Recipient questions as a strategy to launch second stories
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/eap.36205Keywords:
storytelling, recipient questions, second stories, pre-ness, chinese conversationAbstract
This article reports a study of launching second stories in Chinese conversation. It particularly examines how recipients ask questions about something related to but not explicitly mentioned in the first story. We show that such questions are strategically placed in that they prefigure upcoming stories. The design of the questions may also cast a new light on the first story so that the second story, when told, can be recognised as subsequent to the first in particular ways. We discuss the interactional nature of such questions in relation to Schegloff’s (2007) idea that ‘preness’ is a more general property in action sequences.
References
Arminen, I. (2004). Second stories: The salience of interpersonal communication for mutual help in Alcoholics Anonymous. Journal of Pragmatics, 36(2), 319–347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2003.07.001
Atkinson, J. M., & Heritage, J. (1984). Structures of social action: Studies in conversation analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Drew, P., & Heritage, J. (Eds.). (2006). Conversation analysis (4 volumes). London: SAGE.
Goodwin, C. (1979). The interactive construction of a sentence in natural conversation. In G. Pathas (Ed.), Everyday language: Studies in ethnomethodology (pp. 97–121). New York: Irvington.
Goodwin, C. (1984). Notes on story structure and the organization of participation. In M. Atkinson & J. Heritage (Eds.), Structures of Social Action (pp. 225–246). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511665868.016
Goodwin, C. (1986). Audience diversity, participation and interpretation. Text, 6(3), 283–316.
Goodwin, C. (2015). Narrative as talk-in-interaction. In A. De Fina & A. Georgakopoulou (Eds.), The handbook of narrative analysis (pp. 197–218). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118458204.ch10
Goodwin, M. (1997). By-play: Negotiating evaluation in story-telling. In G. R. Guy, C. Feagin, D. Schiffrin, & J. Baugh (Eds.), Towards a social science of language: Papers in honour of William Labov: Vol. 2. Social interaction and discourse structures (pp. 77–102). Amsterdam: Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.128
Heritage, J., & Raymond, G. (2012). Navigating epistemic landscapes: Acquiescence, agency and resistance in responses to polar questions. In J. P. De Ruiter (Ed.), Questions: Formal, functional and interactional perspectives (pp. 179–192). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781139045414.013
Jefferson, G. (1978). Sequential aspects of storytelling in conversation. In J. Schenkein (Ed.), Studies in the organization of conversational interaction (pp. 219–248). New York: Academic Press.
Koike, C. (2009). Interaction in storytelling in Japanese conversations: An analysis of story recipients’ questions (PhD dissertation). University of California, Los Angeles.
Kuo, Sai-hua. (2002). Cooperation and competition in collaborative narration: Analyzing storytelling in Taiwanese young adults’ conversations. In Lily I-wen Su, Chinfa Lien, & Kawai Chui (Eds.), Form and function: Linguistics studies in honor of Shuanfan Huang (pp. 131–151). Taipei: Crane Publishing.
Lerner, G. H. (1992). Assisted storytelling: Deploying shared knowledge as a practical matter. Qualitative Sociology, 15(3), 247–271. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00990328
Mandelbaum, J. (1987). Recipient-driven storytelling in conversation (PhD dissertation). The University of Texas at Austin.
Mandelbaum, J. (1989). Interpersonal activities in conversational storytelling. Western Journal of Speech Communication, 53(2), 114–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570318909374295
Mandelbaum, J. (2013). Storytelling in conversation. In J. Sidnell & T. Stivers (Eds.), The handbook of conversation analysis (pp. 492–507). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118325001.ch24
Maynard, D. W. (1989). Perspective-display sequences in conversation. Western Journal of Speech Communication, 53(2), 91–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570318909374294
Maynard, D. W. (2003). Bad news, good news: Conversational order in everyday talk and clinical settings. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Monzoni, C., & Drew, P. (2009). Inter-interactional contexts of story-interventions by non-knowledgeable story recipients in (Italian) multi-person interaction. Journal of Pragmatics, 41(2), 197–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2008.06.002
Niemelä, M. (2010). The reporting space in conversational storytelling: Orchestrating all semiotic channels for taking a stance. Journal of Pragmatics, 42(12), 3258–3270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2010.06.015
Norrick, N. R. (2000). Conversational narrative: Storytelling in everyday talk (Vol. 203). Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing.
