ABSTRACT

In this chapter, I discuss a body o f research on first-language com ­ m unication from the perspective o f w hat I will call the collaborative theory (e.g., Clark & Schaefer, 1989; Clark & Wilkes-Gibbs, 1986). This theory treats speaking an d listening as fundam entally collab­ orative processes, and conversing in any language as a strategic, collective activity.