CONVERSATIONAL STRUCTURE AND FACEWORK IN ARGUING

We examine the conversational structure and facework in everyday argui ng. Our analyses are predicated on three turn exchanges in arguing, wh ich consist of Speaker A in Turn 1 (T1) making a claim that is dispute d by Speaker B in T2, following which A in T3 either directly supports his/her T1 claim or directly disagrees with the T2 disagreement-Exami nation of the acts within the second and third turn of 164 naturally o ccurring arguing exchanges revealed distinct types of acts with varyin g structural and pragmatic characteristics. Additionally, there were r egularities in the T2-T3 sequences. It was proposed that speakers' att empts to do facework is a major determinant of these regularities, Ana lyses revealed that the more Speaker B's T2 act damages Speaker A's fa ce, the more likely A is to respond with a T3 act that directly suppor ts A's T1 claim.