A Conversation Analytic Study Of Question-Response Sequence In Mandarin Chinese

Question-response sequence,commonly known as a linguistic paired organization,has been exerting its significant influence in talk-in-interactions of Mandarin Chinese.Extensive research has been conducted from the perspectives of syntax,pragmatics and language teaching etc.both home and abroad.The present study adopts Conversation Analysis as its research method,since CA provides a coherent approach to the study of questions and their responses through the observation of daily conversations in social interaction.The primary research tools provided by the CA method are,among others,turn and turn design,adjacency pair and sequence organization,preference organization and epistemic engine.Guided by the basic concepts and procedures of doing CA,the first step of my research has been the collection of audio recordings in daily natural interaction.In this process,question-response sequence in mundane daily conversations are observed and explored comprehensively.Then the data are transcribed in terms of the transcription conventions established by Gail Jefferson in order to truthfully display social order that is hidden behind the linguistic practice.This research is focused on question design,social actions implemented through question types,and response design in Chinese Mandarin everyday interactions from the perspective of Conversation Analysis.Specifically,the present study attempts to provide an authentic and sequential observation of questions and responses in Mandarin Chinese.Based on 721 questions and their responses found in more than 500 minutes audio-recorded telephone calls,this thesis aims to examine questions and responses in interaction the following research object through data analysis: firstly,it expounds question types and constraints imposed by these question types.With reference to Chinese grammar,questions are categorized into three sub-types in terms of syntactic construction: polar question,Q-word question and alternative question.Various forms of questions are designed to implement constraints,which include presupposition,agenda,preference and epistemic gradient.Then,in addition to seeking information,questions are designed to perform other social actions.It is found that repair initiation,requesting confirmation,request,offer and proposal are common social actions as well achieved through question design.Furthermore,response design is closely observed and analyzed which is divided into answer response,non-answer response and no response in naturally occurring daily conversation.