Turn-taking behaviors also differ from one language community to another.
In some social contexts it’s expected that you wait for the other person to finish, pause and think, and only then respond. In other contexts, that’s an “awkward silence” and indicates that the other person said something so bad or weird that you don’t know how to answer.
Likewise, finishing someone’s sentence if they hesitate is sometimes as a sign of close intimacy and sometimes a sign of extreme disrespect — it depends on the social context and personal preference. (And on whether you get it right.)
These are things that all language users do learn; some people have more trouble with them than others, and have to learn them as explicit rules rather than just picking them up “naturally” as part of language acquisition.
Turn-taking behaviors also differ from one language community to another.
In some social contexts it’s expected that you wait for the other person to finish, pause and think, and only then respond. In other contexts, that’s an “awkward silence” and indicates that the other person said something so bad or weird that you don’t know how to answer.
Likewise, finishing someone’s sentence if they hesitate is sometimes as a sign of close intimacy and sometimes a sign of extreme disrespect — it depends on the social context and personal preference. (And on whether you get it right.)
These are things that all language users do learn; some people have more trouble with them than others, and have to learn them as explicit rules rather than just picking them up “naturally” as part of language acquisition.