Beyond interruptions: Co-constructed activities in MPs’ unofficial turns in Finnish, French, and German parliamentary debates
JohannaIsosävi,HeikeBaldauf-Quilliatre,ChristopheGagne and EeroVoutilainen
University of Helsinki | University of Lyon Lumière and ICAR Lab | University of Cambridge
Research on parliamentary debates has often called unauthorised turns ‘interruptions’, emphasising their
conflictual and monological nature. Our study aimed to examine their pragmatic functions and interactional nature, and to reflect
on the terminology commonly used. Drawing upon data from the Finnish Eduskunta, French Assemblée
nationale, and German Bundestag, we applied conversation analysis to the sequential analysis of
these turns, while considering restrictions related to written transcripts. To highlight the non-interruptive and dialogical
character of these unauthorised utterances, we propose labelling them unofficial turns. In our analysis, we
demonstrate that these unofficial turns carry both affiliative and disaffiliative functions, which also contribute to the
management of interpersonal relations. As a result, our study challenges the monological view of unofficial turns and highlights
their co-constructional nature.
When unauthorised turns in parliamentary debates are discussed, they are often associated with the notion of ‘interrupting’
(on interruptions, see Isosävi et al. 2025a; Isosävi et al. 2025b; on interruptive comments, see Zima
et al. 2009). However, these so-called ‘interruptions’ rarely disrupt the flow of speech of an authorised speaker. In most
cases, such ‘interruptions’ receive no reaction, whereby authorised speakers simply continue their speech (see Isosävi et al. 2025a). The framing of interruptions in this context often reflects a monological or
simplified view of interactions in parliamentary debates, where ‘interruptions’ are not viewed as turns in their own right. This may
stem from the influence of written language conventions, in which ‘interruptions’ break the linear flow of transcribed text. However,
it can be argued that unofficial speaking turns constitute constructive contributions to parliamentary debates. By emphasising the
interactional nature of these unofficial turns, we highlight their capacity to create micro-interactions that engage with what an
authorised speaker has just said.
1999 “Form und Funktion kategorischer Formulierungen [Form and
Function of categorical formulations].” In Kommunikative
Konstruktion von Moral. Band 1. Struktur und Dynamik der Formen moralischer Kommunikation [Communicative Construction of morality. Vol.1. Structure and Dynamics of the forms of moral
communication], ed. by Jörg Bergmann, and Thomas Luckmann, 106–124. Opladen: Westdeutscher
Verlag.
Ayass, Ruth
2015 “Doing
Data: The Status of Transcripts in Conversation Analysis.” Discourse
Studies 17 (5): 505–528.
Bayley, Paul
2004 “Introduction:
The Whys and Wherefores of Analysing Parliamentary
Discourse.” In Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Parliamentary
Discourse, 1–44. Amsterdam: John
Benjamins.
Bonnafous, Simone, and Dominique Desmarchelier
1999 “Quand les députés coupent le ‘RESEDA’ [When members of
parliament interrupt the ‘RESEDA’].” Mots. Les langages du
politique 60 (1): 93–109.
Burkhardt, Armin
2004Zwischen Monolog und Dialog. Zur Theorie, Typologie und Geschichte des Zwischenrufs im deutschen
Parlamentarismus [Between monologue and dialogue. On the theory, typology and
history of interruptions in the German
Parliament]. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer
Verlag.
Cabasino, Francesca
1998 “Peut-on théoriser le polylogue [Can polylogues be
theorised].” In Du dialogue au polylogue, Actes du
colloque international Do.RI.F [Acts of the Do.RI.F. international
conference], Università Rome, 24–25 October
1997, DSU, Rome, 37–50.
Cabasino, Francesca
2010 “L’injure a-t-elle droit de cité dans l’interpellation? Le cas du débat
parlementaire [Can insults appear in interruptions? The case of a
parliamentary debate].” Corela. Cognition, Représentation,
LangageHS-8.
