Ratifying and rejecting listener assessments in the course of multi-unit turns

Abstract

This article investigates the effects listener assessments can have on the course of a multi-unit turn. Specifically, listener assessments can elicit responses from the primary speaker and thus generate talk in their own right. The primary speaker may orient to the content of listener assessments and respond to them in various (positive or negative) ways, suspending the multi-unit turn in progress to comment or altering the direction of the turn. Shared assessments can lead to higher involvement and increased rapport with consequences for subsequent interaction between the participants. Rejections of listener assessments are much less frequent than ratifications: rejection of a listener assessment expresses the teller's refusal to have it count as part of the overall evaluation of the multi-unit turn in progress.