Claiming Mutual Stance: On the Use of that's right by a Person With Aphasia

One of the key contributions of conversation analytic research has been revealing the interactional work undertaken by recipients via minimal vocal responses. In recent years, conversation analysis has been increasingly applied to interactions involving people with aphasia (i.e., an acquired language disorder), but few studies have focused on the work they undertake as recipients of talk. This article discusses how a person with aphasia ("Valerie") used that's right in response to stance-taking from her conversation partners. It is argued that this response made a claim of mutual stance, i.e., that Valerie also held the stance that was put forward. That's right made salient simultaneous claims to epistemic access and rights, and alignment with the action(s)-in-progress, thereby promoting interpersonal affiliation. Particular advantages of this response for a person with aphasia are also highlighted. Finally, this article argues for the relevance of social action to aphasiology and the potential utility of recipiency for facilitating the social participation of people with aphasia.