BEING INTERRUPTED

The first section of this article argues for an approach to interrupti on as a participant's, not an analyst's, phenomenon. For analysts, int erruption is best treated as a topic, not a resource. The second secti on examines how participants go about making interruptions OBSERVABLE events in the flow of interaction - in particular, the ways in which t hey claim violations of speaking rights. The third section considers s ome of the ways in which such claims are responded to. In the final se ction, it is suggested that there is a general need for a more systema tic approach to the methods through which acts are constituted in term s of the responses they receive.