<!doctype html public «-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en»> http-equiv=content-type> For the first time, this study from the field of interactional linguistics comprehensively describes and explains the structure of self-initiated self-repairs in German. Based on over 2,500 self-repairs from spontaneous audio recordings, it develops a highly predictive model that explains the syntax of self-repairs as the outcome of a struggle between mutually competing factors.