization brings repair organization in activities. The analysis will show that in
alignment with turn-taking organization, resolving repair, the right to speak to
which describes the allocation of turns to one’s own experiences, feelings, and so on
parties rather than individual persons supersedes or challenges the speaker’s
(Sacks et al. 1974; Schegloff 1995). locally derived right as the producer of
the trouble source.
EPISTEMICS OF EXPERIENCE
Research on epistemics or knowledge A Coparticipant Has Epistemic
management in conversation (e.g., Labov Primacy over the Trouble Source
and Fanshel 1977; Lerner 1996; Pomer- Since knowledge of experiences is firmly
antz 1980; Sacks 1984) has shown that bound to the individual who has lived
as a general rule, people have epistemic through them, when somebody talks
rights to speak for themselves: that is, to about experiences or life circumstances
talk about their own ‘‘thoughts, feelings, of a copresent participant, that partici-
experiences, hopes, and expectations’’ pant retains privileged access to what is
(Heritage 2013:377) as well as, to some being said. For example, he or she is
extent, about experiences of those who expected to confirm (or deny or elaborate
are categorically bound to them, such as on) what is being said on his or her behalf
their own relatives, friends, and the like (Labov and Fanshel 1977; Lerner 1992,
(Raymond and Heritage 2006). Goffman 1996). The organization of repair sequen-
(1971:38) referred to this as an individu- ces is sensitive to these socially distrib-
al’s ‘‘information preserves’’—a territory uted epistemic rights. Specifically, as
over which a person has primary rights. shown in Bolden (2011:253) and illustrated
The right to repair one’s own talk (dis- in the following, ‘‘when the trouble-source
cussed previously) is an instantiation of turn coveys information to which a copre-
this right to ‘‘speak for oneself’’ (Lerner sent person has primary epistemic access,
1996). It is grounded in the person’s local the repair initiation selects that person—
interactional role as the speaker of the and not the speaker of the trouble source
trouble source, who—ordinarily—selects turn—to provide a repair solution.’’ Or, to
what to say and how to say it (i.e., in use Goffman’s (1981) terminology, the
repair initiation is addressed not to the ani- his turn. The repair initiation (‘‘[Side-,] (.)
mator (the person who utters the repair- you mean this "way?’’ accompanied by
able) but to the principal whose views are a pointing gesture to a part of the house;
(claimably) being expressed and who thus see Figure 1) is a proffer of a candidate
retains primary epistemic rights over understanding of Corry’s reference to
what is being said (cf. Lerner 2002a). ‘‘the si:de entrance’’ on the drawings
In Excerpt 3, Bianca, Corry, and their (line 1). The key observation is that this
adult daughter Angela are discussing ren- repair initiation is addressed not to the
ovation plans for Angela’s house. Angela producer of the trouble source (i.e.,
has been showing Corry the architectural Corry), but to Angela, the owner of the
drawings for the renovations while house being renovated who, arguably,
Bianca (who had claimed not to under- has the epistemic primacy over this infor-
stand the drawings) stepped away from mational territory.6 On the transcript, the
the conversation. On Bianca’s return, horizontal line indicates gaze at the per-
Corry starts explaining the drawings to son whose name is placed above the line.
her (lines 1–3), and in line 4, Bianca inter- Vertical lines [|] are used to indicate the
rupts the explanation to initiate repair on onset of other nonvocal conduct.
..BIA________________
1 TS> COR: |This is the si:de entrance of the house¿
|((COR points to the drawings))
.. ANG____________________________
4 RI> BIA: [Side-,] (.) you mean this nway?
|((BIA points left; see Figure 1))
COR: ...BIA________...ANG____
6 (0.2)
7 BIA: ººoh. |(‘key)ºº
|((BIA looks down at the drawings))
8 COR: An’ she go in,=
6
By taking on the task of explaining the architectural drawings, Corry enacts his expertise in this
domain. To address a repair initiation to him is to respect both his rights as the trouble source producer
and his claimed expertise. When Bianca addresses the repair initiation to Angela rather than Corry, she
privileges Angela’s epistemic rights (as the owner of the house) over Corry’s. The role of expertise is dis-
cussed in a later section; however, further research is needed to account for how experience- and exper-
tise-grounded entitlements are negotiated in repair.
