The conversation-organising role of the non-lexical sound öö in Hungarian

Abstract

The non-lexical schwa-like sound öö is traditionally regarded as a hesitation marker in Hungarian conversation that has a role in speech planning. This study provides examples in which öö can be analysed as a discourse marker. In research on discourse markers, there is a view that regards items that control the turn-taking system or other aspects of conversation management as discourse markers. Relying on this background, this paper explores öö from a conversation analytic perspective. Findings show that öö can serve as a device to take the floor at the transition-relevance place. In overlapping speech, öö can manage turn-taking by helping speakers keep the floor. If the speaker intends or needs to speak but does not yet know what to say or intends to avoid unintelligibility during overlapping speech, she can deploy öö as an overt but non-lexical element that projects further talk. Consequently, by using öö the speaker can claim or keep the turn space without using lexical elements. Since these functions influence the distribution of turns among participants, i.e. the sequential structure of the conversation, öö can be regarded as a discourse marker in these contexts.