Allusive interaction in Japanese [Aun no kokyu: Anjiteki danwa no seisei]

Although Japanese conversational interaction has often been described as telepathic and implicit, relatively little empirical research exists concerning the mechanisms behind allusive exchanges. This article employs conversation analysis to explore strategies for studying such phenomena, by investigating how allusive utterances are produced, understood, and treated, in interactional environments where speakers mark their emerging talk as ?delicate?. In response to an allusive utterance, a hearer may, for instance, reply in a similarly allusive manner while simultaneously displaying an understanding of what is being conveyed by the speaker, or alternatively, refuse to accept the speaker?s utterance in its allusive form, just to mention two out of an entire range of possible trajectories. By examining how such instances unfold, I argue that the achievement of allusive interaction is by no means straightforward, but is a joint achievement contingent on a ?ne calibration of the participants? mutual orientations.