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Adjacency pairs are a component of pragmatic variation in the study of linguistics, and are considered primarily to be evident in the "interactional" function of pragmatics. Adjacency pairs exist in every language and vary in context and content among each, based on the cultural values held by speakers of the respective language. Oftentimes, they are contributed by speakers in an unconscious way, as they are an intrinsic part of the language spoken at-hand and are therefore embedded in speakers' understanding and use of the language. Thus, adjacency pairs may present their challenges when a person begins learning a language not native to them, as the cultural context and significance behind the adjacency pairs may not be evident to a speaker outside of the primary culture associated with the language.

Adjacency pairs may be employed for a variety of reasons, whether it be to convey politeness or pose a question, or potentially as unintentional, implicit indicators of societal structures, such as socioeconomic status, race or area of residence. As adjacency pairs exist in every language, the reasoning behind their employment will vary from language to language based on the values of the cultures associated with a given language.

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In some contexts, adjacency pairs may act as an indicator of varying demographic elements. For instance, restaurants are a setting notorious for the adjacency pair that presents a 'thank you', followed by some response eliciting acceptance of the gratitude displayed by the 'thank you'. A variety of responses to the statement 'thank you' have been recorded, and an English speaker's choice of response may imply details of his dialect and ultimately his place of origin. For instance, the employment of 'you're welcome' as the second half of this adjacency pair is most often indicative of an English speaker's residence within the United States. American English is the most highly associated with 'you're welcome' as a response to 'thank you', while other dialects of English (e.g. British and Irish English) may deem this phrase more formal than other options. The phrase 'my pleasure' is also most commonly associated with American English. British English speakers, in contrast, often omit a response to 'thanks' when it is presented to them.

Additionally, the "'thank you' followed by an acknowledgement of gratitude" adjacency pair may work as an indicator of socioeconomic status based on when/in what context an English speaker decides to propose a 'thank you' statement. Three restaurants in Los Angeles- all representative of different socioeconomic backgrounds- were studied to create an understanding of this idea. The results indicated that the offer of gratitude displayed in the 'thank you' statement is evident most prominently in non-verbal acts of service (e.g. presenting the check after the meal or wiping the table between courses) particularly among customers dining at restaurants in the highest and mid-socioeconomic levels. However, no 'thank you' comment was offered for non-verbal service acts in the restaurant representing the lowest socioeconomic level. The category most susceptible to 'thank you' comments from customers in the restaurant with the lowest socioeconomic association was the a verbal, explicit offer of service (e.g. Is there anything more I can get for you?) and this same category received the second highest quantity of 'thank you' offers in both the highest and mid-socioeconomic settings.

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Much like adjacency pairs themselves, the various types of three-part interchanges may be associated most closely with specific social settings and contextual situations. The evaluative three-part interchange (example displayed below) is commonly found in education settings, particularly within elementary education. The use of the evaluative three-part interchange has proven itself useful in such a setting as it helps teachers to ascertain themselves as both educators and "evaluators", in that the interchange grants them the opportunity to ask their students questions to which they already know the answers. In doing so, the teacher has the capacity to offer evaluation of a response as he can determine whether or not an answer is acceptable based on his own understanding of what answer is "correct". Adversely, if a teacher were to ask a question for which he did not know the answer, he would lose the ability to contribute the third part of this interchange as it would not be appropriate for him to determine the quality of the answer, as he himself has no certainty in its validity. Thus, the evaluative three-part interchange is often indicative of a classroom setting where this educator and evaluator combination is frequently perpetuated.