Turn-taking Marker Study Based On Musical-notation-styled Transliteration

Turn-taking is the core issue in the field of conversation analysis theory and a common linguistic phenomenon in daily life. The article, based on real language materials from recorded daily conversations, researches the turn-taking signs in Chinese conversations, by transliterating recorded language in a musical-notation-style.In the fields of applied linguistics (especially conversation analysis), second language teaching and oral corpus construction, it tends to be more and more popular to collect the oral language on scene and transliterating it into texts. However, there are few discussions about what kind of transliterating method and signs it uses, what the signs express, and in what degree the result tells the original language. Traditional transliterating method has following shortcomings:1. Indirect2. Oversigned3. Tedious way of multilateral talks' transliteratingWe raise the idea of transliterating recorded language in a musical-notation-style to solve those problems and find a easy way suitable to the characteristics of Chinese language. The music-notation-styled transliteration notes the language materiel horizontally by vocal parts as a real musical notation. Its layers are based on the necessity of transliterating signs. Every single speaker has a line. There are words where there are sounds, and spaces mean there is no sound. The blank in space represents the soundless moment. Overlapped lines represent overlapped words. Compared with the traditional method, musical-notation-styled transliteration is:1. It can put saying orders, overlapped words, and interruptions, responds directly.2. The marker system is more scientific. Different sign layers fit different research aims, which can simplify transliteration processes, and improve the effectiveness.3. Multilateral talks can be more concisely transliterated. Based on the horizontal way noting vocal parts, musical-notation-styled method can easily presents multilateral talks without using complicated signs.We transliterate the 31 recorded linguistic materials into texts in the way of music-notation-styled transliteration and analyze them. The result shows that end markers of turns include implied and displayed; start markers include answers and conjunctions. Displayed end markers include specific ones as questions, addresses, imperatives, etc. Listeners are asked to start own his turn and they have to; otherwise the conversational communication will be not fluent. Personal compulsive purpose decides the turn-taking has to be completed. Implied end markers include swing signs as length, strength, pause; word sings as "this", "this kind", "that kind"; syntax signs as inverted sentence order, inverted parentheses order and inverted word order, which imply that listeners can start a new turn without compulsion. It attaches importance to listeners' subjective participating awareness, which further embodies conversational interaction. The existence of swing markers is decided by the physical breathing. Others are decided by personal non-compulsive purpose. As a start marker, answers include affirmation, negation, question, repeating, laughing, etc. Conjunctions express sequences, transition, causes and effects, etc. Situated after end markers, they can not only keep politeness in a conversation but also insure to control the conversation so as to keep the influence of turn-taking. Start markers are absentable due to the turn-taking itself and are imabsentable due to the social relationship of participants. When former speakers do not send out end markers and next speakers want to get the turn, interruption happens. Interruption needs increased volume. The attitude of interrupted speakers decides whether other items are needed. Researches on turn-taking help understand better characteristics and rules of Chinese turn-taking and conversational communication. It further complements conversation analysis and discourse analysis theory, promotes the development of pragmatics and communication linguistics. It helps TCFL objects get familiar to and master sounds, words and language using strategy in daily conversation. It helps them know more about how Chinese is actually used so as to increase communication ability. It also provides certain references on man-machine conversation theory and data.