Raymond, G. (2003). Grammar and social organization: Yes/no interrogatives and the structure of responding. American Sociological Review, 68(6), 939-967. https://doi.org/10.2307/1519752
Ryave, A. L. (1978). On the achievement of a series of stories. In J. Schenkein (Ed.), Studies in the organization of conversational interaction (pp. 113–133). New York: Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-623550-0.50011-2
Sacks, H. (1974). An analysis of the course of a joke’s telling in conversation. In R. Bauman & J. Sherzer (Eds.), Explorations in the ethnography of speaking (pp. 337–353). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511611810.022
Sacks, H. (1995a). Lectures on conversation (Vol. 1). Oxford: Blackwell.
Sacks, H. (1995b). Lectures on conversation (Vol. 2). Oxford: Blackwell.
Sacks, H., Schegloff, E. A., & Jefferson, G. (1974). A simplest systematics for the organization of turn-taking for conversation. Language, 50(4), 696–735. https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.1974.0010
Schegloff, E. A. (1992). In another context. In A. Duranti & C. Goodwin (Eds.), Rethinking context: Language as an interactive phenomenon (pp. 191–227). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schegloff, E. A. (1999). Discourse, pragmatics, conversation, analysis. Discourse Studies, 1(4), 405–435. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445699001004002
Schegloff, E. A. (2007). Sequence organization in interaction: A primer in conversation analysis (Vol. 1). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schegloff, E. A., Jefferson, G., & Sacks, H. (1977). The preference for self-correction in the organization of repair in conversation. Language, 53(2), 361–382. https://doi.org/10.2307/413107
Selting, M. (2012). Complaint stories and subsequent complaint stories with affect displays. Journal of Pragmatics, 44(4), 387–415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2012.01.005
Sidnell, J., & Stivers, T. (Eds.). (2013). The handbook of conversation analysis. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Siromaa, M. (2012). Resonance in conversational second stories: A dialogic resource for stance taking. Text & Talk, 32(4), 525–545. https://doi.org/10.1515/text-2012-0025
Terasaki, A. (2004). Pre-announcement sequences in conversation. In G. H. Lerner (Ed.), Conversation analysis: Studies from the first generation (pp. 172–223). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.125.11ter
Yu, C. (2012). Emotional display in argument, storytelling and teasing: A multimodal analysis (PhD dissertation). University of Oulu.
Atkinson, J. M., & Heritage, J. (1984). Structures of social action: Studies in conversation analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Drew, P., & Heritage, J. (Eds.). (2006). Conversation analysis (4 volumes). London: SAGE.
Goodwin, C. (1979). The interactive construction of a sentence in natural conversation. In G. Pathas (Ed.), Everyday language: Studies in ethnomethodology (pp. 97–121). New York: Irvington.
Goodwin, C. (1984). Notes on story structure and the organization of participation. In M. Atkinson & J. Heritage (Eds.), Structures of Social Action (pp. 225–246). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511665868.016
Goodwin, C. (1986). Audience diversity, participation and interpretation. Text, 6(3), 283–316.
Goodwin, C. (2015). Narrative as talk-in-interaction. In A. De Fina & A. Georgakopoulou (Eds.), The handbook of narrative analysis (pp. 197–218). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118458204.ch10
Goodwin, M. (1997). By-play: Negotiating evaluation in story-telling. In G. R. Guy, C. Feagin, D. Schiffrin, & J. Baugh (Eds.), Towards a social science of language: Papers in honour of William Labov: Vol. 2. Social interaction and discourse structures (pp. 77–102). Amsterdam: Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.128
Heritage, J., & Raymond, G. (2012). Navigating epistemic landscapes: Acquiescence, agency and resistance in responses to polar questions. In J. P. De Ruiter (Ed.), Questions: Formal, functional and interactional perspectives (pp. 179–192). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781139045414.013
Jefferson, G. (1978). Sequential aspects of storytelling in conversation. In J. Schenkein (Ed.), Studies in the organization of conversational interaction (pp. 219–248). New York: Academic Press.
Koike, C. (2009). Interaction in storytelling in Japanese conversations: An analysis of story recipients’ questions (PhD dissertation). University of California, Los Angeles.
