Talk clearly cannot be reduced to the expression of an abstract semiotic form, but refers necessarily to a particular activity that restricts it and gives it meaning. Conversely, acting in the social domain quite often mobilizes language resources to mediatize the final behaviours of the actors. From this dual understanding comes a rich and stimulating research programme, that of psychosocial pragmatics, which aims to describe systematically the complex relations created between human activities and the use of language. To contribute to this "actional turnaround" of language sciences, La parole en action offers a critical inventory of the theories of action issuing from analytical philosophy, cognitive psychology and various sociological trends. Based on empirical data, the work proposes explicit instruments of analysis making it possible to explain the praxeological dimension of verbal interactions as well as the relationships between the structures of dialogue and the management of social activities.Laurent Filliettaz is a member of the Geneva school of discourse analysis and has participated in recent developments of the modular approach initiated by Eddy Roulet. He is one of the authors of Un modèle et un instrument d'analyse de l'organisation du discours (PeterLang, 2001) and is currently a lecturer and assistant teacher in theLinguistics Department at the University of Geneva.This work is intended particularly for students and researchers in the langauge sciences interested in a description of the situational components of discourse. More generally, it is intended for all linguists and psychosociologists concerned with theories of interaction, the analysis of activity and language in the workplace.