Downloaded from spq.sagepub.com at RUTGERS UNIV on November 26, 2013
Repair and Epistemics 9
Figure 1. Bianca (center) addresses the repair initiation to Angela (left) in line 4, Excerpt 3
%2< >PDPD
6 (0.5)
Figure 2. Kira (right) shifts her gaze from Natasha (left) to Oleg (center) during line 11, Excerpt 4
In line 11, while producing her repair initiation, both provide a repair solution
initiation, Kira first looks at Natasha simultaneously (lines 13–14), which
and then, within the same turn-construc- shows that they both treat the repair ini-
tional unit (Sacks et al. 1974), turns tiation as having been addressed to them.
to Oleg, thus apparently addressing In Excerpt 4, the speaker elicited col-
the repair initiation to both of them laboration from another interlocutor,
(Figure 2). In this way, the repair initia- thus granting him the right to speak to
tor respects both tellers’ epistemic rights the matter at hand. However, this sort
and treats them as comembers of a party of collaborative action does not have to
of tellers. In response to this repair be invited, as participants may deploy
their shared knowledge of the events to ing about their son’s birthday party and
join in on the action in progress as conso- especially about the people in charge of
ciates or comembers in a collectivity made the establishment where the party took
relevant by the action, for example, as place (lines 1 and 6–8). When, in line 9,
cotellers in the ongoing telling (Lerner Seva initiates repair, he explicitly
1992). In Excerpt 5, Oleg and Natasha addresses it to both cotellers (Natasha
are acting as cotellers, together complain- and Oleg) via gaze.
Around the table: Seva, Natasha, Baby, Boy, Oleg, Kira, Lena
1 OLEG: (Tot) papasha xatel dra[ca s (nim) vmeste/
that father wanted fight with him together
That father wanted to have a fight with him
%DE\>'DGD
3 OL?: Mm
5 SEVA: [( )
7 TS> NAT: [On prosta v`t nu- (.) g:a:dkij takoj chelave,k/
he just PRT PRT nasty such person
He is just (.) such a nasty person
13 RS>OLEG: Xa[zjain/
owner
14 RS>NAT: [Xaznja:pin/
owner
The repair initiation in line 9 (On- on initiation seems to be based on the preced-
eta kto/ afica?nt/‘‘Who is he, the ing telling, from which it is quite appar-
waiter?’’) targets the locally subsequent ent that ‘‘waiter’’ is not a plausible under-
pronominal reference on (‘‘he’’) in Nata- standing. Given its timing, Kira’s
sha’s preceding turn (line 7). As Seva pro- response may in fact be occasioned by
duces his repair initiation (line 9), he Natasha’s embodied enactment of confu-
shifts his gaze from Natasha to Oleg, sion (line 10) that indicates that Seva’s
thus apparently addressing both of candidate understanding is not only
them, as comembers of a telling party. incorrect but ‘‘off base’’ or inapposite.
In lines 12–13, both Oleg and Natasha (Natasha’s stance is further revealed in
respond almost simultaneously (each her emphatic and rather incredulous pro-
with hazjain/ ‘‘owner’’). This sort of repair duction of the correction xaz"ja:#in/
resolution displays participants’ orienta- ‘‘owner’’ in line 12.) By intervening into
tion to epistemics in that it reaffirms the the repair sequence in this sequential
cotellers’ equal rights to speak to the mat- environment, Kira demonstrates to the
ter at hand, the rights that had been others that she, another unknowing
invoked and made relevant in the preced- recipient to the telling, has followed and
ing talk. understood it. This might serve to relieve
In line 12, another participant—Kira Natasha and Oleg of responsibility for
(Seva’s wife)—also intervenes with Seva’s misunderstanding.8 What is
a response to the repair initiation, negat- important for the analysis at hand is
ing Seva’s first candidate understanding that the others visibly disattend Kira’s
aficant (‘‘waiter’’). Kira’s response follows
8
a micro-pause (line 10) during which Kira While it is difficult to argue for the relevance
of relational categories (e.g., spouses) in data like
looks at Natasha, whose facial expression
these, it may be noted that these kinds of inter-
shows confusion (the eyebrows drawn ventions are often done by partners and other
together; this facial expression is held relational intimates (as also seen in Excerpt 7).
