Chapter 7. “That’s a stupid question!”
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Amy Snyder Ohta
Abstract
This study of a bilingual (Japanese-English) research interview, taken from a project investigating language practices in intermarried (Japanese/non-Japanese) families, examines the impact of interviewer and interviewee’s differing, and sometimes competing, perspectives and agendas. Drawing on conversation analysis and informed by work on stance, it examines how the interviewer’s presumptions, based in part on interviews with other family members, shaped the interview and challenged the Japanese interviewee’s identity as a good parent, and even, potentially, his linguistic identity as an English speaker. Following the interviewer’s code-switches from English to Japanese as part of repair, the interviewee uses standard Japanese and a regional variety that breaks out of the ‘information gathering/confirming’ frame and expresses an extended, more direct, and oppositional stance toward the research topic. By closely examining the unfolding interaction between interviewer and interviewee, this chapter offers a reflective perspective on research interviewing practices and how language ideology and language choice impact the generation of data and the management of conflicting perspectives between interviewer and interviewee.
Abstract
This study of a bilingual (Japanese-English) research interview, taken from a project investigating language practices in intermarried (Japanese/non-Japanese) families, examines the impact of interviewer and interviewee’s differing, and sometimes competing, perspectives and agendas. Drawing on conversation analysis and informed by work on stance, it examines how the interviewer’s presumptions, based in part on interviews with other family members, shaped the interview and challenged the Japanese interviewee’s identity as a good parent, and even, potentially, his linguistic identity as an English speaker. Following the interviewer’s code-switches from English to Japanese as part of repair, the interviewee uses standard Japanese and a regional variety that breaks out of the ‘information gathering/confirming’ frame and expresses an extended, more direct, and oppositional stance toward the research topic. By closely examining the unfolding interaction between interviewer and interviewee, this chapter offers a reflective perspective on research interviewing practices and how language ideology and language choice impact the generation of data and the management of conflicting perspectives between interviewer and interviewee.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements ix
- Contributors xi
- Transcription conventions xv
- Preface xvii
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Part I. Introduction
- Chapter 1. Introduction 3
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Part II. Exploring the interactional details of interviewer-interviewee identities and knowledge production in research interviews
- Introduction to Part II. Exploring the interactional details of interviewer-interviewee identities and knowledge production in research interviews 31
- Chapter 2. “Like us you mean?” 37
- Chapter 3. Research interviewers as ‘knowers’ and ‘unknowers’ 59
- Chapter 4. On doing ‘being feminist’ and ‘being researcher’ 79
- Chapter 5. “What does it mean?” 103
- Chapter 6. Epistemic shifts 125
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Part III. Exploring conversational resources and social actions produced in interviews
- Introduction to Part III. Exploring conversational resources and social actions produced in interviews 143
- Chapter 7. “That’s a stupid question!” 147
- Chapter 8. “But you’re gonna ask me questions, right?” 181
- Chapter 9. “It doesn’t make sense, but it actually does” 201
- Chapter 10. Continuers in research interviews 219
- Chapter 11. Discourse strategies of mitigation in an oral corpus of narratives of life experience collected in interviews 239
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Part IV. Summing up
- Chapter 12. The way(s) of interviewing 271
- References 283
- Author index 319
- Subject index 325
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements ix
- Contributors xi
- Transcription conventions xv
- Preface xvii
-
Part I. Introduction
- Chapter 1. Introduction 3
-
Part II. Exploring the interactional details of interviewer-interviewee identities and knowledge production in research interviews
- Introduction to Part II. Exploring the interactional details of interviewer-interviewee identities and knowledge production in research interviews 31
- Chapter 2. “Like us you mean?” 37
- Chapter 3. Research interviewers as ‘knowers’ and ‘unknowers’ 59
- Chapter 4. On doing ‘being feminist’ and ‘being researcher’ 79
- Chapter 5. “What does it mean?” 103
- Chapter 6. Epistemic shifts 125
-
Part III. Exploring conversational resources and social actions produced in interviews
- Introduction to Part III. Exploring conversational resources and social actions produced in interviews 143
- Chapter 7. “That’s a stupid question!” 147
- Chapter 8. “But you’re gonna ask me questions, right?” 181
- Chapter 9. “It doesn’t make sense, but it actually does” 201
- Chapter 10. Continuers in research interviews 219
- Chapter 11. Discourse strategies of mitigation in an oral corpus of narratives of life experience collected in interviews 239
-
Part IV. Summing up
- Chapter 12. The way(s) of interviewing 271
- References 283
- Author index 319
- Subject index 325
