Repair in Chats: A Conversation Analytic Approach

Abstract

Using conversation analytic methodology, this article first describes the interactional organization of a German Web chat program, comparing it to the interactional organization of ordinary conversation. In this comparison, we focus on (a) the technical aspects of Web chat communication that have an impact on the interaction; (b) "turns," turn-transition space, turn taking; and (c) adjacency pairs and sequence organization. In the main body of this article, we investigate the organization of repair in Web chats, focusing on the positions from which repair can be initiated and the types of trouble sources these repairs address. This study also discusses when, why, and how participants adjust the repair practices from ordinary conversation to suit the particular conditions of the medium of Web chats. Given that the medium of a chat program is more restricted than ordinary conversation (i.e., interactants do not have visual or aural contact with each other), interactants have to rely on written messages and sequential ordering alone to repair fractured intersubjectivity. This article provides new insight into the way participants organize their interaction when they use a novel form of communication. Implications of these findings are discussed in the final section of this article.