在会话分析中，话轮转换是一个术语，用于描述有序会话的正常发生方式。一个基本的理解可以从这个术语本身得到：它是一个概念，即人们在谈话中轮流说话。然而，当社会学家研究时，这一分析更深入，例如人们如何知道何时轮到他们说话，演讲者之间有多少重叠，何时可以重叠，以及如何考虑地区或性别差异。

社会学家哈维·萨克斯（Harvey Sacks）、伊曼纽尔·谢格洛夫（Emanuel A.Schegloff）和盖尔·杰斐逊（Gail Jefferson）在《语言》杂志1974年12月号的《会话话轮转换组织的最简单系统学》中首次描述了话轮转换的基本原则。

竞争与合作重叠

许多轮流研究都关注了会话中的竞争与合作重叠，例如这如何影响会话中双方的力量平衡，以及演讲者之间的融洽程度。例如，在竞争性重叠中，研究人员可能会观察一个人是如何支配谈话的，或者听者是如何通过不同的打断方式收回一些权力的。

在合作重叠中，听者可能会要求澄清某一点，或在对话中添加支持说话者观点的其他例子。这些重叠有助于推进对话，并有助于向所有正在听的人传达全部含义。或者重叠可能更温和，只是表示听者理解，比如说“啊哈”。这样的重叠也会让说话者向前移动。

文化差异和正式或非正式的环境会改变特定群体的可接受性。

实例和意见

电视节目、书籍和电影都是轮流的好例子。

• 克里斯汀·卡尼：“我现在很安静。这意味着轮到你说话了。”
• 玛丽·贝思·莱西：“我在想该说什么

"Once a topic is chosen and a conversation initiated, then matters of conversational 'turn-taking' arise. Knowing when it is acceptable or obligatory to take a turn in conversation is essential to the cooperative development of discourse. This knowledge involves such factors as knowing how to recognize appropriate turn-exchange points and knowing how long the pauses between turns should be. It is also important to know how (and if) one may talk while someone else is talking—that is if the conversational overlap is allowed. Since not all conversations follow all the rules for turn-taking, it is also necessary to know how to 'repair' a conversation that has been thrown off course by undesired overlap or a misunderstood comment. "Cultural differences in matters of turn-taking can lead to conversational breakdown, misinterpretation of intentions, and interpersonal intergroup conflict." (Walt Wolfram and Natalie Schilling-Estes, "American English: Dialects and Variation." Wiley-Blackwell, 2006)

• 狼：“你是吉米，对吗？这是你的房子？”
• 吉米：“当然是。
• 狼：“我是温斯顿·沃尔夫。我解决问题。”
• 吉米：“很好，我们有一个。”
• 狼：“我听说了。我可以进来吗？”
• 吉米：“嗯，是的，请便。”（低俗小说，1994）

轮流发言和议会程序

正式场合下的话轮转换规则可能会明显不同于随意交谈的人。

"Absolutely fundamental to following parliamentary procedure is knowing when and how to speak in your correct turn. Business in deliberative societies cannot be conducted when the members are interrupting each other and when they are speaking out of turn on unrelated subjects. Etiquette calls interrupting someone else rude behavior and unfitting for people in refined society. [Emily] Post's book of etiquette goes beyond this to describe the importance of listening and responding to the correct topic as being part of good manners when participating in any form of conversation. "By waiting your turn to speak and avoiding interrupting another person, you not only show your desire to work together with the other members of your society, you also show respect for your fellow members." (Rita Cook, "The Complete Guide to Robert's Rules of Order Made Easy." Atlantic Publishing, 2008)

打断与感叹

有时在别人说话时插嘴可能不被认为是打断，而只是感叹。

"To be sure, a debate is as much about performance and rhetoric (and snappy one-liners) as it is about meaningful dialogue. But our ideas about conversation inevitably shape how we perceive the debates. This means, for example, that what seems an interruption to one viewer might be merely an interjection to another. Conversation is an exchange of turns, and having a turn means having a right to hold the floor until you have finished what you want to say. So interrupting is not a violation if it doesn’t steal the floor. If your uncle is telling a long story at dinner, you may cut in to ask him to pass the salt. Most (but not all) people would say you aren’t really interrupting; you just asked for a temporary pause." (Deborah Tannen, "Would You Please Let Me Finish ..." The New York Times, Oct. 17, 2012)