until Natasha produces her correction in It might be that by proffering a repair solution,
line 14). Note that up to this point, Kira the intervening person displays accountability
for the inapposite action (repair initiation) of
has been acting as an unknowing recipi-
their relational intimate (see Bolden 2011 for
ent of the telling with no direct access a discussion of another kind of repair action
and thus little epistemic claim to this that might be category-bound to relational
topic. Her response to Seva’s repair intimates).
repair solution (e.g., they do not shift Leading into Excerpt 6, Seva has been
their gaze toward her) and proceed with trying to convince Oleg to use his tax
the repair sequence. This indicates that accountant, and Oleg has been skeptical
participants do not simply aim to have about this recommendation. To bolster
understanding problems resolved, but to his argument, Seva introduces an exam-
have them resolved by those interlocutors ple of a friend (named Rifka) who had
with primary epistemic rights to do so. received a large tax refund with the help
In the prior two instances (Excerpt 4 of the recommended accountant (lines
and Excerpt 5), the repair initiation was 4–5). While referring to this friend, Seva
addressed to a team of interlocutors who looks toward his wife Kira, as if recruiting
have (and are assumed to have) equal her as a witness to his assertion—some-
access and rights to the matter at hand body who can attest to its veracity. In
and who collaborate in producing the this way Kira is granted rights to talk
action targeted by the repair initiation. on Seva’s behalf and to defend his posi-
The data show that in this context, the tion. In line 7, Kira adds to Seva’s argu-
repair initiation may also be addressed ment by suggesting that this friend’s
to the producer of the trouble source large tax refund didn’t come from a mort-
turn. In such circumstances, the unad- gage credit (‘‘they didn’t even have
dressed participant may self-select to a house’’) as a way to strengthen Seva’s
also provide a repair solution, thus recommendation of the accountant.
reclaiming his or her role as a consociate
in the collaborative action.
3 (.)
... KIRA____________________________________
5 pal:u- Rifka paluchila chetyrnacat’ tysjach
ge(t) NAME got fourteen thousand
Rifka got fourteen thousand
6 vasvr[ata/
back
7 TS> KIRA: [U nix dazhe doma ne byla/ ((to Oleg))
with them even house not was
They didn’t even have a house
8 (.)
((continues to explain))
3 (0.5)
5 (0.8)
6 va dvare/
in yard
in the backyard
7 (0.8)
9 i: [zagarali ani/
and sunbathed they
and they were sunbathing
11 RS>ZHE: U sas[edej]
with neighbors
The neighbors’
Immediately following the repair initi- trouble source (or self) by proffering an
ation, in line 11, Zhenya (Aaron’s wife) unsolicited repair solution, their epistemic
proffers a repair solution. Zhenya appar- access to the repairable may not be seen as
ently bases her response on Mira’s prior adequate grounds for such comembership.
telling; however, she has no direct access
to this information (having been acting EPISTEMICS OF EXPERTISE
as an unknowing recipient up to that
So far I have examined repair sequences
point) and thus little right to talk about
in which two (or more) participants have
it. Zhenya may be intervening here in order
some sort of experience-based access to
to demonstrate that she, unlike Aaron, has
the trouble source: that is, they experi-
been an attentive listener and that the tell-
enced the events in question or know
ing has been adequate (see also note 8).
