Enabling Elaboration and Offering Candidate Understandings. Finnish Turn-Final vai ‘or’ in Requests for Confirmation

Abstract

Abstract Like many other languages, in Finnish the alternative conjunction vai (‘or’) can be used in a turn-final position without the presence of an (explicit) alternative. This article discusses the contribution of turn-final vai ‘or’ in requests for confirmation. It argues that there are two main contexts of use. The forward-looking vai-turn seeks confirmation for something that is not based on the previous talk. In this case, vai marks the content of the question as merely one possible alternative. In backward-looking use, the vai-turn offers an interpretation of something that was implied in the previous talk and typically contrasts with a previously held, alternative assumption. The former type enables a (dis)confirmation with elaboration, whereas the latter type makes relevant a (dis)confirmation with minimal specification/explanation. The study contributes to the cross-linguistic research on turn-final particles and specifically, the particle ‘or’.