Question sequences in English TED Talks

Bibliographic Data

ID21226809
AuthorsMichele Cardo (Université Paris Cité), Agnès Celle (0000-0002-7604-2659, Université Paris Cité)
Year2025
Volume11
Issues2
Pages171-180
Publication date2025-12-25
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueLinguistics Vanguard (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2199-174X • E-ISSN: 2199-174X
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/lingvan-2025-0027
OpenAlexW4410834660
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited27

Questions are used across discourse settings for a variety of purposes. The meaning and use of questions has been extensively studied in discourse types which feature multiple conversation participants. However, much research remains to be conducted on the function of questions in discourse settings which feature one main speaker, such as TED Talks. The current study is an attempt to fill that gap. We examine a corpus of 18 English TED Talks to understand how sequential questions fit into the larger discursive context of presentational speech. We argue that question sequences are used by TED speakers primarily to evoke salience and simulate interaction between the speaker and addressee. The salient use of question sequences reflects a level of monologue which is inherent in TED Talks due to the single-speaker presentational format. Concurrently, the interactive potential created by question sequences indicates that TED Talks contain some level of dialogue. Therefore, the analysis of salient and interactive question sequences calls into question the discourse classification of TED Talks along monologic–dialogic lines. Rather than prescribe a strict monologic classification of TED Talks, we argue that TED Talks should be considered to be in a discourse category which incorporates elements of dialogue in monologue

Linguistics · Mathematics education · Computer Science · Digital Communication and Language · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Philosophy · Psychology

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