Gaps

Gaps vs Lapses vs Pauses

Lapses and pauses in conversation are similar to gaps, which can be confusing. The Jefferson Transcription System can help explain where gaps occur.

But what is the Jefferson Transcription System?

This table, based on the Jefferson Transcription System, shows which symbol corresponds to either a gap, a lapse, or a pause. This is defined by the time each takes - a lapse being the longest and a pause being the shortest.

Note that 0.7 refers to 7 seconds, 0.10 refers to 10 seconds, 2.0 refers to 2 minutes, etc.

Lapses

A lapse is a silence in conversation that occurs when the talking stops, only to be resumed later. In most cases, lapses are longer than gaps.

You can tell that a silence is a lapse and not an overlap when a conversation topic ends, is first followed by a long silence, and then by the start of a new topic or by a re-initiation of the previous topic.

To put it simply, a short silence during a topic (usually between turns) is a gap, whereas a change of topic after a longer silence is a lapse.

Let's take a look at some examples that show the difference between a gap and a lapse:

In the case of the gap, the silence is shorter (0.7). It occurs during a change of turn when no new speaker has been selected by the previous speaker (Anne), and it only lasts until a new speaker (Callum) takes the floor. In the case of the lapse, the silence is longer (2.0), and it's over when the previous speaker (Anne) takes the floor again and changes the topic.

Pauses

A pause is a silence that occurs within a speaker's turn. This includes the silence during a speaker's turn. It can also be the silence at a transition-relevant point - when the next speaker has already been nominated but has not started speaking yet.

What sets pauses apart from gaps and lapses is that pauses only occur during the current speaker's turn or when the next speaker has been named. Both gaps and lapses happen between turns when the next speaker has not yet been selected.

Consider this example of a pause:

Compare it with the above examples of a gap and a lapse. In the case of the gap, the silence (0.7) occurs during the change of turn between speakers (Anne and Callum). In the case of the lapse, the silence lasts until the topic is changed. In this example of a pause, the other speakers (Callum and Maya) are not involved - the silence is very short and it happens during Anne's turn.

Intra-turn silence vs Inter-turn silence

A gap is a type of silence and so is a lapse and a pause. The different types of silences in conversation are split into two categories - inter-turn silence and intra-turn silence. Let's explore them and define what each category entails.

Inter-turn silence

An inter-turn silence is a type of silence in conversation that is unallocated because there is no current speaker at this point in the turn-taking process. An inter-turn silence can only occur at a transition-relevant point when the next turn has not been claimed by anyone yet and no one has been nominated as the next speaker.

Inter-turn silences are further divided into two kinds: gaps and lapses.

Intra-turn silence

An intra-turn silence is a type of silence in conversation that belongs to the current speaker. An intra-turn silence usually occurs when the current speaker pauses during their turn. It can also happen at a transition-relevant point when the current speaker is about to give the floor to the next speaker, who has already been selected, but there is a short pause before the next speaker starts talking.

Pauses are inter-turn silences and are further divided into: filled pauses and silent pauses.

Filled pause

A filled pause is a type of pause in conversation. It is a pause filled with vocalisation - a sound that a speaker makes during a conversation.

A filled pause usually occurs while a speaker is thinking - the sound that the speaker makes is a sign of their thinking process. A speaker stops speaking and makes a sound that is not a word or a part of a word. For example:

Keep in mind that you might think of sounds that have meaning, such as 'well' or 'oh', as a filled pause but they are not. A filled pause can't be a sound that has meaning because it's not a word or a part of a word.

Silent pause

A silent pause is a type of pause in conversation. It is a period of silence during a speaker's turn in which no one is speaking and no sound is made.

Usually, a silent pause occurs for the same reason as a filled pause - because the speaker stops talking during their turn so that they can think. The difference is that during a filled pause the speaker makes sounds to indicate that they are thinking, during a silent pause there is only silence while the speaker is thinking.