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Programme: accepted abstracts

Abstract ID: 755

Part of General Paper Session (Other abstracts in this session)

Question-Answer Sequences in English Conversation and Japanese Conversation: From a perspective of Intercultural Communication Skills

Authors: Shigemitsu, Yuka
Submitted by: Shigemitsu, Yuka (Tokyo Polytechnic University, Japan)

The purpose of the presentation is to analyze question-answer sequences in English and Japanese conversation to investigate how questions facilitate the conversation in each language and to see if there is any pragmatic difference in English and Japanese. Question-answer sequences constitute adjacency pairs and questions can be used to select next speaker. ’Questions have special forms contrasted with declarative forms and are used to elicit information from other participants in conversations to activate interactive conversation. The answer part is expected to have appropriate quality and quantity in accordance with the questions. On the other hand, question and answer sequences in natural conversations are not culture free. Therefore, expected amount of answer and structure of answer also varies from culture to culture. Moreover, the boundary between the question showing interest and the question which sounds nosy varies from culture to culture. Shigemitsu (2011) reports that American participants more often asked questions during conversations, comparing Japanese participants and American participants. The follow-up interviews revealed that the Americans did not have a good impression of his Japanese interactions. He felt that the Japanese participants were not cooperative and he could not build rapport with them.

Question-answer sequences may be approached from the three perspectives of ‘structure’, ‘amount of information’ and ‘politeness.’ The conversational data used for analysis include the three inner circle varieties of British, American and Australian Englishes and three Japanese. All participants are male and did not meet each other prior to recording. The participants in each conversational data are three. The research questions are as follows. RQ1:  Does a question function as a next speaker selection? RQ2: What kind of questions are appropriate in conversations in each language and when should they be asked during conversation?  RQ3: Is an expected amount of answer different in each language? Then the focus shifts to the research of mono-cultural conversation. The analysis reveals that in inner-circle English most of the questions are asked to the target participants and the question functions as a next speaker selection. As for the question forms, the question types of ‘what-do-you-think…?’ ‘why…?’ ‘how…?’ are often used. Using WH question forms, the asker try to ask the target participant for his opinion. The answer starts from the conclusion first which directly answers and then the detailed stories follow. Questions are asked to seek a topic to share. On the contrary, in Japanese conversation, the questions are not sometimes asked to a target participant. The asker sometimes implies that he has a question in order to avoid being rude. The follow-up interview with the participants reveal that asking question is not polite in conversations, participants are sensitive to asking questions. Thus question-answer sequences in Japanese conversation shows different aspect from the English conversation. These research findings have important implications for English language teaching and learning, as well as for intercultural communication.

Yuka Shigemitsu (2011, July) Different Paths to Co-constructing Topic Development in Japanese and English : Function of Questions in Conversation. IPrA 12, Manchester, UK.