Pre‐indexing and conversational organization

Abstract

Pre‐indexing utterances function to set‐up, organize, and supply a context for turn‐taking sequences in everyday conversation. Four perspectives on pre‐indexing phenomena are reviewed (pre‐sequences, indirect speech acts, disclaimers, politeness forms) and extend with conversational examples indicative of five speech acts possessing “pre” status: hints, prompts, teases, conditional disclosures, and small talk. Particular attention is given to the forms and functions pre‐indexes might take, responses to pre‐indexes, and relationships among speaker intention and hearer inferences as utterances are indexed. As preparatory strategies, pre‐indexing methods are shown to be integral to the commonsensical management of identities, understanding, and a sense of social structure in face‐to‐face interaction.