Grammar and Interaction
Pivots in German conversation
1st Edition
Published on 29. October 2008
XIII, 208 pages
978-90-272-8993-3 (ISBN)
Description
This monograph provides a micro-analytic description of the structure and communicative use of syntactic pivot constructions in German. Using the methodology of Conversation Analysis, this work shows that pivots emerge in interaction in response to local communicative needs.Exclusively found in spoken German, pivots allow a speaker to extend an utterance beyond a possible completion point in a syntactically and prosodically unobtrusive way. Speakers utilize this basic property to promote context-specific actions: managing boundaries of speakership, bridging sequential and topical junctures, and dealing with different types of interactional trouble.
Through a close examination of syntactic pivots as an interactional resource, this work shows that spoken linguistic structures can only be fully understood if we acknowledge the temporality of language and view grammar as usage-based and negotiable. This book thus contributes to a growing body of research at the intersection of grammar and interaction.
Through a close examination of syntactic pivots as an interactional resource, this work shows that spoken linguistic structures can only be fully understood if we acknowledge the temporality of language and view grammar as usage-based and negotiable. This book thus contributes to a growing body of research at the intersection of grammar and interaction.
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Content
- Grammar and Interaction
- Editorial page
- Title page
- LCC data
- Dedication
- Table of contents
- List of tables and figures
- Acknowledgments
- Chapter 1. Introduction
- 1.1 Studying language in use: Syntax as a resource for constructing turns
- 1.2 Previous research on pivot constructions
- 1.3 Outline of study
- Chapter 2. Preliminaries
- 2.1. Introduction
- 2.2. Data and transcription conventions
- 2.3. The syntax of spoken German
- 2.3.1 Basic word order rules and the German Satzklammer/"sentence brace"
- 2.3.1.1 Basic word order rules
- 2.3.1.2 The German Satzklammer/"sentence brace"
- 2.3.2 Rightward turn expansions and verb-first constructions in German
- 2.3.2.1 Rightward turn expansions
- 2.3.2.2 Verb-first constructions
- 2.4. A typology of syntactic pivot constructions
- 2.4.1 The pivot construction: Overall composition
- 2.4.1.1 Syntactic structure of the pivot construction
- 2.4.1.2 Prosodic gestalt of the pivot construction
- 2.4.2 The Periphery: three types of constructions
- 2.4.2.1 TYPE 1: Mirror-image constructions
- 2.4.2.2 TYPE 2: Modified mirror-image constructions
- 2.4.2.3 TYPE 3: Modified constructions
- 2.4.3 The pivot element: Syntactic function and functional shifts
- 2.4.3.1 The structure and syntactic function of the pivot element
- 2.4.3.2 Shifts in the syntactic function of the pivot element
- 2.5. Summary
- Chapter 3. Pivot constructions as a syntactic resource for turn-taking
- 3.1. Introduction
- 3.1.1 Turn-taking in interaction
- 3.1.2 Syntactic pivots and turn continuation
- 3.2. Pivots used in post-overlap environments
- 3.2.1 Overlap management in conversation
- 3.2.2 Data discussion
- 3.2.2.1 Dealing with overlap in telephone interactions
- 3.2.2.2 Dealing with overlap in face-to-face interactions
- 3.2.2.3 The relevance of gaze in structuring talk-in-interaction
- 3.3 Discussion
- Chapter 4. Pivots at sequential and topic boundaries
- 4.1. Introduction
- 4.2. Managing competing actions at topic initiation
- 4.2.1 Resumption after competitive overlap and interruption
- 4.2.2 Resumption after a side sequence
- 4.3. Managing competing trajectories at topic closure
- 4.3.1 Resumption after competitive overlap and interruption
- 4.3.2 Expanding a topic or an action sequence
- 4.4. Discussion
- Chapter 5. Pivot constructions as a resource for managing repair
- 5.1. Introduction
- 5.1.1 Conversational repair
- 5.1.2 The target phenomenon
- 5.1.3 Properties of word searches in interaction
- 5.1.4 Chapter outline
- 5.2. Pivots used as a resource in the activity of searching for a word
- 5.2.1 Interactional environment and pivot types
- 5.2.2 Doing searching: Gaining time during a search
- 5.2.3 Done searching: Signaling the end of a word search
- 5.2.3.1 Mirror-image constructions
- 5.2.3.2 Modified (mirror-image) constructions
- 5.2.4 Preliminary summary
- 5.2.5 Did searching: Verbalizing the just prior action as a search
- 5.3. Discussion
- Chapter 6. Pivot constructions in embedded self-correction
- 6.1. Introduction
- 6.1.1 Procedures to deal with problems in interaction: Exposed vs. embedded correction
- 6.1.2 The target of self-correction
- 6.2 Pivot constructions as a resource for embedded self-correction
- 6.2.1 Changes in verb quality: Corrections involving announcements and informings
- 6.2.2 Changes in syntactic format: Corrections involving inquiries
- 6.2.2.1 Self-initiated shifts
- 6.2.2.2 Shifts initiated by co-participant conduct
- 6.3. Discussion
- Chapter 7. Concluding discussion
- 7.1 Summary of Findings
- 7.2 Implications
- 7.2.1 Spoken and written language
- 7.2.2 Syntactic phenomena in spoken language
- 7.2.3 Linguistic units in spoken language
- 7.3 Directions for further research
- 7.3.1 Phonetic features of pivot constructions in German
- 7.3.2 Other interactional functions of pivot constructions in German
- Appendix A
- A.1 Jeffersonian transcription conventions (cf. Atkinson & Heritage, 1984: ix-xvi
- Jefferson 1983b
- A.2 Transcription conventions based on GAT (Selting et al. 1998)
- A.3 Other conventions used
- Appendix B
- References
- Name index
- Subject index
- The series Studies in Discourse and Grammar
