Suspending Syntax: Bodily Strain and Progressivity in Talk

People speak not only under relaxed conditions but also during strenuous activities, and grammatical resources can be used to achieve displays of strain. This study looks at the relationship between progressivity talk bodily strain, focusing on practice temporarily suspending syntax while speaker is accomplishing a physically challenging task. Based examples from two different physical rock climbing opera rehearsals, paper argues that resource available across contexts render prominence strained body highlight ongoing movement or other action. By placing strain-based display incapacity moment when emerging syntactic structure incomplete, participants maintain rights resume presenting themselves as possessing capacity do so. Suspending shown minutely timed speakers’ technique takes advantage emergent nature demonstrates how speakers organize language in relation sensing moving body.