about them indirectly (e.g., having been
Zhenya’s repair solution does not stand,
told about them by those who did). I will
however, and Mira goes on to provide her
own repair solution (in line 12). Note that now turn to the role of epistemics of
Mira starts speaking in overlap with Zhe- expertise (Heritage 2013) in repair orga-
nya at a point where the thrust of Zhenya’s nization, that is, epistemic authority aris-
turn is projectable in Russian. Aaron looks ing from specialized, professional, subject
at Mira throughout this sequence and then matter, or linguistic knowledge. Prior
again addresses Mira to confirm the repair research has shown that participants’
solution (line 13), thus disattending Zhe- expertise—both in terms of access and
nya’s intervention. rights to specialized knowledge—may be
In sum, when a recipient can claim no drawn upon and made relevant in the
special rights to the repairable, his or organization of interaction. For example,
her contributions, even when they ade- action design and word selection may dis-
quately resolve repair, are disattended. play the speaker’s relative expertise and
This finding is consistent with what authority in a particular relevant domain
Egbert (1997) observed in her research of knowledge vis-à-vis the addressee as
on repair in German conversation. While well as the speaker’s assessment of the
Egbert’s study did not look at the distri- addressee’s relevant expertise (e.g., Drew
bution of epistemic rights between the 1991; Kitzinger and Mandelbaum 2013;
participants, a re-examination of the Peräkylä 1998). The analysis will show
data analyzed in her article offers support that interlocutors also orient to (and in
for the finding that repair solutions prof- doing so, reconstitute) asymmetries in
fered by those with no special epistemic their expertise in the course of repair reso-
rights to the repairable are treated as inad- lution. This is evident when (a) a more
equate by the others. Overall, these analy- expert participant is selected to repair
ses demonstrate that participants orient to the trouble source produced by a novice
asymmetries in epistemic rights, rather and (b) participants use their expertise to
than simply epistemic access, in carrying intervene by proffering a repair solution
out repair. This helps explain why, in when they have not been selected.
a vast majority of cases, it is only the
speaker of the trouble source who provides
repair solution in response to repair initia- The Trouble Source Is Produced by
tion (as discussed in the literature review). a Novice
While interlocutors may attempt to reflex- Bolden (2011, 2012) demonstrated that
ively constitute themselves as comembers when the trouble source is produced by
of a party (a with) with the producer of the a person who may be seen as lacking full
3 DAD:
=(Go outside)/ (.) Slezaj/=
climb-down
Get down
4 RI> KIRA: =Shto on skaz[a?l/ ((to Dad))
what he said
What did he say?
11
I would expect that asymmetries in professional expertise might be also used as the basis for other-
selection (i.e., addressing repair initiation to the subject expert rather than the novice trouble source
producer). However, so far I have no examples of this practice, possibly because I have not examined
interactions where participants are expected to have sharply asymmetrical professional expertise.
Downloaded from spq.sagepub.com at RUTGERS UNIV on November 26, 2013
20 Social Psychology Quarterly XX(X)
Kira’s selection of the father over the intermediary between her and the
child as the next speaker is locally respon- child.12
sive to the father’s displayed understand- Excerpt 9 is from the same interaction.
ing of the child’s talk (in line 3). By In line 1, the boy announces that some of
selecting the father rather than the child his toy cars ‘‘spilled into the cage.’’ This
to provide a repair solution, Kira seems announcement appears to be addressed
to treat the child as lacking the neces- to the entire table (the boy cannot be
sary interactional (linguistic, cognitive, seen in the frame), and at line 2, one of
etc.) expertise to provide the repair solu- the guests (Kira) initiates repair on it (V
tion and, simultaneously, treat the kakuju kle:tku/‘‘Into what cage’’). Rather
child’s father as capable of speaking for than addressing the repair initiation to
the child. By addressing the father the speaker of the trouble source (the
rather than engaging the child in a repair boy, who stands right next to her), Kira
sequence, Kira defers to the father as turns away from the boy and looks at his
a child’s consociate and a rightful expert mother, thus selecting her to provide
who can (and perhaps should) act as an a repair solution.
Around the table: Seva and Mom with the baby (left), Dad and Kira
(right), the boy (off camera, right)
1 TS> BOY: |<U menja prapusypalas’ mnoga v kletku mashi|nak>/
with me spilled many in cage cars
Many of my cars spilled into the cage
|((Kira looks at Boy smiling)) |((Kira starts
turning to
Mom))
2 RI> KIRA: |V kak[uju kle:t[ku/
in what cage
Into what cage
|((Kira is looking at Mom))
3 MOM: [U h- u : [:h/
4 DAD: [º( )º
5 RS> MOM: .h A vot on nazyvaet {pack ‘n play,}/ on nazyvaet kletaj/
PRT PRT he calls he calls cage
He calls “pack ‘n play” he calls it a cage
12
While Kira does occasionally speak to the boy directly in these recordings, this action may also be
seen as constituting Kira’s own relatively low expertise and/or entitlement to interact with the child.
