When Words Fail: A Single Case Analysis

摘要: This paper reports on research into the social organization of citizen phone calls to emergency service agencies, focusing constitutive function talk in activity “calling for help.” We explore how these occasions can themselves become problematic events members. Our report centers detailed analysis a single, very fateful conversation, showing seemingly aberrant event be understood terms natural language practices involved its orderly, joint production by actual parties call. single case also reveals when and words “fail”: it is sequential context within which are produced interactional treatment they thereby receive that crucial whatever status consequences come have.