Kuo, Sai-hua. (2002). Cooperation and competition in collaborative narration: Analyzing storytelling in Taiwanese young adults’ conversations. In Lily I-wen Su, Chinfa Lien, & Kawai Chui (Eds.), Form and function: Linguistics studies in honor of Shuanfan Huang (pp. 131–151). Taipei: Crane Publishing.
Lerner, G. H. (1992). Assisted storytelling: Deploying shared knowledge as a practical matter. Qualitative Sociology, 15(3), 247–271. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00990328
Mandelbaum, J. (1987). Recipient-driven storytelling in conversation (PhD dissertation). The University of Texas at Austin.
Mandelbaum, J. (1989). Interpersonal activities in conversational storytelling. Western Journal of Speech Communication, 53(2), 114–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570318909374295
Mandelbaum, J. (2013). Storytelling in conversation. In J. Sidnell & T. Stivers (Eds.), The handbook of conversation analysis (pp. 492–507). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118325001.ch24
Maynard, D. W. (1989). Perspective-display sequences in conversation. Western Journal of Speech Communication, 53(2), 91–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570318909374294
Maynard, D. W. (2003). Bad news, good news: Conversational order in everyday talk and clinical settings. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Monzoni, C., & Drew, P. (2009). Inter-interactional contexts of story-interventions by non-knowledgeable story recipients in (Italian) multi-person interaction. Journal of Pragmatics, 41(2), 197–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2008.06.002
Niemelä, M. (2010). The reporting space in conversational storytelling: Orchestrating all semiotic channels for taking a stance. Journal of Pragmatics, 42(12), 3258–3270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2010.06.015
Norrick, N. R. (2000). Conversational narrative: Storytelling in everyday talk (Vol. 203). Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing.
Raymond, G. (2003). Grammar and social organization: Yes/no interrogatives and the structure of responding. American Sociological Review, 68(6), 939-967. https://doi.org/10.2307/1519752
Ryave, A. L. (1978). On the achievement of a series of stories. In J. Schenkein (Ed.), Studies in the organization of conversational interaction (pp. 113–133). New York: Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-623550-0.50011-2
Sacks, H. (1974). An analysis of the course of a joke’s telling in conversation. In R. Bauman & J. Sherzer (Eds.), Explorations in the ethnography of speaking (pp. 337–353). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511611810.022
Sacks, H. (1995a). Lectures on conversation (Vol. 1). Oxford: Blackwell.
Sacks, H. (1995b). Lectures on conversation (Vol. 2). Oxford: Blackwell.
Sacks, H., Schegloff, E. A., & Jefferson, G. (1974). A simplest systematics for the organization of turn-taking for conversation. Language, 50(4), 696–735. https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.1974.0010
Schegloff, E. A. (1992). In another context. In A. Duranti & C. Goodwin (Eds.), Rethinking context: Language as an interactive phenomenon (pp. 191–227). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schegloff, E. A. (1999). Discourse, pragmatics, conversation, analysis. Discourse Studies, 1(4), 405–435. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445699001004002
Schegloff, E. A. (2007). Sequence organization in interaction: A primer in conversation analysis (Vol. 1). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schegloff, E. A., Jefferson, G., & Sacks, H. (1977). The preference for self-correction in the organization of repair in conversation. Language, 53(2), 361–382. https://doi.org/10.2307/413107
Selting, M. (2012). Complaint stories and subsequent complaint stories with affect displays. Journal of Pragmatics, 44(4), 387–415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2012.01.005
Sidnell, J., & Stivers, T. (Eds.). (2013). The handbook of conversation analysis. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Siromaa, M. (2012). Resonance in conversational second stories: A dialogic resource for stance taking. Text & Talk, 32(4), 525–545. https://doi.org/10.1515/text-2012-0025
Terasaki, A. (2004). Pre-announcement sequences in conversation. In G. H. Lerner (Ed.), Conversation analysis: Studies from the first generation (pp. 172–223). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.125.11ter
Yu, C. (2012). Emotional display in argument, storytelling and teasing: A multimodal analysis (PhD dissertation). University of Oulu.
Downloads
Published
2019-11-12
Issue
Section
Editorial
How to Cite
Zhang, W., & Peng, X. (2019). Recipient questions as a strategy to launch second stories. East Asian Pragmatics, 4(2), 169-189. https://doi.org/10.1558/eap.36205
