Backchannel forms and functions in context and culture: The use of backchannels in Arab media discourse

Abstract

Forms and functions of verbal backchannels, that is, short tokens such as uh-huh, yeah, and mhm uttered by a listener to the main speaker – have been widely investigated in conversation analysis. Few studies have examined the use of backchannels in Arabic culture, particularly in the context of media discourse. This study stresses the importance of contextualizing the forms and functions of backchannels. Five Arabic television discussions were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively to determine the used forms and functions of backchannels. The findings demonstrated that backchannels were used mainly by presenters, and rarely by guests, as they control interactions. The results further revealed that, similar to other cultures and contexts, non-lexical backchannels were most frequently used because of their minimal interference in the discourse of the main speakers. A major finding of this study is the presenters’ use of tayeb in Arabic, which is equivalent to alright in English, to regain the floor from the guest speaker and change the topic to address another guest. Backchannels are essential for maintaining cooperation in a variety of interactions and in various cultures. Backchannel universality, ease of use, and significance make them an important topic for further investigation in all cultures, particularly Arabic ones.