Conversational coherence: The role of
                    well

Deborah Schiffrin

doi:10.2307/414389

journal article Sep 01, 1985

Conversational coherence: The role of well

Deborah Schiffrin

Language Vol. 61 No. 3 pp. 640-667 · Cambridge University Press (CUP)

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Abstract

Conversational coherence is a coöperative enterprise in which speaker and hearer jointly negotiate (a) a focus of attention—a referent—and (b) a response which further selects what aspect(s) of that referent will be attended to. Because not all potential referents can be attended to simultaneously, discourse markers like
well
help speakers locate themselves and their utterances in the on-going construction of discourse. Analysis of everyday talk shows that
well
anchors a speaker in a system of conversational exchange when the options which a prior referent has opened for upcoming coherence are not fully met. Thus
well
is sensitive to the information structure of questions, answers, the underlying conditions of requests, and various participation shifts in talk.

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Published: Sep 01, 1985
Vol/Issue: 61(3)
Pages: 640-667
License: View

Authors

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Deborah Schiffrin

Cite This Article

Deborah Schiffrin (1985). Conversational coherence: The role of well. Language, 61(3), 640-667. https://doi.org/10.2307/414389

Conversational coherence: The role of well

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