Adjacency pairs

Adjacency pairs

1. Two utterances

   • by two speakers

2. Firts speaker

   • provokes a responding

3. Component of pragmatics

   • Interactional function

4. offer → acceptance/rejection

   • "Would you like to visit the museum with me this evening?" → "I'd love to!"

5. call/beckon response

   • "Waiter!" → "Yes, sir"

6. complaint → excuse/remedy

   • "It's awfully cold in here" → "Oh, sorry, I'll close the window"

7. compliment → acceptance/refusal

   • "I really like your new haircut!!" → "Oh, thanks"

8. inform → acknowledge

   • "Your phone is over there" → "I know"

9. question → answer

   • "What does this big red button do?" → "It causes two-thirds of the universe to implode"