Raymond2021a

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Raymond2021a
BibType ARTICLE
Key Raymond2021a
Author(s) Chase Wesley Raymond, Jeffrey D. Robinson, Barbara A. Fox, Sandra A. Thompson, Kristella Montiegel
Title Modulating action through minimization: Syntax in the service of offering and requesting
Editor(s)
Tag(s) EMCA, Interactional Linguistics, Offer, Request, grammar, Morphosyntax
Publisher
Year 2021
Language English
City
Month
Journal Language in Society
Volume 50
Number 1
Pages 53-91
URL Link
DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/S004740452000069X
ISBN
Organization
Institution
School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title
Chapter

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Abstract

This study uses data from a shoe-repair shop, supplemented by data from medical and mundane contexts, to analyze three progressively minimal grammatical formats used to implement offers and requests in interaction (i.e. do you want…?, you want…?, and want…?). We argue that this cline of minimality reflects a cline of the action-initiator's stance, from relatively weak to strong (respectively), regarding their expectation that the action will be accepted or complied with. In doing so, we illustrate that, as part of the design of requests and offers, participants rely on more granular distinctions than a simple binary between interrogative and declarative morphosyntax. We conclude with a discussion of the interactional logic that undergirds the normative use of these grammatical formats, and of our findings’ implications for action formation and preference organization.

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