When one question is not enough

The import of a second question in information seeking

Authors

  • Zhen Li Ocean University of China
  • Feng Li Shanxi University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/eap.40997

Keywords:

self-initiated same-turn repair, information seeking, interactional import, solidarity

Abstract

Information seeking is pervasive in ordinary conversation as well as institutional interaction. When seeking information from co-participants, interactants mobilise a variety of practices that are deemed as appropriate or effective under each circumstance. Initiating repair, namely, affixing another question to the first one in the present study, is one of those frequently used practices. With this practice, the speaker can correct a factual error, i.e. an error that is opposite to the fact, in his/her talk. In most cases in our data, however, the interactant initiates a repair just to ‘fine-tune’ his/her question which seems to be unproblematic. Based on a corpus of 74 cases in Mandarin daily conversation, we, from a conversation analysis perspective, analyse 5 kinds of situations in which one question is added to another in the same turn. By appending another question to the prior one, the speaker can tacitly seek the particularly required information and hence promote intersubjectivity and affiliation between interactants and maintain social solidarity as a whole.

Author Biographies

  • Zhen Li, Ocean University of China

    Zhen Li is now doing her PhD programme at College of Foreign Languages, Ocean University of China under the guidance of Professor Guodong Yu. Her research interest is conversation analysis.

  • Feng Li, Shanxi University

    Feng Li is an associate professor at School of Foreign Languages, Shanxi University, China. She attained her PhD from Henan University. Her interests are conversation analysis and foreign language teaching.

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Published

2020-11-16

How to Cite

Li, Z., & Li, F. (2020). When one question is not enough: The import of a second question in information seeking. East Asian Pragmatics, 5(3), 373-394. https://doi.org/10.1558/eap.40997