This book is an edited collection of language and interaction-centred studies that explore what happens when people use the telephone to call for help.More specifically, the focus throughout this collection is on diverse aspects of spoken language and patterns of social interaction in calls made by members of the public to a variety of telephone helplines.

Helplines are telephone-based services that offer callers help, advice or support in a wide range of areas, most commonly in areas relating to health and medicine, the law, finance, psychological wellbeing, interpersonal relationships, various forms of addiction, and computer technology.

Prototypically, a helpline is a ‘dedicated’ service that provides help in a single, particularised area (for example breast cancer, AIDS, gambling addiction, computer software, bereavement, domestic violence, consumer rights).