Interrupting the discourse on interruptions

Abstract

Analysts interested in the social significance of conversational behavior have traditionally treated interruptions as reliable, objective indicators of the interlocutors' power, control or dominance. The relational significance interruptions have for the participants themselves, however, was rarely considered. Recently, researchers have become increasingly aware that interruptions are not and need not be synonymous with power. This paper attempts to differentiate between power and non-power interruptions. It provides a means for assessing the ‘meaning’ of each interruption as a display of relational power or rapport, or as a non-relational display of ‘neutrality’.