| Abstrakt: |
Conversation is the most common form of human communicative interaction and considered by some, "the basic form of speech- exchange systems, with other systems on the array representing a variety of transformations of conversation's turn-taking system, to achieve other types of turn-taking systems." Since conversation is constructed interactionally, turn by turn, its existence as a form of communication depends upon individuals' abilities to regulate the onset and termination of their communicative behaviors effectively. Thus, conversation depends upon the precise timing of individuals' verbal and nonverbal behaviors, and consequently, a comprehensive understanding of conversational interaction must include consideration of precision timing. Taking precision timing as the basis for speaker-listener coordination in conversation, this paper has two goals; to summarize the wide range of cues that contribute to precision timing, and to outline two directions that a comprehensive explanation for precision timing might take. Full development of a comprehensive theory of precision timing is premature given present knowledge. |
