Agreement, acknowledgment, and alignment: The discourse-pragmatic functions of hao and dui in Taiwan Mandarin conversation

Abstract

This study draws on Relevance Theory (Sperber and Wilson, 1986/1995), Conversation Analysis (Sacks et al., 1974), and Politeness Theory (Brown and Levinson, 1987) in investigating a full range of discourse functions for hao and dui with reference to recurrent patterns, distributions, and forms of organization in a large corpus of talk. Special emphasis is placed on a comparison of hao and dui in combination with a small subset of discourse particles: in particular hao/hao le/ hao la/hao a/hao ba and dui/dui a/dui le in spoken discourse. We find that both of the markers signal special sequential relatedness in talk and carry information which is relevant in determining the boundaries of conversational exchange. However, in interaction hao is used for expressing acceptance of the other speaker’s move or act, whereas dui conveys acknowledgment of the propositional content of the utterance produced by the other speaker.

Integrating conversation analysis and issue framing to illuminate collaborative decision-making activities

“…The second move is often referred to as an 'assessment' in CA. Assessments and assessment sequences have been extensively examined, both in and out of decisionmaking contexts (Davidson, 1984;Goodwin, 1986;Goodwin, 1987, 1992;McKinlay and McVittie, 2006;Maynard, 1984;Pomerantz, 1978Pomerantz, , 1984Sacks, 1987;Sacks et al, 1974;Schegloff, 1987;Wang et al, 2010;Wasson, 2000). When multiple participants in an interaction voice their assessments of some topic, they construct either agreement with each other or disagreement.…”

Therapists’ Expressions of Agreement in Therapeutic Conversations With Chinese Children With ASD: Strategies, Sequential Positions and Functions

“…In this example, “ haode ” (ok) reflects the therapist’s positive feedback in relation to the child’s answer. In addition, this indicates that the child can either continue the conversation or start a new sequence ( Wang et al, 2010 ).…”

“…In terms of linking functions, “ hao ” is often used as a marker of closure or transition indicating discourse boundaries, while “ dui ” marks the continuity of conversation. As for the positive response functions, “ hao ” is used to express acceptance of the other speaker’s act or utterance, whereas “ dui ” conveys acknowledgment of the propositional content of the utterance produced by other speakers ( Wang et al, 2010 ).…”

The Pragmatic Functions and the Translatability of “Ťayib” in Jordanian Spoken Arabic

“…That is to say, they aim to design the previous turn in order to be responsive as well as to shape the next turn. WANG, Tsai, Goodman and MENG (2010) found that Okay in Taiwan Mandarin is used to show acceptance or agreement with the other speaker's move or act. In this sense, Okay occurs at the beginning of the turn.…”

“…However, when it is employed within a turn, it finishes the topic. Overall, Okay can be employed to mark boundary exchanges; to signal the relatedness of the current utterance to the previous one, and to show whether the turn is still available (WANG et al, 2010). Schegloff and Sacks (1973) also explained that Okay is used as a pre-closing statement to close the conversation.…”