Chapter published in:
Between Turn and Sequence: Turn-initial particles across languages
Edited by John Heritage and Marja-Leena Sorjonen
[Studies in Language and Social Interaction 31] 2018
► pp. 251–286

Reformulating prior speaker’s turn in Finnish

Turn-initial siis, eli(kkä), and nii(n) et(tä)

| University of Helsinki
This chapter examines the Finnish particles siis, eli(kkä) and nii(n) et(tä) when they occupy the turn-initial position. The chapter focuses on the use of these particles when they preface a single type of action, a reformulation of the prior speaker’s turn or more extended stretch of talk. In contrast to reformulations without a prefacing particle, the particles are used for contextualizing the turn by displaying their speaker’s stance vis-à-vis the action being done. It will be shown that while the prefaces share a range of characteristics, most importantly making an explicit link to the prior talk and projecting a reformulation to come, each of them displays a distinctive epistemic stance (e.g. degree of certainty; basis of the reformulation). The chapter sets the turn-initial use of the particles in relation to their other types of usages and etymology.
Keywords: turn-initial particle, turn preface, reformulation of prior talk, candidate understanding, anaphoric link, stance taking, epistemic stance, Finnish, particle siis , particle eli(kkä) , particle nii(n) et(tä)
Published online: 19 July 2018
https://doi.org/10.1075/slsi.31.09sor
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