Hayashi2009

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Hayashi2009
BibType ARTICLE
Key Hayashi2009
Author(s) Makoto Hayashi
Title Marking a “noticing of departure” in talk: Eh-prefaced turns in Japanese conversation
Editor(s)
Tag(s) EMCA, Conversation Analysis, Japanese, Turn-initial Position, response cries, Departure
Publisher
Year 2009
Language
City
Month
Journal Journal of Pragmatics
Volume 41
Number 10
Pages 2100-2129
URL Link
DOI 10.1016/j.pragma.2008.12.008
ISBN
Organization
Institution
School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title
Chapter

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Abstract

Using the methodology of conversation analysis, this study explores the meaning of “eh”, a nonlexical response token in Japanese, by examining its deployment in a range of sequential and activity contexts. Evidence from participants’ orientation displayed in these diverse contexts indicates that “eh” is used by its producer to propose a noticing of something in the talk that departs from his/her pre-existing knowledge, supposition, expectation, or orientation. The specific sense of this generic noticing of departure proposal by “eh” is particularized by reference to a number of contextual aspects of its deployment, including the types of sequences in which it occurs, its placement within such sequences, the types of turn-constructional formats in which it is employed, and its prosodic features. To demonstrate this, the study examines three types of turns prefaced with “eh” produced in three different sequential environments: (i) “eh”-prefaced questions after informings; (ii) “eh”-prefaced responses to assessments; and (iii) “eh”-prefaced responses to inquiry. Analysis of the situated workings of “eh” in these contexts shows that the contextually based variability of the specific sense of the generic meaning of “eh” allows for the accomplishment of a diverse range of social actions in ways attuned to the contingencies of interactional contexts.

Notes