Nodding, aizuchi, and final particles in Japanese conversation: How conversation reflects the ideology of communication and social relationships

Abstract

It has been noted that Japanese differs markedly from languages like English and Mandarin in the use of head nods and aizuchis (short utterances roughly equivalent to English “uh huh” and “yeah”). In Japanese conversation, such behaviors are extremely frequent, and their placement is often unexpected from the viewpoint of speakers of languages like English and Mandarin. For example, these behaviors often occur in non-transition relevant places. Sometimes aizuchis can even be uttered by the turn-holder. In such cases, the conventional technical terms such as “back-channel”, “continuer”, and “reactive token” are hardly applicable. Furthermore, the turn-holder often actively elicits aizuchis from the listener. Final particles, which are very frequent in spoken discourse, play an important role in the elicitation. Finally, there is a discussion of how the Japanese ideology of communication and social relationships may provide motivations for the above phenomena.