Chapter 12. Do English affirmative polar interrogatives with any favor negative responses?

Abstract

In research on talk-in-interaction, English affirmative polar interrogatives with any have been argued to favor a negative response, with supporting data drawn largely from medical interactions. Considering a range of mundane interactional settings, we find that the response favored by an affirmative polar interrogative format with any varies according to the action it is being used to implement, to its sequential location, and – more generally – to what it will take to progress the sequence in that setting. In some cases, we find that the affirmative polar interrogative does not favor either a negative or affirmative response. Evidence for our claims comes from the type of response given and the format in which it delivered.