Carbó, Teresa
1992 “Towards
an Interpretation of Interruptions in Mexican Parliamentary Discourse (1920–60).” Discourse and
Society 3 (1): 25–45.
Clayman, Steven
E., and John Heritage
2023 “Pressuring
the President: Changing Language Practices and the Growth of Political Accountability.” Journal
of Pragmatics 207: 62–74.
Clayman, Steven
E., and Laura Loeb
2018 “Conversation
Analysis and the Study of Language and Politics.” In The Routledge
Handbook of Language and Politics, ed. by Ruth Wodak, and Bernhard Forchtner, 276–290. New
York: Routledge.
Desmarchelier, Dominique
2005 “ ‘La parole est à M. le député…’: Analyse des interventions venant interrompre l’orateur à l’Assemblée
nationale [‘Dear honourable member, the floor is yours…’: Analysis of
speaker interruptions at the National Assembly].” In Parole et pouvoir. Enjeux politiques et identitaires (Interférences) [Speech and
Power. Political and identity Issues.], ed. by Martine Schuwer, 119–133. Rennes: Presses
Universitaires de Rennes. http://books.openedition.org/pur/31017.
2024Yhteenveto puhemiesneuvoston ja eduskuntaryhmien puheenjohtajien aamukoulusta perjantaina 11.10.2024 klo 8.30 — 10
(puhemiehen edustustila) [Summary of the morning meeting of the Speaker’s Council
and the parliamentary group leaders on Friday, October 11, 2024, from 8.30 to 10.00 (Speaker’s reception
room)]. Helsinki: Finnish
Parliament. https://www.eduskunta.fi/FI/vaski/JulkaisuMetatieto/Documents/EDK-2024-AK-51303.pdf
Gardey, Delphine
2010 “Scriptes de la démocratie: les sténographes et rédacteurs des débats
(1848–2005) [Writing democracy: Stenographers and parliamentary proceedings
(1848–2005)].” Sociologie du
Travail 52 (2): 195–211.
Goffman, Erving
1959The
Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Knopf Doubleday Publishing
Group.
Heritage, John, and Steven Clayman
2010Talk
in Action. Interactions, Identities and
Institutions. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Ilie, Cornelia
2005 “Interruption
Patterns in British Parliamentary Debates and Drama
Dialogue.” In Dialogue Analysis IX: Dialogue in Literature and the
Media: Selected Papers from the 9th IADA Conference, Salzburg 2003, edited
by Anne Betten, and Monika Dannerer, 415–430. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
Ilie, Cornelia
2018 “Parliamentary
Debates.” In The Routledge Handbook of Language and
Politics, ed. by Ruth Wodak, and Bernhard Forchtner, 309–325. New
York: Routledge.
Isosävi, Johanna, Heike Baldauf-Quilliatre, Christophe Gagne, and Eero Voutilainen
2025a “Reactions
to Interruptions in Finnish, French and German Parliamentary Debates.” Journal of Language and
Politics 24 (2): 301–327.
Isosävi, Johanna, Heike Baldauf-Quilliatre, Christophe Gagne, H. L. Kretzenbacher, and Eero Voutilainen
2025b “ ‘It’s
the National Assembly Here, Madam!’ Managing Discursive Conflicts through Forms of Address in Interruptions in Finnish, French
and German Parliamentary Debates.” Journal of Language Aggression and
Conflict.
Jefferson, Gail
2004 “Glossary
of Transcript Symbols with an Introduction.” In Conversation
Analysis: Studies from the First Generation, ed. by Gene
H. Lerner, 13–31. Amsterdam: John
Benjamins.
Jefferson, Gail
1972 “Side
Sequences”. In Studies in Social
Interactions, ed. by David Sudnow, 294–338. New
York: Free Press.
Kerbrat-Orecchioni, Catherine
1992Les
interaction verbales II [Verbal Interactions
II]. Paris: Armand
Colin.
