{"title":"Indicating Difficulty in Describing Something in Words: The Use of Koo in Word Searches in Japanese Talk-in-Interaction","authors":"Shuya Kushida, Makoto Hayashi","doi":"10.1080/08351813.2022.2026170","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This study explores how the lexical hesitator koo is used to initiate or continue word searches in Japanese talk-in-interaction. The word koo (“like this,” “in this manner”) is canonically used as a proximal demonstrative adverb of manner, often accompanied by a depicting gesture. We argue that because of its continuity with the canonical use, the hesitator koo (a) projects a descriptive term as a possible search outcome, and (b) indicates difficulty in describing in words what the speaker wants to say. In addition to initiating or continuing a search, the hesitator koo provides information about the type and nature of the resolution of search, thereby enhancing the intersubjectivity of the search process. This study contributes to our understanding of the organization of self-initiated same-turn repair by identifying the function of a particular lingistic resource used for it. Data are in Japanese with English translation.","PeriodicalId":51484,"journal":{"name":"Research on Language and Social Interaction","volume":"55 1","pages":"59 - 78"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Research on Language and Social Interaction","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08351813.2022.2026170","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"COMMUNICATION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
ABSTRACT This study explores how the lexical hesitator koo is used to initiate or continue word searches in Japanese talk-in-interaction. The word koo (“like this,” “in this manner”) is canonically used as a proximal demonstrative adverb of manner, often accompanied by a depicting gesture. We argue that because of its continuity with the canonical use, the hesitator koo (a) projects a descriptive term as a possible search outcome, and (b) indicates difficulty in describing in words what the speaker wants to say. In addition to initiating or continuing a search, the hesitator koo provides information about the type and nature of the resolution of search, thereby enhancing the intersubjectivity of the search process. This study contributes to our understanding of the organization of self-initiated same-turn repair by identifying the function of a particular lingistic resource used for it. Data are in Japanese with English translation.
期刊介绍:
The journal publishes the highest quality empirical and theoretical research bearing on language as it is used in interaction. Researchers in communication, discourse analysis, conversation analysis, linguistic anthropology and ethnography are likely to be the most active contributors, but we welcome submission of articles from the broad range of interaction researchers. Published papers will normally involve the close analysis of naturally-occurring interaction. The journal is also open to theoretical essays, and to quantitative studies where these are tied closely to the results of naturalistic observation.