Polar answers
| Autor: | N. J. ENFIELD, TANYA STIVERS, PENELOPE BROWN, CHRISTINA ENGLERT, KATARIINA HARJUNPÄÄ, MAKOTO HAYASHI, TRINE HEINEMANN, GERTIE HOYMANN, TIINA KEISANEN, MIRKA RAUNIOMAA, CHASE WESLEY RAYMOND, FEDERICO ROSSANO, KYUNG-EUN YOON, INGE ZWITSERLOOD, STEPHEN C. LEVINSON |
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| Přispěvatelé: | General Linguistics, Department of Cultures |
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
060201 languages & linguistics
Sign Language Linguistics Linguistics and Language education 05 social sciences 06 humanities and the arts 050105 experimental psychology Language and Linguistics Language & Communication Philosophy interjections 0602 languages and literature polar questions 6121 Languages 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences typology conversation Interactional Foundations of Language pragmatics |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Linguistics, 55, 2, pp. 277-304 Journal of Linguistics University of Helsinki Journal of Linguistics, 55, 277-304 Journal of Linguistics, 55(2), 277-304. Cambridge University Press |
| ISSN: | 0022-2267 |
| Popis: | How do people answer polar questions? In this fourteen-language study of answers to questions in conversation, we compare the two main strategies; first, interjection-type answers such asuh-huh(or equivalentsyes,mm, head nods, etc.), and second, repetition-type answers that repeat some or all of the question. We find that all languages offer both options, but that there is a strong asymmetry in their frequency of use, with a global preference for interjection-type answers. We propose that this preference is motivated by the fact that the two options are not equivalent in meaning. We argue that interjection-type answers are intrinsically suited to be the pragmatically unmarked, and thus more frequent, strategy for confirming polar questions, regardless of the language spoken. Our analysis is based on the semantic-pragmatic profile of the interjection-type and repetition-type answer strategies, in the context of certain asymmetries inherent to the dialogic speech act structure of question–answer sequences, including sequential agency and thematic agency. This allows us to see possible explanations for the outlier distributions found in ǂĀkhoe Haiǁom and Tzeltal. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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