Nodding as a marker of affiliation: A comparative analysis of Japanese and English conversations
| Panel: | P44 - Vocal and visual practices of minimal response |
| Author: | Aoki, Hiromi |
| Abstract: | |
| Stivers (2008) was the first CA study to exclusively focus on the phenomenon of nodding in English. My study examines nodding in Japanese to see how it differs from that described by Stivers. According to Stivers, there is a clear division of labor between nodding and vocal response tokens in English: nodding serves to display affiliation while vocal response tokens are continuers. In Japanese, nodding and vocal response tokens (nn) do not correspond to display of affiliations and continuers, respectively. Rather, affiliation is conveyed when these tokens are produced in prosodically or kinetically enhanced forms. Prolonged nn and the succession of nn plus nods allow recipients to display their affiliation. In contrast, the single nn and/or single nod function effectively as continuers. The division of labor here is not between two modes of interaction (nonverbal and verbal) but between the amounts of multimodal material being used. Nodding that responds to the speaker’s stance display is positioned either at possible completion points or at clausal boundaries in mid-telling positions in Stivers’ English data. In contrast, nodding in Japanese is positioned as soon as the speaker’s stance is displayed without waiting for a possible completion point or clause boundary, and the speaker continues talking. As a result, the speaker’s talk and recipient’s nodding often occur simultaneously; recipients do not take a turn to nod. Finally, Japanese nodding is treated as an adequate response at telling completion while in English, nodding is avoided as a final response at story completion (Stivers 2008). Additionally, speakers and recipients in Japanese often nod to each other at topic/sequence completion before they move on to a new topic/sequence. |
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