conversationthat

Conversationthat is a term used in discourse analysis to describe a pattern in which a speaker frames a proposition by embedding a that-clause within their turn. The label combines “conversation” and the conjunction “that,” highlighting the role that that-clauses can play in organizing talk and signaling what will be discussed. It is not a universally accepted term, but a descriptive coinage found in some scholarly discussions.

Typical features include referencing a forthcoming proposition with a that-clause, signaling stance or justification, and guiding the listener’s attention to the topic under discussion. The pattern often appears in task-oriented dialogue, meetings, and everyday conversation, where speakers seek to align with listeners or manage the pace of the exchange. In recorded transcripts, conversationthat may be identified when speakers use that-clauses to frame or preview an upcoming move.

Applications of the idea appear in linguistics and human-computer interaction. Researchers study it to understand how speakers manage topic control, relevance, and stance; in natural language generation, modeling this pattern can help chat systems sound more natural; in education, awareness of this structure can aid listening and critical comprehension.

Origin and status: The term is relatively new and not standardized across languages. As with many neologisms, definitions vary, and some analysts reserve the term for a narrow set of constructing moves while others apply it more broadly to conventional usage of that-clauses in conversation.

See also: discourse marker, complementizer, turn-taking.