Both volumes under review cover the same topic,
turn-taking in Japanese in comparison with English. While Furo
compares Japanese and English data, Tanaka focuses on the analysis
of Japanese data, but nonetheless keeps a cross-cultural
perspective on turn-taking. Both are dealing with a now flourishing
area, the interface of grammar and interaction, based on the
model of turn-taking proposed by Sacks, Schegloff & Jefferson
1974 and the work by Ford & Thompson 1996. Through the study
of turn-taking, Tanaka aims at exploring the interrelationship
of grammar and interaction, and Furo attempts to reveal how
aspects of language – grammar, intonation, and semantics
– and interaction influence one another, and how they
are intertwined in discourse. Both volumes emerged from doctoral
dissertations, Tanaka's at Oxford and Furo's at
Georgetown University. Despite many similarities, including
some of the findings, their approaches and presentations are
quite different.
