Topic proffer
| Encyclopedia of Terminology for CA and IL: Topic proffer | |
|---|---|
| Author(s): | Luis Manuel Olguín (UCLA, USA) (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7019-2026) |
| To cite: | Olguín, Luis Manuel. (2026). Topic proffer. In Alexandra Gubina, Elliott M. Hoey & Chase Wesley Raymond (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Terminology for Conversation Analysis and Interactional Linguistics. International Society for Conversation Analysis (ISCA). DOI: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/4TV93 |
The term “topic proffer” describes a distinct conversational practice for initiating topic talk. As described by Schegloff (2007:169-ff), topic proffers belong to a class of “disjunctive” topic initiation devices, which also include “topic initial elicitors” and topic nomination devices, like news announcements and “itemized news inquiries” (see Topic; see also Button & Casey 1984, 1985). Characteristically, topic proffers exhibit the following features: (i) propose a “recipient-oriented topic” for subsequent talk; (ii) are typically implemented by polar questions; and (iii) launch “topic-proffering sequences” by making conditionally relevant either embracing or rejecting the topic. Extract (1) offers an example from a phone conversation between two siblings. After Brother brings the how-are-you sequence to a close, at line 6, Sister proffers presumed preparations for her visit as a potential topic to talk about next.
(1) [TB:CF:5367, 06m38s-50s, Sis=Caller]
01 Sis: (...) .hh ^Oy(e) y cómo estás.
.hh Hey and how are you
02 (0.2)
03 Bro: Ahí bien. Tranquilo.
There well Chill
04 Sis: Sí:?
Yeah
05 Bro: Sí.=[(Aca- )
Yeah
06 Sis: -> [Te estás preparando para cuando yo vaya,
[Are you getting ready for when I come
07 Bro: .hhh (Nos es)tamos prepa↑rando pues.=Hemos estado buscando
.hhh (We) are getting ready indeed.=We’ve been searching for
08 la van ahora con mi mamá también >↑osea g-< (0.2) ↑viendo
the van with my mom too now >I mean< (0.2) looking into
09 otras alternativas con mi mamá_=
other alternatives with my mom
10 Sis: =mYa_
=Okay
The topic proffer at line 6 exhibits all three prototypical features mentioned above. First, the proffer sets out a recipient-oriented topic, that is, what Brother is doing (or should be doing) in preparation for Sister’s arrival. As a form of sibling’s play, Sister’s question builds in a presupposition that Brother should, in some way, “get ready” for receiving her back in the country. Second, the polar question that serves as a vehicle for proffering the topic is formatted as a B-event statement with a low-to-rise intonational contour: “Te estás preparando para cuando yo vaya,” “Are you getting ready for when I come” (see Raymond 2015 on Spanish polar questions). This makes confirmation or disconfirmation conditionally relevant. However, as a vehicle for proffering a topic, the question also sets forth a preference to either embrace or reject the topic with procedural implications for developing topic talk. This relates to the third feature sketched out above: Topic-proffers launch topic talk sequences. Schegloff (2007:171) observes that embracing or rejecting the proffered topic are analyzable as stances displayed by the topic-proffer recipient. These alternative stances might be oriented to by (a) including or not conforming responses to the question (see Raymond 2003), (b) aligning or not with the polarity preference of the question, and (c) expanding or not the answer, with expansions that demonstrably further topic talk being preferred over minimal responses. In the case above, Brother embraces the topic (lines 8-10). He does so, first, by confirming Sister’s question with an agentive partial repeat: “.hhh (Nos es)tamos prepa↑rando pues.” “[We] are getting ready indeed” (line 7) to immediately go on to elaborate on the details of what he has been up to. Notice though that, in developing the sequence, Brother subtly transforms the topic to respond not about presumed doings to get ready for meeting Sister but rather reports on his most recent doings with Mom taking up a request by Dad (who is staying at Sister’s and will soon join the phone call) to look into van models and prices for purchase.
Schegloff (2007:179-80) highlights the distinct preference structure of topic-proffering sequences. Typically, in sequence organization, preferred second pair parts are “closure-relevant” whereas dispreferred pair parts are “expansion relevant”. Topic-proffering sequences flip this structure. Because topic-proffers are used to propose engaging in topic talk about the proffered topic, sequence expansion is the structurally preferred alternative. This preference is observed in Brother’s aligning response to Sister’s topic proffer in the extract above. As Schegloff (2007) further notes, this poses a problem for closing topic-proffering sequences (and other “longer sequences”) for which dedicated practices are needed (e.g., Sacks & Schegloff 1973). In the case above, it is the slight topical shift that Brother does by specifying Sister’s topic proffer question about “getting ready” (line 6) in terms of “searching for the van” (lines 7-8) that curtails the development of Sister’s originally proposed topic, introducing a new one in the next turn (not shown).
Additional Related Entries:
Cited References:
Button, G., & Casey, N. (1984). Generating the topic: The use of topic initial elicitors. In J. M. Atkinson & J. Heritage (Eds.), Structures of Social Action. Cambridge University Press.
Button, G., & Casey, N. (1985). Topic nomination and topic pursuit. Human Studies, 8(1), 3–55.
Raymond, C. W. (2015). Questions and responses in Spanish monolingual and Spanish–English bilingual conversation. Language & Communication, 42, 50–68.
Raymond, G. (2003). Grammar and social organization: Yes/No interrogatives and the structure of responding. American Sociological Review, 68(6), 939–967.
Sacks, H. & Schegloff, E.A. (1973). Opening up closings. Semiotica, 8(4)m 289–327.
Schegloff, E. A. (2007). Sequence Organization in Interaction: A Primer in Conversation Analysis (vol. 1) . Cambridge University Press.
Additional References:
Fox, B., & Thompson, S. A. (2018). Topic proffers as beginnings in interaction: Gaze practices. In D. Favareau (Ed.), Co-operative engagements in intertwined semiosis: Essays in honour of Charles Goodwin (pp. 144–151). University of Tartu Press.
Gubina, Alexandra, Emma Betz, & Arnulf Deppermann. (2024). Doing More than Confirming: Expanded Responses to Requests for Confirmation in German Talk-in-Interaction. Contrastive Pragmatics 5(1–2):307–46.
