Adjacency pair
A pair of consecutive utterances where the first utterance obligates a particular type of response. Examples include question-answer and greeting-greeting pairs.
Real World
When a customer at a Starbucks counter says 'Can I get a latte?', the barista's silence or non-response would be immediately noticed as a dispreferred second — because the question creates an obligation to reply.
Exam Focus
Always comment on dispreferred responses and what the speaker does to mitigate face threat — these attract higher marks than simple labelling.
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