Stivers2010a
Stivers2010a | |
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BibType | ARTICLE |
Key | Stivers2010a |
Author(s) | Tanya Stivers |
Title | An overview of the question–response system in American English conversation |
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Tag(s) | EMCA, Question-response system, American English, Questions, Polar (yes/no) questions, Content (WH) questions, Conversation |
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Year | 2010 |
Language | English |
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Journal | Journal of Pragmatics |
Volume | 42 |
Number | 10 |
Pages | 2772–2781 |
URL | Link |
DOI | 10.1016/j.pragma.2010.04.011 |
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Abstract
This article, part of a 10 language comparative project on question–response sequences, discusses these sequences in American English conversation. The data are video-taped spontaneous naturally occurring conversations involving two to five adults. Relying on these data I document the basic distributional patterns of types of questions asked (polar, Q-word or alternative as well as sub-types), types of social actions implemented by these questions (e.g., repair initiations, requests for confirmation, offers or requests for information), and types of responses (e.g., repetitional answers or yes/no tokens). I show that declarative questions are used more commonly in conversation than would be suspected by traditional grammars of English and questions are used for a wider range of functions than grammars would suggest. Finally, this article offers distributional support for the idea that responses that are better “fitted” with the question are preferred.
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