Summary:
Spoken Discourse and Social Interaction is an indispensable guide to a burgeoning and fascinating field of study. In twenty concise and highly readable chapters, Alan Firth outlines the key concepts, dominant approaches and major findings in spoken interaction research over the last four decades. Rather than being tied to a particular approach or paradigm, the book offers a comprehensive and inclusive overview, where emphasis is placed on describing the interactional and contextual nature of spoken discourse in a variety of contexts and social encounters. Topics covered include beginnings, endings, approaches, context, culture and ethnicity, data and transcription, analysis, identity, power, gender, narrative, miscommunication, humour, institutional interaction, grammar and coherence, argument, and embodied discourse. This book will be essential reading for students of linguistics, sociology, communication and media studies, psychology, and anthropology.

The book includes discussion questions for each chapter, suggestions for further reading, and a glossary of key terms.

• Balanced, broad introduction to the field by a well-respected author
• Unique focus specifically on spoken discourse
• Each chapter followed by numerous discussion questions and research topics

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Part 1: Theoreticals
1. Approaches
2. Contexts
3. Data
Part 2: Fundamentals
4. Turns
5. Sequences
6. Topics
7. Activities
8. Analysis
Part 3: Themes
9. Beginnings
10. Words
11. Bodies
12. Identities
13. Stories
14. Arguments
15. Humour
16. Institutions
17. Cultures
18. Power
19. Miscommunications
20. Endings

About the Author(s):
Alan Firth is Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics in the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, University of Newcastle, UK.

Readership:
Undergraduate/postgraduate students in linguistics and psychology.