Multimodal expressivity of the Japanese response particle Huun
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Hiroko Tanaka
Abstract
Of the half a dozen non-lexical response particles in Japanese sharing significant properties with Oh in English, this chapter focuses on a single feature of one such particle Huun, namely that of displaying involvement with ongoing talk without topical engagement, while making relevant a topic shift. A multimodal approach is taken to demonstrate that a free-standing Huun can be enlisted to withhold an explicit evaluative stand while simultaneously displaying attentiveness, if not profound affective alignment, with current talk, partly through harnessing its potentially rich expressivity. Participant reactions suggest the particle may even be treated “as if” a fully fledged, lexicalized turn. Furthermore, multimodal resources can be combined with the occasioning of Huun to gradually lead to topic attrition.
Abstract
Of the half a dozen non-lexical response particles in Japanese sharing significant properties with Oh in English, this chapter focuses on a single feature of one such particle Huun, namely that of displaying involvement with ongoing talk without topical engagement, while making relevant a topic shift. A multimodal approach is taken to demonstrate that a free-standing Huun can be enlisted to withhold an explicit evaluative stand while simultaneously displaying attentiveness, if not profound affective alignment, with current talk, partly through harnessing its potentially rich expressivity. Participant reactions suggest the particle may even be treated “as if” a fully fledged, lexicalized turn. Furthermore, multimodal resources can be combined with the occasioning of Huun to gradually lead to topic attrition.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword ix
- Preface xi
- List of contributors xix
-
Introduction
- Prosody in interaction 3
- Future prospects of research on prosody: The need for publicly available corpora 41
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Part I. Prosody and other levels of linguistic organization in interaction
- The phonetic constitution of a turn-holding practice 51
- Rush-throughs as social action 73
- Prosodic constructions in making complaints 81
- The relevance of context to the performing of a complaint 105
- Prosodic variation in responses 109
- Retrieving, redoing and resuscitating turns in conversation 131
- Doing confirmation with ja/nee hoor 161
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Part II. Prosodic units as a structuring device in interaction
- Intonation phrases in natural conversation 191
- Making units 213
- Speaking dramatically 217
- Commentating fictive and real sports 239
- Tonal repetition and tonal contrast in English carer-child interaction 243
- Repetition and contrast across action sequences 263
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Part III. Prosody and other semiotic resources in interaction
- Communicating emotion in doctor-patient interaction 269
- Double function of prosody: Processes of meaning-making in narrative reconstructions of epileptic seizures 295
- Multimodal expressivity of the Japanese response particle Huun 303
- Response tokens – A multimodal approach 333
- Multiple practices for constructing laughables 339
- Multimodal laughing 369
- Constructing meaning through prosody in aphasia 373
- Further perspectives on cooperative semiosis 395
- Author index 401
- Subject index 403
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword ix
- Preface xi
- List of contributors xix
-
Introduction
- Prosody in interaction 3
- Future prospects of research on prosody: The need for publicly available corpora 41
-
Part I. Prosody and other levels of linguistic organization in interaction
- The phonetic constitution of a turn-holding practice 51
- Rush-throughs as social action 73
- Prosodic constructions in making complaints 81
- The relevance of context to the performing of a complaint 105
- Prosodic variation in responses 109
- Retrieving, redoing and resuscitating turns in conversation 131
- Doing confirmation with ja/nee hoor 161
-
Part II. Prosodic units as a structuring device in interaction
- Intonation phrases in natural conversation 191
- Making units 213
- Speaking dramatically 217
- Commentating fictive and real sports 239
- Tonal repetition and tonal contrast in English carer-child interaction 243
- Repetition and contrast across action sequences 263
-
Part III. Prosody and other semiotic resources in interaction
- Communicating emotion in doctor-patient interaction 269
- Double function of prosody: Processes of meaning-making in narrative reconstructions of epileptic seizures 295
- Multimodal expressivity of the Japanese response particle Huun 303
- Response tokens – A multimodal approach 333
- Multiple practices for constructing laughables 339
- Multimodal laughing 369
- Constructing meaning through prosody in aphasia 373
- Further perspectives on cooperative semiosis 395
- Author index 401
- Subject index 403
