Prosody and grammar of other-repetitions in Finnish: Repair initiations, registerings, and affectivity

Abstract

We examine how other-repetitions in Finnish are used for repairing interactional problems in hearing and understanding and for registering what another has just said, describing how prosody and grammar interact in accomplishing these goals. In the repair-initiating repetitions, the pitch contours build a continuum of different degrees of falling pitch from moderate to steep, the latter being associated with some type of an affective stance. In the registering repetitions, the pitch fall is generally narrower than in the repair-initiations, the pitch span of the repetition turn typically matching that of the original turn. A notable feature of other-repetitions in Finnish is the use of particles (mostly ai and vai), which deal specifically with the informational aspects of other-repetitions, thus contributing to the design of both repair-initiating and registering repetitions. The article illustrates the complex layering of actions that Finnish as a ‘particle language’ affords. (Conversation analysis, other-repetition, prosody, grammar, Finnish, repair, registering, affectivity, response particle)

Extending sequences of other-initiated repair in Finnish conversation

“…One important dimension of other-initiations of repair is that different initiations typically deal with different types of trouble (Haakana et al 2016, see also Sidnell 2010, Benjamin 2013. Partial repeats are particularly used in Finnish conversations when the problem concerns the acceptability of the co-participant's turn (Kurhila & Lilja 2017, Stevanovic, Hakulinen & Vatanen 2020. Different trouble types yield different remedies: in the case of auditory problems, a repetition of the original turn often resolves the problem.…”