Staying on topic: An explication of conversational relevanceFootnote∗

This research was part of a dissertation under the supervision of Dean Hewes at the University of Wisconsin‐Madison. Thanks to him, Bob Craig, Art Bochner, Sally Planalp, and Herb Simons for offering helpful comments on a draft of this paper. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Eastern Communication Association, Hartford, CT, 1982.

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