John Benjamins Publishing Company
Chapter 9. An interactional approach to generic second person expressions in Mandarin conversation
Abstract
This chapter tackles the hitherto under-explored question of when and why conversationalists deploy second person generic expressions that feature a general and vague referential scope. I show that the conversational contexts in which they appear are usually characterized most prominently by their relatively complex and/or controversial subject matters, participants’ incongruent stances, and/or opposing positions to be contested. These contexts and their associated interactional demands are argued to give rise to the patterning of clustering (multiplicity of instances in adjacent units), limited generality (as good-enough-yet-not-too-broad general statements), and primary (or attempted primary) speakership. In general, second person generic statements can be seen as a special and powerful rhetorical device designed for marked interactional occasions.
Abstract
This chapter tackles the hitherto under-explored question of when and why conversationalists deploy second person generic expressions that feature a general and vague referential scope. I show that the conversational contexts in which they appear are usually characterized most prominently by their relatively complex and/or controversial subject matters, participants’ incongruent stances, and/or opposing positions to be contested. These contexts and their associated interactional demands are argued to give rise to the patterning of clustering (multiplicity of instances in adjacent units), limited generality (as good-enough-yet-not-too-broad general statements), and primary (or attempted primary) speakership. In general, second person generic statements can be seen as a special and powerful rhetorical device designed for marked interactional occasions.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- 日本言語政策学会 / Japan Association for Language Policy. 言語政策 / Language Policy 10. 2014 i
- Table of contents v
- Chapter 1. Toward the interactional relevance of (non)referentiality 1
- Chapter 2. Elusive referentiality and allusive reference in Indonesian conversation 11
- Chapter 3. First and second person forms as resources for open reference and participation in Finnish everyday conversations 35
- Chapter 4. The (non)referentiality of the word raha ‘money’ in Finnish conversation 56
- Chapter 5. Young children’s experience of referentiality and nonreferentiality in dialogue 80
- Chapter 6. (Non)referentiality of silent reference in Japanese conversation 103
- Chapter 7. The indeterminacy and fluidity of reference in everyday conversation 123
- Chapter 8. Manipulating referentiality and creating phaticness 141
- Chapter 9. An interactional approach to generic second person expressions in Mandarin conversation 167
- Name index 203
- Subject index 205
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- 日本言語政策学会 / Japan Association for Language Policy. 言語政策 / Language Policy 10. 2014 i
- Table of contents v
- Chapter 1. Toward the interactional relevance of (non)referentiality 1
- Chapter 2. Elusive referentiality and allusive reference in Indonesian conversation 11
- Chapter 3. First and second person forms as resources for open reference and participation in Finnish everyday conversations 35
- Chapter 4. The (non)referentiality of the word raha ‘money’ in Finnish conversation 56
- Chapter 5. Young children’s experience of referentiality and nonreferentiality in dialogue 80
- Chapter 6. (Non)referentiality of silent reference in Japanese conversation 103
- Chapter 7. The indeterminacy and fluidity of reference in everyday conversation 123
- Chapter 8. Manipulating referentiality and creating phaticness 141
- Chapter 9. An interactional approach to generic second person expressions in Mandarin conversation 167
- Name index 203
- Subject index 205
