ABSTRACT
Traditional accounts of language production rarely reach the level of describing coordinated talk among people engaged in conversations. Many models explain various aspects of what goes one in an individual’s mind as speaking occurs. But what happens when two minds are involved? A distinguishing characteristic of two minds is that talk cannot be planned in advance the way it might be with the production of preset words, phrases, or sentences, and that the talk needs to be coordinated between conversational participants. Both these elements—spontaneity and coordination—have been relatively under-researched in comparison to single-speaker, planned production. Correspondingly, in the current chapter I will focus on different issues from other, more often explored aspects of production. I will lay out the problems that conversations present and some of the tools participants have to overcome them. My hope is that the information provided here will aid researchers in expanding current production models to include the elements necessary for real-life, real-time conversations.
