Display of concession: Maa-Prefaced responses to polar questions in Japanese conversation

Abstract

This study offers an empirical analysis of the Japanese turn-initial particle maa in the framework of Conversation Analysis. Maa is one of the most used turn-initial particles in colloquial Japanese, and it is typically listed in dictionaries as an interjection meaning “passably,” “probably,” or “for now” (cf., Fukada-Karlin, 2002). A growing body of Conversation Analytic research shows that turn-initial particles primarily signal a speaker's stance toward the prior turn. This study focuses particularly on maa-prefaced turns as responses to polar questions. By asking a question, people generally seek information, confirmation, or agreement. In other words, a question poses constraints on what its addressee is expected to do in the next turn. Based on the analyses of non-institutional conversations, this study shows how the turn-initial particle maa serves to signal a speaker's concessive stance toward a preceding polar question that requests confirmation or seeks agreement. The present study also argues that speakers can respond to a polar question with maa-prefaced turns to negotiate the degree to which they are committed to an action being performed with their turns.