Edited by Geoffrey Raymond, Gene H. Lerner and John Heritage
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 273] 2017
► pp. 145–166
In this article we explore the situated meanings of two acknowledgment tokens, ung and e, in Korean conversations. We demonstrate how ung and e, which may seem interchangeable at first sight, can actually be deployed for distinct interactional functions by marking different interactional orientations the speaker has toward the turn-so-far. Specifically, ung is used as a typical continuer that treats the turn-so-far as an in-progress multi-unit turn, whereas e is used to provide the speaker’s appreciation which has been made relevant by the turn-so-far, e.g., in response to the prior assessment, the newsworthiness of the preceding talk, or particularly emphasized telling. This article thus adds evidence that acknowledgment tokens do not behave in interaction as an undifferentiated class.