And-prefaced questions in institutional discourse

Bibliographic Data

ID7913271
AuthorsKeiji Matsumoto (0000-0003-1235-655X, corresponding author), Kazuko Matsumoto
Year1999
Volume37
Issue2
Publication date1999-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLinguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0024-3949 • E-ISSN: 1613-396X
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/ling.37.2.251
OpenAlexW2072704079
LanguageEN
Citations received7

This paper presents a pragmatic account of and , a conjunction that iscommonly used by professional questioners as a question preface in institutional interactions. Based on some linguistic features characteristic of and -prefaced yes/no questions, it is argued that and -prefacing serves two main functions. It underscores a link to the anaphoric discourse (e.g. juxtaposition), thereby grouping the conjoined propositions as a coherent package of information (e.g. one conveying an argument in cross-examination) in a succession of Q–A sequences. More importantly, it underscores the questioner's skewed orientation toward the affirmative polarity of an answer. It is proposed that the frequent use of and -prefaced questions in institutional discourse may be attributed to three factors: (a) its structural organization, which is predominantly characterized by Q–A sequences with no alternation of the questioner–answerer roles between the interactants; (b) the professional questioner's prior knowledge of the answers, which seems maximal in courtroom settings; and (c) the primary recipients of the answers, that is, a third party other than the questioner not directly participating in the interaction (e.g. the jury)

Alternation (linguistics) · Argument (complex analysis) · Conjunction (astronomy) · Jury · Linguistics · Political science · Sociology · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Law · linguistics and terminology studies · Philosophy · Psychology

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