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OKAY across Languages: Toward a comparative approach to its use in talk-in-interactionEdited by Emma Betz, Arnulf Deppermann, Lorenza Mondada and Marja-Leena Sorjonen
[Studies in Language and Social Interaction 34] 2021
► pp. 363–393
Edited by Emma Betz, Arnulf Deppermann, Lorenza Mondada and Marja-Leena Sorjonen
[Studies in Language and Social Interaction 34] 2021
► pp. 363–393
Chapter 12Coordination of OKAY, nods, and gaze in claiming understanding
and closing topics
Our paper examines how bodily behavior contributes to the local meaning of OKAY. We explore the interplay between OKAY as response to informings and narratives and accompanying multimodal resources in German multi-party interaction. Based on informal and institutional conversations, we describe three different uses of OKAY with falling intonation and the recurrent multimodal patterns that are associated with them and that can be characterized as ‘multimodal gestalts’. We show that: 1. OKAY as a claim to sufficient understanding is typically accompanied by upward nodding; 2. OKAY after change-of-state tokens exhibits a recurrent pattern of up- and downward nodding with distinctive timing; and 3. OKAY closing larger activities is associated with gaze-aversion from the prior speaker.
Keywords: nodding, gaze, multimodal, bodily conduct, object manipulation, understanding, closing, transition, change-of-state token, German
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 1.1Research on OKAY
- 1.2Research on gaze in responses
- 1.3Research on nodding in and as responses
- 1.4Data
- 2.OKAY as a claim to sufficient understanding
- 2.1OKAY as understanding claim in third position
- 2.2Responsive OKAY as understanding claim in larger sequences
- 3.OKAY after a change-of-state token
- 4.OKAY closing larger activities
- 5.Summary of findings
- 6.Conclusion
-
Notes
Cited by
Cited by 3 other publications
Gubina, Alexandra & Emma Betz
2021. What Do Newsmark-Type Responses Invite? The Response Space After German echt. Research on Language and Social Interaction 54:4 ► pp. 374 ff. 
Kosmala, Loulou, Céline Horgues & Sylwia Scheuer
2023. A Multimodal Study of How Pronunciation-Induced Communication Breakdowns are Managed During Tandem Interactions. Research in Language 21:3 ► pp. 291 ff.
Schirm, Sam, Budimka Uskokovic & Carmen Taleghani-Nikazm
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