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I S S U E N O . 56 [May 2015]
Peter Auer &
Jan Lindström
Left/right asymmetries
and the grammar of pre- vs. post-positioning in German and Swedish
talk-in-interaction
In
this paper, we argue that the suggested mirror-equivalence of ‘left-’ and
‘right-’ adjoined or -positioned constituents in syntax is misleading from
the point of view of Interactional Linguistics and needs to be replaced by a
positionally sensitive grammatical analysis, in which pre- and
post-positioning is seen in the context of the sequential unfolding of
conversation in time. We show this on the basis of various examples from
conversational German and Swedish. Our main empirical focus is on pre- and
post-positioned verba sentiendi expressions of the type
ich denke… or jag tror
(cf. English ‘I think’). A quantitative analysis shows that these
expressions have an uneven distribution in pre- and post-position, as well
as in different discourse genres. In a sequential analysis, we can see a
positionally sensitive differentiation with respect to syntactic integration
and interactional meaning, especially with reference to the dynamics of
stance taking and turn taking
Keywords:
epistemic stance, online syntax, positionally sensitive grammar, turn
construction, social interaction
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