10 MOM: [Da/
yes
11 =({Dou[ble} u nas)
with us
(We have a double)
12 DAD: [ºDa daº/
yes yes
13 KIRA: A::/
oh
(2012) showed that participants may use validated by others. The following two
their linguistic expertise as a license to excerpts illustrate some of these
enter a repair sequence as a ‘‘language trajectories.
broker’’ by self-selecting to provide In Excerpt 10, the participants are
a repair solution. Here I will demonstrate playing the game of Risk, a turn-based
that expertise in a specialized domain of board game in which players aim to
knowledge can be used in a similar way occupy ‘‘territories’’ by ‘‘attacking’’ other
as a warrant for proffering an unsolicited players’ ‘‘forces’’ (game pieces). As evident
repair solution. When, in response to from this segment (see lines 1–3), Bob is
a repair initiation that displays its speak- a novice player, and Chris acts as—and
er’s difficulty in understanding some is treated by Bob as—an expert. In lines
technical or specialized knowledge, an 1–3, Bob (who is in the midst of his
unaddressed participant proffers a repair game turn) asks Chris about the rule on
solution, this participant enacts his or her redistributing ‘‘forces’’ on the board (that
expertise in the relevant domain and is, moving game pieces between different
thereby demonstrates his or her comem- territories). Chris responds in lines 4–5,
bership in a party of experts (together and (in line 6) Bob begins to repeat Chris’s
with the addressed trouble source words to (arguably14) confirm his under-
speaker). Such interventions can be done standing of what Chris has said. Follow-
so as to defer—or not—to the trouble ing this repair initiation, both the speaker
source speaker’s rights to repair his or of the trouble source (Chris) and another
her own talk and may—or may not—be player (Diana) respond.
14
It is possible that Bob simply sets out to display his understanding of Chris’s words (as a third posi-
tion receipt; Schegloff 2007) rather than to confirm it via repair initiation (Schegloff 1996). However,
Bob’s low epistemic status in relation to Chris, most locally demonstrated by his question in lines
1–3, does appear to contribute to the other participants treating Bob’s repeat as a request for confirma-
tion (Heritage 2012b).
12 BOB: Okay,
1 TS> ALL: |But th’one for ph(r)obonomy, not the nonep for thuh::
|((ALL and CAN are looking at each other))
|((BETH is looking down))
2 (.)
....ALL___
3 RI> BETH: For what?=
AL..
6 RI> BETH: Barphamany? ((BETH looks at her food))
7 RS> ALL: ºNo[:.º
Bethany’s repair initiation targets the also responds to the repair initiation, first
term ‘‘ph(r)obonomy’’ (‘‘For what?’’; by correcting Bethany’s hearing (in line 8)
line 3) and is addressed to Allyson, the and then going on to explain this techni-
speaker of the trouble source, explicitly cal term to her (in line 10). Candice’s
via gaze. Possibly due to the interruptive intervention—particularly, the correction
placement of this repair initiation (before ‘‘phlebotomy’’ (line 8)—might be occa-
Allyson’s turn-in-progress in line 1 is pos- sioned by Allyson’s mispronunciation of
sibly complete), this repair initiation the term (as ‘‘ph(r)obonomy’’) in line 1.
appears to be disattended: Allyson contin- ‘‘No plus correction’’ being a common for-
ues her in-progress explanation of the test mat for other-correction, Candice’s correc-
for Candice (line 4), who acknowledges tion (in line 8) is timed precisely so as to
the explanation (line 5).15 Bethany then interject before Allyson might provide
reissues her repair initiation, now in the her own, possibly inaccurate, correction
form of a candidate hearing (‘‘Barpha- of Bethany’s candidate hearing. Candi-
many?’’; line 6). This repair initiation is ce’s intervention (in line 8) might thus
again addressed to Allyson both explicitly accomplish an embedded correction of
(via turn-initial gaze toward Allyson, Allyson’s misspeaking while also overtly
before shifting gaze down to the food) correcting Bethany’s mishearing (Jeffer-
and tacitly, as the producer of the trouble son 1987). Allyson then quietly repeats
source. Allyson responds by rejecting Candice’s correction (line 9), thereby
Bethany’s hearing (‘‘ºNo:.º’’; line 7). The accepting it.
