Note: This is a new edition of a previously announced book.

Publishing in November 2009, Spoken Discourse and Social Interaction will be an indispensable guide to a burgeoning and fascinating field of study. In twenty concise and highly readable chapters, Alan Firth will outline the key concepts, dominant approaches and major findings in spoken interaction research over the last four decades.

Rather than being tied to a particular approach or paradigm, the book will offer a comprehensive and inclusive overview, where emphasis is placed on describing the interactional and contextual nature of spoken discourse in a variety of contexts and social encounters. Topics covered include beginnings, endings, approaches, context, culture and ethnicity, data and transcription, analysis, identity, power, gender, narrative, miscommunication, humour, institutional interaction, grammar and coherence, argument, and embodied discourse. This book will be essential reading for students of linguistics, sociology, communication and media studies, psychology, and anthropology.

The book will include discussion questions for each chapter, suggestions for further reading, and a glossary of key terms.