The mechanism of turn-taking through consideration of turns predicational structure in a dialogical text (on the language material of Russian and Chinese conflict dialogues)

The paper describes the correlation between turns predicational structure (topic-comment structure) and the mechanism of turn-taking in a dialogical text. On the example of Russian and Chinese conflict dialogues the authors reveal the turn-taking regularities determined by certain predicational structure of adjacent turns. These regularities are the following. Firstly, stimulus for turn-taking presented in the first turn in the form of external topics and comments. Secondly, dialogical citation as a spontaneous reaction of one interlocutor to the words of the other the elements of which can hardly be divided into topic and comment. Thirdly, reference predicativity as reaction to certain propositions of the previous turn. Fourthly, operators of agree and disagree as the components that predicate the part of the previous turn or the whole previous turn.