Response particles in Mandarin conversation
Interplay of function and prosody
This study examines three major response particles, o/ou, en, and a in Mandarin
conversation. Using the framework of interactional linguistics, this study examines the actions implemented by these particles and
their associated prosodic patterns. It discovers that, while these three particles have shared functions, they show interactional
nuances that allow for more fine-grained actions. It also reveals that different particles tend to have a similar prosodic design
when they implement the same action. This study sheds light on the detailed workings of these particles both prosodically and
interactionally in Mandarin speakers’ everyday conversation, contributing a specific case to further cross-linguistic
comparison.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Background
- 2.1Prosody and function in interaction
- 2.2Mandarin response particles
- 3.Data and methods
- 4.Response particles: Functions and prosodic patterns
- 4.1
o/ou
哦/噢
- 4.2
en
嗯
- 4.3
a
啊
- 5.Discussion
- 6.Conclusion
- Note
- The abbreviations used in the word-by-word glossing line are as follows
-
References