Exploring aizuchi as resources in Japanese social interaction: The case of a political discussion program

Abstract

This report stresses the importance of short listener responses known as aizuchi (commonly translated as “back-channels”) to speakers of Japanese, although it adopts a perspective not often used in prior research. While previous studies have typically conceived of aizuchi as signals of support, encouragement, and/or agreement, the analysis presented here, based on transcripts of videotaped interaction from a Japanese political discussion program entitled Gekiron: Asa made nama terebi (“Fiery debate: Live TV until morning”), suggests that aizuchi may function, at least in some contexts, as more versatile interactional resources. Adopting a sequential analysis most commonly associated with the perspective of conversation analysis, the analysis first demonstrates that aizuchi can be used by the program's participants to select themselves as the recipients of others’ talk. Then, focusing primarily on the role of the program's moderator, the analysis suggests that aizuchi, specifically because they allow participants to choose themselves as recipients, provide the moderator with the access to the floor necessary to distribute turns at talk to the program's many-numbered panelists. Finally, the significance of aizuchi on the program is discussed in terms of the interface between Japanese social interaction and culture.