This collection of previously unpublished research discusses the conversation analysis (CA) approach to understanding language use. The unifying theme of the chapters is the intersection of practice and form through the construction of turns and sequences.

1: Cecilia E. Ford, Barbara A. Fox, and Sandra A. Thompson: Introduction 2: Cecilia E. Ford, Barbara A. Fox, and Sandra A. Thompson: Constituency and the Grammar of Turn Increments 3: Lisa Capps and Elinor Ochs: Cultivating Prayer 4: Charles Goodwin, Marjorie H. Goodwin, and David Olsher: Producing Sense with Nonsense Syllables: Turn and Sequence in Conversations with a Man with Severe Aphasia 5: Makoto Hayashi, Junko Mori, and Tomoyo Tagaki: Contingent Achievement of Co-Tellership in a Japanese Conversation: An Analysis of Talk, Gaze and Gesture 6: Sally Jacoby and Patrick Gonzales: Saying What Wasn't Said: Negative Observation as a Linguistic Resource for the Interactional Achievement of Performance Feedback 7: Marja-Leena Sorjonen: Recipient Activities: The Particle No as a Go-Ahead Response in Finnish Conversations 8: John Heritage: Oh-Prefaced Responses to Assessments: A Method of Modifying Agreement/Disagreement 9: Gene H. Lerner: Turn-Sharing: The Choral Co-Production of Talk-in-Interaction 10: Robert Jasperson: Some Linguistic Aspects of Closure Cut-Off Index

"The richness of this volume lies in the variety of ways and contexts in which turns and sequences are examined. It is a readable work and an important contribution to the growing field of Conversation Analysis."--Linguist List