Verb repetition as a template for reactive tokens in Japanese everyday talk

Abstract A systematic investigation into the first large scale Japanese conversation corpus reveals that repeated verbs (RVs) occurring in the response position tend to involve frequently used verbs such as aru ‘to exist’ and chigau ‘to differ’ (e.g., aru aru aru). Further, longer RVs, those involving more repetition, are even more likely to occur with frequent verbs. In RVs, we find the verb having lost some of its lexical meaning and phonological substance (e.g., chigau > chiga). RVs in fact behave more like pragmatic particles functioning as reactive tokens, i.e., short responses interjected by non-main speakers. RVs as reactive tokens are most clearly observed when they are used together with standard reactive tokens such as hai hai hai hai ‘yes, yes, yes, yes’, so(o) so(o) so(o) ‘yes, yes, yes’, and (i)ya (i)ya (i)ya ‘no, no, no’, which also exhibit repetition and phonological reduction. Verb repetition is thus better understood as a template to turn verbs into reactive tokens.