[Interruption and misunderstanding. Examples of the construction of discourse in clinical interviews]

How do subjects construct shared meaning during an actual exchange? This question is treated through the study of dialogical behaviours of three psychiatric patients during a clinical interview (Two psychotics and one psychopathic). The analysis of their different ways of linking utterances shows difficulties that concern the construction of a common discursive ground. These difficulties, that can be considered either from a deficitary point of view or from a creative one, appear on the repetition of unexpected changes, of communication blocking or of inadequate indication of the way utterances mean.