Interjections (Oxford Handbook of Word Classes)

No class of words has better claims to universality than interjections. At the same time, no category has more variable content than this one, traditionally the catch-all basket for linguistic items that bear a complicated relation to sentential syntax. Interjections are a mirror reflecting methodological and theoretical assumptions more than a coherent linguistic category that affords unitary treatment. This chapter focuses on linguistic items that typically function as free-standing utterances, and on some of the conceptual, methodological, and theoretical questions generated by such items. A key move is to study these items in the setting of conversational sequences, rather than from the “flatland” of sequential syntax. This makes visible how some of the most frequent interjections streamline everyday language use and scaffold complex language. Approaching interjections in terms of their sequential positions and interactional functions has the potential to reveal and explasin patterns of universality and diversity in interjections.

The Realization of Adjacency Pairs and The Violation of Leech’s Modesty Maxim in Trump’s Interview with Julie Pace.

The occurrence of adjacency pairs is due to the fact that the utterance of one speaker requires a response of a particular kind. These two pairs are called adjacency pairs where the first part of them can make a choice between two responses. A request is one type of adjacency pairs that may have two answers; either preferred (acceptance) or dispreferred (refusal). Adjacency pairs refer to or stand for conversational sequences in which the utterance by one speaker determines the utterance produced by another speaker. Adjacency pairs can be manifested in different types which are: offer, accusation, blame, question and assessment. Delaying the second part of the adjacency pairs forms a problem in many conversations. This delay is sometimes due to the logical reasons and can be achieved by inserting another adjacency pair to clarify or pave the way to the appearance of the second part of the original adjacency pair. The violation of Leech's modesty maxim is tackled in Trump’s interview with the correspondent Julie Pace where Trump turns the items of this maxim up down. He maximizes praise of self and minimizes dispraise of self. This study aims at presenting types of adjacency pairs presented by Cook and Leech's politeness maxims focusing on Modesty maxim in Trump’s interview. It hypothesizes that the pairs of question and answer occupy the first rank in this genre followed by accusation pair. It also hypothesizes that preferred answer appears more than the dispreferred one. At the end of the study, conclusion and suggestions for further studies are mentioned

La construcción del diálogo en La Celestina: las secuencias de reparación=The construction of dialogue in La Celestina: repair sequences

<p>En este trabajo mostramos cómo se adaptan y se utilizan en <em>La Celestina</em> determinadas secuencias típicamente conversacionales y las construcciones o formatos lingüísticos asociados a ellas. En concreto, nos centramos en las secuencias de reparación y estudiamos sus formas lingüísticas y sus funciones conversacionales y textuales para poner de manifiesto cómo contribuyen de manera decisiva a la verosimilitud del diálogo celestinesco. </p><p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>In this paper we show how some typically conversational sequences and the linguistic formats related to them are adapted and exploited for the construction of dramatic dialogue. Especifically we focus on repair sequences in <em>Celestina</em> and we study their linguistic formats and conversational and textual functioning to reveal their crucial contribution to verosimility of <em>Celestina</em> ‘s dialogue.</p><p> </p>

Recast type, repair, and acquisition in AAC mediated interaction

The present study investigated the effects of different types of recasts and prompts on the rate of repair and spontaneous use of novel vocabulary by eight children with severe motor speech disabilities who used speech-generating technologies to communicate. Data came from 60 transcripts of clinical sessions that were part of a conversation-based intervention designed to teach them pronouns, verbs, and verb inflections. The results showed that, when presented alone, interrogative choice and declarative recasts led to the highest rates of child repair. The results also showed that when children were presented with recasts and prompts to repair, the rate of repair increased. Spontaneous use of linguistic targets was significantly and positively related to conversational sequences where the adult recast was followed by child repair. These findings suggest that using different recast types and prompts to repair may be beneficial for spontaneous use of linguistic targets in this population.

Analyzing structure and function in humor: Preliminary sketch of a message-centered model

Utilizing Attardo's general theory of verbal humor and Meyer's rhetorical functions of humor, as well as insights from conversation analysis, this paper presents a model linking form and function in conversational humor. In the model, an initial pair of incongruous scripts (i.e., a script opposition) is activated as membership categories are referenced in the set-up. The punch- or jab-line introduces a second script opposition that “resolves” or makes sense out of the first opposition in terms of preference organization (presenting either a preferred or dispreferred response). When examining conversational humor, those preferences have implications in terms of uniting or dividing interlocutors. If the resolution aligns with the preferred entity/activity of the set-up, then the effect should be unifying. If the resolution does not align (i.e., is dispreferred), then the effect should be divisive. The model is used to analyze two jokes and two conversational sequences.

Verb-first constructions as a syntactic and functional resource in (spoken) Swedish

This paper explores different syntactic variations and functional properties of clausal units that are initiated by the finite verb in Swedish. We focus on V1 constructions that are basically declarative in function, thus excluding interrogative, conditional and directive uses. Because V1 constructions, and particularly certain variants of them, are typical of spoken Swedish, our examples and analyses focus primarily on the usage in speaking. The V1 constructions studied include whole-utterance constructions in conversational sequences, utterance-internal extensions, and utterance-internal reshapings, such as syntactic blends. We will offer an analysis of (declarative) V1 constructions, which in some respects differs from analyses proposed by generative syntacticians or traditional grammarians. Our analysis of the constructional resource is discourse oriented. In this perspective, V1 constructions are analyzable as sequentially dependent, second, or ‘subsequent’ moves, viz. units that can scarcely initiate a communicative project but which instead continue, extend or comment on an already initiated project. Thus, rather than analyzing V1 constructions as one type of ellipsis they could be seen as full-fledged clausal units whose existence is conditioned by their position in a discourse or utterance context. From a theoretical perspective, this paper is a contribution to an emerging dialogical or interactional model of (Swedish) grammar.

Participation of a Conversation Partner in the Word Searches of a Person With Aphasia

Conversation analysis was applied to answer the question of when and how a conversation partner participates in the word searches of a person with aphasia. Thirty-eight videotaped conversational sequences from eight naturally occurring conversations of a single couple were analyzed. Sequences were characterized by the spouse’s participation in the self-initiated word searches of her partner, who had aphasia. Sequences were analyzed on a turn-by-turn basis to reveal their sequential organization. Results showed that participation was determined by interactional techniques and interactional resources. Interactional techniques included direct and indirect invitations to participate. Direct invitation was constructed via direct gaze or a wh- question. Indirect invitation was constructed with verbal and nonverbal signals, including specific metalanguage and downward gaze. Interactional resources were information states derived from both life experience and online analysis. Research and clinical implications are discussed.