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Emergent Syntax for Conversation: Clausal patterns and the organization of action
Edited by Yael Maschler, Simona Pekarek Doehler, Jan Lindström and Leelo Keevallik
[Studies in Language and Social Interaction 32] 2020
► pp. 25–54

Chapter 2
Nel senso (che) in Italian conversation

Turn-taking, turn-maintaining and turn-yielding

This chapter examines nel senso (che) ‘in the sense (that)’ in present-day conversational Italian. Speakers can use the resource to start a turn, to extend a turn-in-progress, or to yield a turn to a next speaker. In TCU-beginnings, it is describable as a projector construction, allowing speakers to display continuation of their turn (with a new clause). When extending a turn with nel senso (che), speakers display orientation towards a potential problem of understanding which they prevent by elaborating on their prior talk. In turn- and TCU-initial positions, both nel senso che and nel senso are observed; in turn-final positions only the latter format occurs. The chapter analyzes the syntactic, prosodic, embodied, and praxeological corollaries of the resource.

Keywords: turn position, projector construction, Italian, syntax
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Previous studies
  • 3.Data and method
  • 4.Turn-initial nel senso (che) in responsive actions
  • 5. Nel senso (che) and turn-construction
    • 5.1Turn-extensions after other-speaker’s talk
    • 5.2Turns-in-progress
      • 5.2.1Elaborating on a previous action
      • 5.2.2Initiating a new action
    • 5.3Self-repair
  • 6.Turn-yielding
  • 7.Discussion and conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 17 February 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/slsi.32.02ste
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