“pf” indicating a change in orientation in French interactions

•The paper focuses on one particular function of the sound object “pf” in French interactions.•It shows that “pf” can be used to indicate disengagement and a change in activity.•I suggest calling this specific function “change in orientation”.•I argue that there is a difference between “pf” indicating a change in orientation and “pf” used as stance marker or response cry.•The use of stand-alone “pf” to indicate a change in orientation makes relevant a further discussion about response cries.

This study investigates one particular function of the French sound object “pf”. “pf” is a non-vocalic, voiceless, bilabial sound, which is always related to affectivity. I will argue that one of the functions “pf” can fulfil in interaction is indicating a disengagement from a prior stance or a prior action and marking a change. The disengagement is related to affective stance, such as disappointment, resignation or relief. I consider this particular kind of change-of-state a change in orientation. Through a sequential and multimodal analysis, the paper first examines some aspects of “pf” when indicating stance. It then analyses “pf” preceded by a change-of-state token at the beginning of a turn or a turn construction unit and shows how “pf” specifies the change-of-state token as a display of disengagement. A third section examines cases where “pf” seems to enact the display of change-in-orientation on its own.In this way, the study contributes both to the understanding of sound objects and their complexity and to the description of change-of-state tokens. It highlights that change-of-state tokens can indicate affective stances and that there seems to be a special display which shows a disengagement and a change in activity (change in orientation).