Exclamations are often seen as linguistic reactions to unexpected events or words. They are associated with specific properties in the areas of syntax (incomplete structures or wh-clauses, i.e. ‘gap'-clauses), semantics (high degree), intonation. Still, such approaches focus on the speaker's point of view, while too often leaving aside the role of the hearer/addressee. This conference aims at questioning the idea that exclamations are only speaker-oriented. Several issues will be addressed including (but not limited to) their role in conversational interactions, their “context change potential”, the linguistic patterns in which they are involved.