1887
Volume 21, Issue 1
  • ISSN 0257-3784
  • E-ISSN: 2212-9731

Abstract

Abstract

This study investigates an other-initiation of repair format commonly observed in Korean question-response sequences. Specifically, it focuses on the frequent use of “?” (‘Me?’) by recipients to confirm whether a preceding question is directed at them. Interestingly, this repair initiation appears regularly in two-party conversations and interviews, where there is typically little to no ambiguity about the question’s relevance to the recipient. Rather than managing genuine misunderstandings or listening issues, the study shows that this repair initiation serves as a resource to delay or avoid providing an immediate response. The preceding questions are often troubling, placing the recipient in a difficult position, or are sequentially disaligned, catching the recipient off guard. The repair initiator “?” serves as a buffer, mitigating the impact of difficult or abrupt questions, allowing the recipient time to formulate a response and facilitating a smoother transition to the next action.

Available under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license.
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/kl.24004.kim
2025-05-23
2025-06-24
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/kl.24004.kim.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1075/kl.24004.kim&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Dingemanse, Mark & N. J. Enfield
    2015 Other-initiated Repair Across Languages: Towards a Typology of Conversational Structures. Open Linguistics1:1. 10.2478/opli‑2014‑0007
    https://doi.org/10.2478/opli-2014-0007 [Google Scholar]
  2. Drew, Paul
    1997 ‘Open’ Class Repair Initiators in Response to Sequential Sources of Troubles in Conversation. Journal of Pragmatics28:1.69–101. 10.1016/S0378‑2166(97)89759‑7
    https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-2166(97)89759-7 [Google Scholar]
  3. Han, Na-Rae, Eon-Suk Ko, David Graff, Stephanie Strassel, Nii Martey, Myeonchul Kim, Alexandra Canavan, & George Zipperlen
    2003Korean Telephone Conversations Complete Set LDC2003S07 [Data set]. Linguistic Data Consortium, Philadelphia.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Hayashi, Makoto, Geoffrey Raymond & Jack Sidnell
    eds. 2013Conversational Repair and Human Understanding. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Jefferson, Gail
    1972 Side Sequences. Studies in Social Interactioned. byDavid Sudnow, 294–333. New York: Free Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. 2004 Glossary of Transcript Symbols with an Introduction. Conversation Analysis: Studies from the First Generationed. byGene Lerner, 13–31. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 10.1075/pbns.125.02jef
    https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.125.02jef [Google Scholar]
  7. Kendrick, Kobin. H.
    2015 Other-initiated Repair in English. Open Linguistics1:1.164–190. 10.2478/opli‑2014‑0009
    https://doi.org/10.2478/opli-2014-0009 [Google Scholar]
  8. Kim, Kyu-hyun
    2024 Request for Confirmation Sequences in Korean. Open Linguistics10:1. 20240010. 10.1515/opli‑2024‑0010
    https://doi.org/10.1515/opli-2024-0010 [Google Scholar]
  9. Kim, Kyu-hyun & Kyung Hee Suh
    1998 Confirmation Sequences as Interactional Resources in Korean Language Proficiency Interviews. Talking and Testing: Discourse Approaches to the Assessment of Oral Proficiencyeds. byRichard Young & Agnes Weiyun He, 297–332. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 10.1075/sibil.14.17kim
    https://doi.org/10.1075/sibil.14.17kim [Google Scholar]
  10. Kim, Mary Shin & Stephanie Hyeri Kim
    2014 Initiating Repair With and Without Particles: Alternative Formats of Other-initiation of Repair in Korean Conversation. Research on Language and Social Interaction47:4.331–352. 10.1080/08351813.2014.958277
    https://doi.org/10.1080/08351813.2014.958277 [Google Scholar]
  11. Lerner, Gene
    2004 On the Place of Linguistic Resources in the Organization of Talk-in- interaction: Grammar as Action in Prompting a Speaker to Elaborate. Research on Language & Social Interaction37:2.151–184. 10.1207/s15327973rlsi3702_3
    https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327973rlsi3702_3 [Google Scholar]
  12. Li, Xiaoting
    2014 Leaning and Recipient Intervening Questions in Mandarin Conversation. Journal of Pragmatics671.34–60. 10.1016/j.pragma.2014.03.011
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2014.03.011 [Google Scholar]
  13. Rasmussen, Gitte
    2013 Inclined to Better Understanding — The Coordination of Talk and ‘leaning forward’ in Doing Repair. Journal of Pragmatics651.30–45. 10.1016/j.pragma.2013.10.001
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2013.10.001 [Google Scholar]
  14. Raymond, Geoffrey
    2000 The Structure of Responding: Type-Conforming and Nonconforming Responses to Yes/No Type Interrogatives. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles.
  15. Robinson, Jeffrey D. & Heidi Kevoe-Feldman
    2010 Using Full Repeats to Initiate Repair on Others’ Questions. Research on Language & Social Interaction43:3.232–259. 10.1080/08351813.2010.497990
    https://doi.org/10.1080/08351813.2010.497990 [Google Scholar]
  16. Sacks, Harvey, Emanuel A. Schegloff & Gail Jefferson
    1974 A Simplest Systematics for the Organization of Turn-taking for Conversation. Language50:4.696–735. 10.1353/lan.1974.0010
    https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.1974.0010 [Google Scholar]
  17. Schegloff, Emanuel A.
    1996 Confirming Allusions: Toward an Empirical Account of Action. American. Journal of Sociology102(1): 161–216.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. 1997 Practices and Actions: Boundary Cases of Other-initiated Repair. Discourse Processes23:3.499–545. 10.1080/01638539709545001
    https://doi.org/10.1080/01638539709545001 [Google Scholar]
  19. 2007Sequence Organization in Interaction: A Primer in Conversation Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511791208
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511791208 [Google Scholar]
  20. Schegloff, Emanuel A., Gail Jefferson & Harvey Sacks
    1977 The Preference for Self-correction in the Organization of Repair in Conversation. Language53:2.361–382. 10.1353/lan.1977.0041
    https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.1977.0041 [Google Scholar]
  21. Seo, Mi-Suk & Irene Koshik
    2010 A Conversation Analytic Study of Gestures that Engender Repair in ESL Conversational Tutoring. Journal of Pragmatics42:8.2219–2239. 10.1016/j.pragma.2010.01.021
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2010.01.021 [Google Scholar]
  22. Sidnell, Jack
    2012 Turn-continuation by Self and by Other. Discourse Processes49:3–4.314–337. 10.1080/0163853X.2012.654760
    https://doi.org/10.1080/0163853X.2012.654760 [Google Scholar]
  23. Sohn, Ho-Min
    1999The Korean Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/kl.24004.kim
Loading
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error