| Abstract: |
This article aims to advance an interactionally sensitive, emic view of intercultural
communication by exploring the organization of “intercultural moments” in conversation—moments during which cultural and linguistic differences between people
become exposed. Field video recordings of ordinary face-to-face interactions in
Russian–American immigrant families are analyzed using the methodology of
conversation analysis. The article focuses on sequences in which participants deal
with actual or anticipated understanding problems and examines how participants’
assumptions about their asymmetric cultural and linguistic expertise are revealed in
their actions. Some interactional payoffs in adopting the role of a cultural expert vis-àvis a novice are described to show how an ostensible non-understanding is both a
participants’ problem to be solved and a resource for social action. |