Reviewed by Iris F. Levitis, University of Rostock

This monograph evolved out of Emma Betz’s dissertation research. It describes the grammatical phenomenon of pivots using a conversation analysis (CA) methodology. In a syntactic pivot construction, ‘two syntactic structures (pre-pivot+pivot and pivot+post-pivot) are connected by a shared element (the pivot element) in a way that makes it difficult to determine to which of the two structures this element belongs’ (1). The research is based on the analysis of natural conversation data, from telephone and face-to-face conversations, in two dialects of German.  Ch. 1 ‘Introduction’ (1–12) and Ch. 2 ‘Preliminaries’ (13–38) provide an overview of German syntax, the transcription conventions used, and a typological inventory of pivots.

Chs. 3–6 describe four different types of pivots according to their functions. Ch. 3, ‘Pivot construction as a syntactic resource for turn-taking: Managing overlap’ (39–68), examines pivots that allow turn-taking during conversation. In this context the overlap can be caused by multiple simultaneous speakers, as well as the repetition of information by the speaker. B found that when a speaker did not want to relinquish a turn, he or she chose to extend the turn through the use of a pivot, both on the telephone and in face-to-face conversations. Ch. 4, ‘Pivots at sequential and topic boundaries: Steering the emerging direction of the talk’ (69–96), focuses on situations of conversational shaping. B classifies these pivots as enabling a speaker to return to previous topics, or, alternatively, to expand upon a topic. This type of pivot most frequently occurred at points of conversational boundaries. Ch. 5, ‘Pivot constructions as a resource for managing repair: Searching for a word’ (97–136), describes pivots that are used in the context of repair. B delineates this pivot as signaling that a speaker is searching for the appropriate word for the conversation. This pivot construction can be defined as one that allows the speaker to fix the problem (in this case a missing word) without help from their interlocutor. Interestingly, specific types of word search pivots are not equally available in the two dialects of German studied. Ch. 6, ‘Pivot constructions in embedded self-correction: Changes in action and epistemic stance’ (137–68), describes pivots used by a speaker who desires to shift epistemic stance in mid-conversation. To change epistemic stance unobtrusively, speakers were found to use this type of pivot construction, which appear to be more diverse in structure than the previous three cases. Ch. 7 ‘Concluding discussion’ (169–82) concludes and summarizes the pivot typology and the results of the study.

This is an excellent volume both in terms of the theoretical framework and the study design. The implications for the further study of natural syntax and the distinction between spoken and written language are important. It will be a very useful resource to those interested in CA and thoughtful linguistic research.