Syntactically incomplete turns as delicate actions— A way to manage interpersonal relationships

Abstract

This article investigates the use of syntactically incomplete turns (henceforth, SITs) to deliver two types of delicate actions, namely negatively assessing non-present third parties and teasing co-participants, in everyday interaction. Based on an examination of approximately 16 h of Mandarin face-to-face conversations, this study identifies the specific sequential environments that house these types of SITs and make the action(s) that these SITs accomplish become recognizable by recipients. Analysis also reveals that by abandoning the turns where the derogatory remarks or comments are due, the speakers orient to the criticism of others behind their back as well as the intentional provocation of the tease directed at co-participants as delicate. We argue that incompletion of a turn is not random, but systematically designed to manage interpersonal relationships between interlocutors.