The essays in this volume are all original contributions dealing in one way or another with the analysis of prosody - primarily intonation and rhythm, and the role it plays in everyday conversation. They take as their methodological starting-point the contention that the study of prosody must begin with genuine interactional rather than pre-fabricated laboratory data. Through close empirical analysis of recorded material from genuine English, German and Italian conversations, prosody emerges here as a strategy deployed by interactants in the management of turntaking and floor-holding; in the negotiation of conversational activities such as repair, assessments, announcements, reproaches and news receipts; and in the keying of the tone or modality of interactional sequences.