Conjunctions and interactivity of spoken discourses
Yao Shuangyu · 2015
This paper,based on a large-scale corpus,investigates the interactivity of 71 commonly used conjunctions in spoken Chinese discourses.The results reveal the function of the conjunctions as the parameter in their impact upon the interactivity of spoken interactions.A positive correlation is observed between the occurrence frequency of conjunctions and the interactivity of spoken discourses.Among different types of spoken discourses,the higher the degree of interactivity regarding the discourse,the higher frequency of conjunctions is found.The placement of conjunctions is rather flexible in spoken interactions.They occur in the initial,middle,and/or the final positions of a turn,serving respectively as the turn-opening,turn-keeping,and turn-transforming elements.A comparison is also made in the distribution of the conjunctions in spoken and written data,with the result showing that the occurrence frequency in this regard in spoken discourse is obviously higher than that in written texts.