Betz2015a

Betz2015a
BibType	ARTICLE
Key	Betz2015a
Author(s)	Emma M. Betz
Title	Indexing epistemic access through different confirmation formats: Uses of responsive (das) stimmt in German interaction
Editor(s)
Tag(s)	EMCA, Responding, Response tokens, Access, Agreement, Confirmation, Misalignment
Publisher
Year	2015
Language
City
Month
Journal	Journal of Pragmatics
Volume	87
Number
Pages	251--266
URL
DOI	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2015.03.018
ISBN
Organization
Institution
School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title
Chapter

Download BibTex

Abstract

Responses are central to managing understanding in interaction. Response formats and tokens make reference to prior talk, index epistemic rights, and align or agree with previous actions. Lexical choice and grammatical alternatives are important for understanding responding actions. This conversation analytic study describes two formats of responsive stimmt in German: lexical stimmt (‘right’/‘true’/‘exactly’) and clausal das stimmt (‘that’s right/true’). Both formats are used to index independent access to a position or knowledge explicit or implied in the previous turn, but both confirm from a position of local subordination. Both either mark agreement or index a change in epistemic stance. With clausal uses, speakers lexically foreground sequential secondness through explicit anaphoric reference (das). With lexical uses, speakers foreground a realization process. Lexical stimmt allows for a broader range of functions. While das stimmt always refers to information accessed explicitly through the prior turn, stimmt may refer to implicit background information. One common use is to mark the actuation of information implicit in the previous turn and thus bring to the surface and manage momentary misalignment. This paper enhances our understanding of the social-interactional work of responsive turns and illustrates the centrality of epistemics in interaction.

Notes