Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
7297644 | Journal of Pragmatics | 2018 | 16 Pages |
Abstract
This paper investigates Japanese particles a and aa in responsive turns. Although both of these tokens display change-of-state of the speaker's cognitive state, they mark different types of epistemic stance. Through analysis of collocating items and sequential environments, it is shown that by producing an a-prefaced response, speakers display a change of state from not-knowing to knowing, receipting the information as new and thereby exhibiting surprise. By contrast, with an aa-prefaced response, speakers display a change of state but simultaneously show that they have previous knowledge of some parts of the informing. To demonstrate the knowledge, an aa-speaker often extends a sequence by providing a piece of information that has not been mentioned in the conversation. Although infrequently, a and aa sometimes co-occur in one utterance, in the order of a followed by aa, working together as resources to register the change of state and display understanding.
Related Topics
Social Sciences and Humanities
Arts and Humanities
Language and Linguistics
Authors
Tomoko Endo,