Journal | Language in Society |
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Date | Published - Oct 2001 |
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Issue number | 4 |
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Volume | 30 |
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Number of pages | 27 |
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Pages (from-to) | 611-638 |
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Original language | English |
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This article examines complaint sequences that terminate with one party’s
walking out, unilaterally, on the other. The analysis of three such extended
sequences, using the Conversation Analytic approach, reveals interactional
parallels among them. The complaints that precede the walkouts are constructed
so as to identify deleterious and generic personal deficiencies. As
these sequences develop, they come to focus on faults in the current behavior
of those involved. In their final stages, the actions of the leavers appear
sensitive to the persistence of behavior that has been deemed to be at fault.
This combination of features seems connected to both the unilateral departure
and the state of indignation that also becomes evidently present. This
invites comparison with other forms of antagonistic dispute, such as those
that lead to certain instances of murder.