Chapter 10. Responding to polar questions without a polarity item ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in Finnish
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Heidi Vepsäläinen
Abstract
Polar questions and their responses have been a subject of increasing interest for conversation analysts. This paper contributes to this research by studying answers to interrogatively formatted polar questions in Finnish that do not contain a separate element for expressing positive or negative polarity. We will show that the answers are used for a range of practices that form a continuum from cases where the polarity is implied to ones where the recipient, in their response, leaves it to the questioner to evaluate the quality of the response. Moving beyond the polarity of the question, these answers focus on what the recipient inferred to be the core relevance of the question, furthering the progressivity of the interaction by sustaining the ongoing project.
Abstract
Polar questions and their responses have been a subject of increasing interest for conversation analysts. This paper contributes to this research by studying answers to interrogatively formatted polar questions in Finnish that do not contain a separate element for expressing positive or negative polarity. We will show that the answers are used for a range of practices that form a continuum from cases where the polarity is implied to ones where the recipient, in their response, leaves it to the questioner to evaluate the quality of the response. Moving beyond the polarity of the question, these answers focus on what the recipient inferred to be the core relevance of the question, furthering the progressivity of the interaction by sustaining the ongoing project.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Chapter 1. Introduction 1
- Chapter 2. Repetitional responses to polar questions in Russian conversation 40
- Chapter 3. Responding to polar questions in Brazilian Portuguese 76
- Chapter 4. Responses to polar questions in Polish 109
- Chapter 5. Three practices for confirming inferences in French talk-in-interaction 139
- Chapter 6. Complexities of responding 179
- Chapter 7. The division of labor between the particles jah and jaa ‘yes’ as responses to requests for confirmation in Estonian 210
- Chapter 8. Code-switching, agency, and the answer possibility space of Spanish-English bilinguals 239
- Chapter 9. Post-confirmation modifications 272
- Chapter 10. Responding to polar questions without a polarity item ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in Finnish 301
- Chapter 11. Renewing a social action in US primary care 328
- Chapter 12. Do English affirmative polar interrogatives with any favor negative responses? 350
- Appendix. Transcription conventions and symbols for glossing 377
- Subject index 381
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Chapter 1. Introduction 1
- Chapter 2. Repetitional responses to polar questions in Russian conversation 40
- Chapter 3. Responding to polar questions in Brazilian Portuguese 76
- Chapter 4. Responses to polar questions in Polish 109
- Chapter 5. Three practices for confirming inferences in French talk-in-interaction 139
- Chapter 6. Complexities of responding 179
- Chapter 7. The division of labor between the particles jah and jaa ‘yes’ as responses to requests for confirmation in Estonian 210
- Chapter 8. Code-switching, agency, and the answer possibility space of Spanish-English bilinguals 239
- Chapter 9. Post-confirmation modifications 272
- Chapter 10. Responding to polar questions without a polarity item ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in Finnish 301
- Chapter 11. Renewing a social action in US primary care 328
- Chapter 12. Do English affirmative polar interrogatives with any favor negative responses? 350
- Appendix. Transcription conventions and symbols for glossing 377
- Subject index 381
