John J. Gumperz' interactional analysis goes beyond traditional work in discourse analysis, conversation analysis, and ethnography and may, ultimately, lead to the development of new sociolinguistic theory regarding problematic interaction. The likelihood of the development of theory will be significantly impacted by Gumperz' ability to: (1) incorporate the impact of race on interactions; and (2) re-evaluate the significance of a speech community's way of speaking and the corresponding costs associated with adaptation. Gumperz fails to address socio-political implications of the negotiation process between dominant and non-dominant interlocutors, as characterized by the difference between his conceptualization of "ways of speaking" and that of Dell Hymes. Also, he does not recognize the presence of other contextualization cues which occur in interaction such as race, gender, and age. As an example, examining the role of race for African Americans in social interaction indicates that race situates the interaction between Whites and African-Americans, and precedes verbal communication cues. As a result, race should be an integral aspect of theories associated with problematic interaction. (Twenty-eight references are attached.) (RS)