key observation here is that Candice By participating in repair resolution in
this way, Candice enacts her expertise in
15
The inaudible part of Allyson’s turn in line 4 the domain invoked by the technical term
might be dealing with the repair initiation. phlebotomy as a comember (with Allyson)
of the ‘‘medical experts’’ party, using this and both can be in various ways resisted
expertise as a warrant for the interven- (or not) by others. Responses to unsolic-
tion (Kitzinger and Mandelbaum 2013). ited repair solutions may be a product of
Here, unlike Excerpt 10, Candice’s partic- the local interactional context (specifi-
ipation is ratified by the others. Allyson, cally, the in-progress course of action)
the producer of the repairable, accepts and a mechanism through which the (per-
Candice’s correction (line 9), speaks qui- ceived) epistemic authority of the inter-
etly (as if deferring to Candice), and, vening person vis-à-vis the trouble source
throughout the repair resolution (lines speaker is negotiated.
8–10), continues to visibly attend to her.
Bethany, the repair initiator, eventually CONCLUSIONS
turns to look at Candice as well, as Can-
This article has examined how epistemics
dice explains the term to her (line 10).
enters into the organization of repair in
Furthermore, even though Candice
multiperson interaction. The overall
slightly delays her entry into the repair
argument has been that even though,
sequence (line 8), she (unlike the inter-
generally speaking, the local role of the
vening speaker in Excerpt 10) takes over
producer of a trouble source entitles one
the repair (e.g., twice outlasting Allyson
to repair one’s own talk, this right may
in overlap; lines 8 and 10). In this way,
be contested and sometimes even super-
Candice enacts her entitlement to partici-
seded by other epistemic considerations:
pate in repair resolution and, in doing so,
claims epistemic authority over the rele- specifically, those having to do with epis-
vant domain. temics of experience and expertise. To
The data presented in this section summarize, first, when the trouble source
show that one can use expertise in a par- is produced on behalf of another copresent
ticular relevant domain to join the repair participant, the owner of the experience
in progress and, in doing so, enact preserves the right (and the responsibil-
comembership in the party of experts. ity) to repair the trouble source. In such
Such a demonstration of expertise is an circumstances (see Excerpt 3), repair ini-
implicit claim of authority over the target tiators ordinarily address the owner of
knowledge domain, and as such, it may be the experience rather than the trouble
(tacitly) contested (as in Excerpt 10) or source speaker. Second, when two inter-
validated by the other participants (as in locutors share experiential access and
Excerpt 11).16 Thus, there are some paral- associated epistemic rights to what the
lels between how participants use their trouble source conveys, they may be trea-
expertise and experience as warrants for ted as sharing the right to repair the trou-
intervening into a repair sequence. As ble source and act together as repair con-
we saw, both experience- and expertise- sociates. Coexperiencers can both be
based interventions can be proffered in explicitly addressed with a repair initia-
ways that display more or less entitle- tion (Excerpt 4 and Excerpt 5). When
ment to repair another person’s talk, they are not (that is, when the repair ini-
tiation is addressed to the producer of the
16
Given the centrality of expertise in these repairable), the unaddressed participant
matters, it would be interesting to examine (in may claim epistemic rights to the repair-
a future study) how this sort of sequences unfold able by (also) providing a repair solution
in interactions where participants are expected to
(Excerpt 6). Third, interlocutors can
have sharply asymmetrical, institutionally vali-
dated, technical or professional expertise (e.g., deploy epistemic access as a wedge into
institutional talk). a repair sequence even when they do not
respecting or infringing on others’ episte- on a draft of this article. The analysis has also
greatly benefited from data sessions at Rutgers
mic territories, may have numerous inter-
University and at Loughborough University (UK).
actional payoffs and outcomes that
deserve further investigation.
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