This book is the result of a collaboration that began when, as co–convenors of the Sociology of Language Study Group of the British Sociological Association, we organized the Social Science Research Council/British Sociological Association International Conference on Practical Reasoning and Discourse Processes, which was held 2–6 July 1979 at St. Hugh's College, Oxford. All the contributors to the present book, with the exception of the late Harvey Sacks, were among those who participated at the conference, and earlier versions of Chapters 5, 8 and 14 were originally presented there. Although the book is not a full collection of the proceedings, it is the result of a cooperative endeavor that began at the Oxford conference.

In acknowledging our debt to all those who helped to make the conference a memorable intellectual experience, we would like to record our thanks to the Sociology and Social Administration Committee of the (British) Social Science Research Council (SSRC) for the award of a grant that made it possible. Our gratitude to SSRC also extends beyond this grant to a longer-term appreciation of the active and constructive part it has played in facilitating the development of conversation analytic research in Britain. For it may be noted that no fewer than eight of the twelve contributors to this book have, at one time or another, had the benefit of financial support from SSRC, as research students, as recipients of project grants, or as members of its research staff.