Language and Social Interaction: Taking Stock and Looking Forward

The Language and Social Interaction Division of the International Communication Association attracts a membership from a wide range of disciplines. The unifying concern of language and social interaction (LSI) researchers is to understand how communication works through the empirical study of everyday language use and talk in social interaction. This essay, along with Sanders, Fitch, and Pomerantz’s contribution to this volume in Chapter 17, describes the distinctive features of LSI research. This chapter sketches four major approaches to the field: conversation analysis, ethnography of communication, discourse analysis, and language and social psychology. The present state of theory and research is considered under the broad headings of power and identity, central concerns of LSI researchers. The tensions that emerge as a result of the different perspectives and commitments of LSI scholars are considered, and a research agenda aimed at resolving these tensions is outlined.