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Chapter 15. Justifying departures from progressivity

The Danish turn-initial particle altså
  • Trine Heinemann and Jakob Steensig
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Between Turn and Sequence
This chapter is in the book Between Turn and Sequence

Abstract

This chapter investigates the use of the Danish particle altså in turn-initial position. Turn-initial altså can be employed for prefacing a wide range of actions, including self- and other-initiated repair, questions, second stories and answers to both yes/no and wh-questions. We show that across these actions, participants in interaction produce altså to indicate (1) that the action they will produce departs from progressivity, (2) that it will expand on something prior, (3) that the departure is, therefore, justified, and (4) that it will contribute to reinstalling the progression of the larger on-going activity. Some of the actions that altså prefaces can also be prefaced by phrases that function like ‘you know’ or ‘I mean’, which seem to do at least some of the work that altså does, but altså is used more frequently and across a wider range of actions. In our discussion, we raise the possibility that the usefulness of altså is due to the fact that it allows its producer to indicate that no one party in the interaction was accountable or at fault for the departure.

Abstract

This chapter investigates the use of the Danish particle altså in turn-initial position. Turn-initial altså can be employed for prefacing a wide range of actions, including self- and other-initiated repair, questions, second stories and answers to both yes/no and wh-questions. We show that across these actions, participants in interaction produce altså to indicate (1) that the action they will produce departs from progressivity, (2) that it will expand on something prior, (3) that the departure is, therefore, justified, and (4) that it will contribute to reinstalling the progression of the larger on-going activity. Some of the actions that altså prefaces can also be prefaced by phrases that function like ‘you know’ or ‘I mean’, which seem to do at least some of the work that altså does, but altså is used more frequently and across a wider range of actions. In our discussion, we raise the possibility that the usefulness of altså is due to the fact that it allows its producer to indicate that no one party in the interaction was accountable or at fault for the departure.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements vii
  4. Chapter 1. Introduction 1
  5. Sequential departures
  6. Chapter 2. Nu -prefaced responses in Russian conversation 25
  7. Chapter 3. Bueno -, pues -, and bueno-pues -prefacing in Spanish conversation 59
  8. Chapter 4. Two types of trouble with questions 97
  9. Chapter 5. Diverging from ‘business as usual’ 119
  10. Chapter 6. Turn-initial particles in English 155
  11. Epistemic and Related Issues
  12. Chapter 7. A -prefaced responses to inquiry in Japanese 193
  13. Chapter 8. Treating something as self-evident 225
  14. Chapter 9. Reformulating prior speaker’s turn in Finnish 251
  15. Chapter 10. Turn design and progression 287
  16. Chapter 11. Making up one’s mind in second position 315
  17. Sequence Management
  18. Chapter 12. Calibrating an agnostic epistemic stance in Swedish conversation 341
  19. Chapter 13. Turn-initial voilà in closings in French 371
  20. Chapter 14. Turn-initial naja in German 413
  21. Chapter 15. Justifying departures from progressivity 445
  22. Appendix 477
  23. Author Index 481
  24. Subject index 485
https://doi.org/10.1075/slsi.31.15hei

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements vii
  4. Chapter 1. Introduction 1
  5. Sequential departures
  6. Chapter 2. Nu -prefaced responses in Russian conversation 25
  7. Chapter 3. Bueno -, pues -, and bueno-pues -prefacing in Spanish conversation 59
  8. Chapter 4. Two types of trouble with questions 97
  9. Chapter 5. Diverging from ‘business as usual’ 119
  10. Chapter 6. Turn-initial particles in English 155
  11. Epistemic and Related Issues
  12. Chapter 7. A -prefaced responses to inquiry in Japanese 193
  13. Chapter 8. Treating something as self-evident 225
  14. Chapter 9. Reformulating prior speaker’s turn in Finnish 251
  15. Chapter 10. Turn design and progression 287
  16. Chapter 11. Making up one’s mind in second position 315
  17. Sequence Management
  18. Chapter 12. Calibrating an agnostic epistemic stance in Swedish conversation 341
  19. Chapter 13. Turn-initial voilà in closings in French 371
  20. Chapter 14. Turn-initial naja in German 413
  21. Chapter 15. Justifying departures from progressivity 445
  22. Appendix 477
  23. Author Index 481
  24. Subject index 485
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