The interactional handling of misunderstanding in everyday conversations

Abstract In this paper, we will deal with the handling — within the conversational interaction — of linguistic misunderstanding, on the basis of an Italian corpus. The following aspects of this process will be analyzed: the author of the repair, the phases of negotiation (i.e. “the negotiation cycle of misunderstanding”), the collocation of the repair (third and fourth turn repairs are the most common patterns), linguistic and non-linguistic misunderstanding. A general distinction will be drawn between coming to understanding, understanding and misunderstanding on the one hand, and non-understanding on the other. In conclusion, misunderstanding, as a ‘form of understanding’ internal to the process of comprehension, which has to be monitored and negotiated interactionally, should not be seen as a polar process (absence/presence of comprehension) but, rather, as a continuum .

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