ABSTRACT
Spoken interaction can be described in terms of five hierarchical levels, each consisting of one or more units from the level next below:
The way a brief transaction can be built up is illustrated by the following dialogue, which is part of a lunch-time conversation between a married couple (husband A and wife B). The transaction is made up of two exchanges, one consisting of
two turns (A B) the other of three (A B A). In this example, each turn consists of one move, while three of the moves contain more than one act:
Move 1
] EX C H A N G E 1 at K ing ’s CROSS#>.J
E X C H A N G E 2
* * * * [ < . . .> ] ’ indicates a move consisting of one act; ‘[< . . . > < . . . > ] ’ indicates a move consisting of two acts, etc.
