Abstract
AbstractThe German second person personal pronounduis commonly described as a deictic “shifter” or a T-address term, which is incorporated as an argument of a predicate. Exploring the ways in which participants use pronouns in everyday interaction, however, shows that these are not the only uses ofdu. In this paper, we examine vocative uses ofduin German everyday interaction. Drawing on methods of Conversation Analysis and Interactional Linguistics, we will show that speakers use vocativedufor the management of being ‘with’ the other in terms of alignment as well as affiliation. Whatdulocally accomplishes, however, is sensitive to its positioning within the temporal unfolding of turns and sequences as well as to the sequential environments in which it is used. Our findings demonstrate the context-sensitivity ofduand underscore the importance of linguistic resources for the interactional establishment and maintenance of social togetherness and sociability.
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