Kühn, Peter
1983Mehrfachadressierung:
Untersuchungen zur adressantenspezifischen Polyvalenz sprachlichen Handelns [Multiple Addressing: Studies on the Addressee-Specific Polyvalence of Linguistic
Action]. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
Manner, Henrik, Lasse Winter, and Matti Wiberg
2012 “Välihuudot eduskunnan pöytäkirjoissa vaalikaudella 2007–2011: määrällinen
tarkastelu [Interruptions in transcripts of the parliament 2007–2011:
quantitative
analysis].” Politiikka 2: 131–147.
Morel, Benjamin
2018 “Ce que conte le compte rendu : l’institution d’un ordre parlementaire
idéalisé. [What the report says: institution of an idealised parliamentary
order].” Droit et
société 98 (1): 179–199.
Pomerantz, Anita
1978 “Compliment
Responses: Notes on the Cooperation of Multiple
Constraints.” In Studies in the Organization of Conversational
Interaction, ed. by Jim Schenkein, 79–112. New
York: Academic Press.
Sacks, Harvey, Emmanuel Schegloff, and Gail Jefferson
1974 “A
Simplest Systematics for the Organization of Turn-Taking for
Conversation.” Language 50: 696–735.
Sidnell, Jack, and Tanya Stivers
2013The
Handbook of Conversation
Analysis. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Stopfner, Maria
2013Streitkultur im Parlament: linguistische Analyse der Zwischenrufe im österreichischen
Nationalrat [Culture of debate in the parliament: a linguistic analysis of
interruptions in the Austrian National
Council]. Tübingen: Narr.
Truan, Naomi
2016 “On
the Pragmatics of Interjections in Parliamentary Interruptions.” Revue de Sémantique et
Pragmatique 40: 125–144.
Truan, Naomi
2017 “Zwischenrufe zwischen parlamentarischer Routine und Kreativität: Die Bundestagsdebatten aus dem Blickwinkel von
unautorisierten Unterbrechungen [Interruptions between parliamentary
routines and creativity: Debate of the Bundestag from the perspective of unauthorised
interruptions].” Cahiers d’études
germaniques 73: 127–140.
Truan, Naomi
2019 “Talking
about, for, and to the People: Populism and Representation in Parliamentary Debates on
Europe.” Zeitschrift für Anglistik und
Amerikanistik 67 (3): 307–337.
Truan, Naomi
2021The
Politics of Person Reference. Third-Person Forms in English, German and
French. Amsterdam: John
Benjamins.
van der
Valk, Ineke
2002 “Interruptions
in French Debates on Immigration.” In The Semiotics of Racism.
Approaches in Critical Discourse Analysis, ed. by Martin Reisigl, and Ruth Wodak, 105–128. Vienna: Passagen-Verlag.
van der
Valk, Ineke
2003 “Right-Wing
Parliamentary Discourse on Immigration in France.” Discourse and
Society 14 (3): 309–348.
Voutilainen, Eero
2023 “Written
Representation of Spoken Interaction in the Official Parliamentary Transcripts of the Finnish
Parliament.” Frontiers in
Communication 8: 1047799.
Wissik, Tanja
2021 “Encoding
Interruptions in Parliamentary Data: From Applause to Interjections and Laughter.” Journal of
the Text Encoding Initiative 14.
Zima, Elisabeth, Geert Brône, Kurt Feyaerts, and Paul Sambre
2009 “‘Ce n’est pas très beau ce que vous avez dit! [What you said is
not very nice!]’ The Activation of Resonance in French Parliamentary
Debates.” Discours 4. http://discours.revues.org/index7337.html
Zima, Elisabeth, Geert Brône, and Kurt Feyaerts
2010 “Patterns
of Interaction in Austrian Parliamentary Debates. On the Pragmasemantics of Unauthorized Interruptive
Comments.” In European Parliaments Under Scrutiny: Discourse
Strategies and Interaction Practices, ed. by Cornelia Ilie, 135–164. Amsterdam: John
Benjamins.