The fourteen contributions in this collection come from different approaches in pragmatics, interactional linguistics, conversation analysis, discourse analysis and dialogue analysis; the name given to what is studied ranges from spoken language and conversation to interaction, dialogue, discourse and communication. What the articles have in common is a similar starting point: they are informed by a form of linguistic understanding which has emerged within what could be called the interactional turn. The materials investigated come from several different languages, representing a variety of interactions: private and public, written and spoken, historical and present-day. While studies of such diverse materials naturally differ in their starting points, goals and aims, engaging them in a dialogue can help reveal where old beliefs may be challenged and new understandings may emerge. The interactional approaches to discourse presented in this volume show that there are several discourses on interaction: interconnected, parallel, but also varying and even divergent.

Yang Linxiu, Shanxi University, in Discourse Studies, Vol. 15:6 (2013), pag. 787-789:
The most salient feature of this volume, I think, is that it presents readers with divergent research approaches and various types of data, such as courtroom interaction, media discourse, trials and telephone conversations. In so doing, it will benefit readers with different academic backgrounds. There are multiple reasons why the book can be recommended to a range of readers. It can not only serve as a course and reference book for students and researchers interested in the subject of discourse analysis, but also set the scene for further studies on interactional discourse linguistics.