The interactional functions of the Korean response tokens kulehci and maca

Abstract

This study applies conversation analysis to examine a collection of naturally occurring telephone calls to examine how Korean speakers differentiate their use of kulehci and maca in social interactions in which they exchange information or opinions. When they occur as freestanding tokens or are prefaced by a ‘yes’-type token (e.g., ung and e), kulehci serves to indicate its producer’s lack of ability or rights to fully affiliate with a stance conveyed in a prior turn, whereas maca displays its producer’s ability or rights to fully endorse. In the case of kulehci and maca accompanied by the same speaker’s additional talk, kulehci tokens are routinely followed by a reformulation of the prior speaker’s talk, while maca tokens are followed by the addition of a new piece of information or opinion to an ongoing topic.