This paper outlines some of Charles Rycroft's thoughts about language. It divides into three parts: the first addresses the general hypothesis of communicative interaction, with particular reference to (a) the presence or fullness of signs and (b) original speech. In the second part of the paper I trace some of the theoretical background to the concept of affective communication. This includes a brief comparative reading of Rycroft and Brierley. The third part concentrates more specifically on technique, including the analysis of Miss Y whose case helps to illustrate the nature of affective interaction in Rycroft's account of the analytic relationship.