Multi-Question Turns in English Conversation

Abstract

Among many sentence types, questions perform a variety sequential structures and functions in discourse. In doing questioning, speakers observe certain rules such as producing one question in one turn, and one answer in one turn, a question expects an answer, and the answer is usually provided in the immediately next turn, and so on. However, not all questions observe such rules in conversation. This research explores patterns and some aspects of interactional sequences of multi-question turns through an analysis of English conversation. It first classifies multi-question turns into two broad categories: (i) consecutive multi-questions in a single turn, and (ii) discontinuous multi-questions in a single turn. This study also examines multi-question turns in terms of adjacency, showing that adjacency is well observed between questions and answers in multi-question turns when questions occur at the end of the turn. This research also explores interactional sequences and motivations which are responsible for the occurrence of multi-question turns: (i) the current speaker's turn continuation and lack of recipient uptake, (ii) repair, especially, elaboration repair, (iii) seeking confirmation, (iv) checking understanding, and (v) signaling the current speaker's emotional attitudes or stance. Finally, this research suggests that interaction-based research on multi-question turns in their sequential contexts can provide a better way of understanding social actions reflected in the use of multi-question turns in communicative contexts.