`Look'-prefaced turns in first and second position: launching, interceding and redirecting action

Abstract

This article examines turns prefaced by `look'. Analysis indicates that `look'-prefaced turns in first position (e.g. a sequence initiating question) are used to launch (or relaunch) a course of action. In second position, prefacing by `look' serves to mark a disjunction and redirection of the talk away from the conditionally relevant next action and towards some alternative. Examples from recorded conversations and news interviews reveal participants' own orientation to these functions of `look'-prefaced turns. Moreover, comparison with turns prefaced by `listen', which also launch courses of action, suggests that `look'-prefaced turns have an intercessionary function.