To mark or not to mark the cause, that is the question: Causal marking in Taiwanese conversation

The present study investigates the discourse-pragmatic functions of the causal marker inui in Taiwanese Southern Min (TSM) conversation and compares them with unmarked causal utterances. It also explores the intonation patterning and distribution of overt and non-overt causal utterances in TSM. The functions of inui are categorized into five types: (1) pure-cause marking, (2) explanation marking, (3) justification marking, (4) understanding display, and (5) information interpolation. Among them, the information-interpolating function characterizes inui as a non-causal logical connector. The analysis shows that inui is interactively driven and used to achieve social comity. It is employed particularly when a speaker recognizes the need to provide the addressee with a better and friendlier ground for conversation in order to avoid face threat, to resolve a trouble of talk, or to fill an information gap. The occurrence of inui is sensitive to seriousness of topics, the social relation between interlocutors, and the speaker's attitude to the topic of talk. When the speech situation does not call for an explicitly marked account, inui is not used. The lower frequency of inui compared with that of English because and Mandarin yinwei in conversation data further corroborates the interactive nature of inui. As for the positioning and intonation patterning, the results conform to previous findings, i.e., causal clauses tend to occur after the materials they modify.

► This paper investigates the causal marker inui in Taiwanese conversation.
► Non-overtly marked causal clauses are compared with overtly marked cases.
► Iinui is used to ensure trouble- or conflict-free interaction.
► Non-overt cases occur in situations requiring less social interaction or negotiation.
► Positioning and intonation patterning correspond to findings of previous research.