<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Drawing on the methods of conversation analysis (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_plc-2016-0006_ref_020_w2aab2b8b4b1b7b1ab1ac20Aa">Sidnell, 2010</xref>; <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_plc-2016-0006_ref_024_w2aab2b8b4b1b7b1ab1ac24Aa">Sidnell and Stivers, 2012</xref>) and the data provided by recordings of ordinary interaction, in this paper I ask what a radically empirical approach to word meaning might look like. Specifically, I explore the possibility that we might investigate linguistic meaning through a consideration of interactional troubles. That is, when participants in interaction confront apparent troubles of meaning, what do those troubles consist in? What is the missing something that leaves participants in interaction feeling as though they do not understand what another means? Four types of trouble in interaction are discussed: troubles of exophoric or anaphoric reference, troubles of common ground, troubles of lexical meaning, troubles of sense.</p></abstract>

Drawing on the methods of conversation analysis (Sidnell, 2010; Sidnell and Stivers, 2012) and the data provided by recordings of ordinary interaction, in this paper I ask what a radically empirical approach to word meaning might look like. Specifically, I explore the possibility that we might investigate linguistic meaning through a consideration of interactional troubles. That is, when participants in interaction confront apparent troubles of meaning, what do those troubles consist in? What is the missing something that leaves participants in interaction feeling as though they do not understand what another means? Four types of trouble in interaction are discussed: troubles of exophoric or anaphoric reference, troubles of common ground, troubles of lexical meaning, troubles of sense.

Interactional Trouble and the Ecology of Meaning

Psychology of Language and Communication

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Interactional Trouble and the Ecology of Meaning"}

Drawing on the methods of conversation analysis (Sidnell, 2010; Sidnell and Stivers, 2012) and the data provided by recordings of ordinary interaction, in this...

Interactional Trouble and the Ecology of Meaning

Published Online: Feb 18, 2017

Page range: 98 - 111

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/plc-2016-0006

Keywords
meaning, interaction, conversational repair, conversation analysis

© 2016 Jack Sidnell, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Interactional Trouble and the Ecology of Meaning

Published Online: Feb 18, 2017

Page range: 98 - 111

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/plc-2016-0006

Keywordsmeaning, interaction, conversational repair, conversation analysis

© 2016 Jack Sidnell, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
meaning, interaction, conversational repair, conversation analysis