Can lexical priming be detected in conversation turn-taking strategies?

What is it about?

Turn-taking strategies in spoken communication have been widely researched and discussed in recent literature (see, e.g. McCarthy, 1998; Myers 2009; Archer et al. 2012). Moving on from the non prosodic, non-lexical pointers (cf. Yngve 1970; Duncan Jr. 1972), corpus-based research has focussed on lexical items (see McCarthy 1998; Tao 2003; Myers 2009; Evison 2012). Following the tenets of psychological priming that form the basis of Hoey’s lexical priming theory (2005), some kind of trigger item should be in evidence, showing a listener that a turn is given up. Consequently, recognisable turn-final and turn-initial lexical items – as well as evidence of speaker alignment – should be in evidence. This chapter will describe (a) some salient signals used that become apparent when monologues are directly compared with dialogues; and (b) highly frequent (sets of) words found employed in conversational exchanges. Consequently, an argument will be made that language users appear to be primed in their turn- taking word choices to follow a structured, recognisable pattern, thus facilitating fluency in their conversation.

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Why is it important?

Apart from non-verbal markers that speakers employ to finish (start) a turn, apart from the tone of voice employed, there is also a clear tendency to employ words and sets of words that appear more likely than not to indicate an en-of-turn / start of a turn.