ABSTRACT
Within interaction, speech events set up the sequential relevance of appropriate next moves, constraining the realm of appropriate next actions and ways in which those involved are to participate. Any speaker's communicative action is both context-shaped and context- Renewing. As Heritage (1984, p. 242) states,
A speaker's action is context-shaped in that its contribution to an ongoing sequence of actions cannot adequately be understood except by reference to the context — including, especially, the immediately preceding configuration of actions — in which it participates. . . . Since every "current" action will itself form the immediate context for some "next" action in a sequence, it will inevitably contribute to the framework in terms of which the next action will be understood.
For example, it is expected that participants will answer invitations with acceptances or rejections, summonses with answers, or a ritual insult with a similar move in kind. Listeners to stories are expected to interject displays of attentiveness, displaying their alignment and engrossment in the events being recounted.