Prosody as a resource in children's game explanations: Some aspects of turn construction and recipiency

Abstract

The article investigates prosodic features of turn design as a resource for the conversational organization of game explanations. Different pitch contours were found to function as turn-holding and turn-ending devices, and they also make different response activities relevant; turn constructional units with final rising-to-mid pitch project more-to-come, and that no response activity is expected; turn constructional units with final high-pitch signal the potential continuation of a turn but also create sequential positions for minimal response activities such as continuers that do not count as full turns. Turn constructional units with final falling-to-mid pitch signal turn-ending and thus make more elaborate response activities likely. In addition, different pitch contours are used as major devices for the composition of compound units that contain pieces of information about the game and correspond to steps in the game, making the explanation easier to follow for recipients. It is thus the aim of the study to show how prosodic features of turn design function as important tools to organize the step-by-step transition of knowledge in game explanations. The study is based on game explanations produced by children from the age of 6 to 9 in different interactional settings.