In:Enabling Human Conduct: Studies of talk-in-interaction in honor of Emanuel A. Schegloff
Edited by Geoffrey Raymond, Gene H. Lerner and John Heritage
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 273] 2017
► pp. 61–77
Inferring the purpose of a prior query and responding accordingly
Published online: 24 May 2017
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.273.04pom
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.273.04pom
The paper analyzes how recipients infer the purpose of a prior query. While such inferences are not directly observable, analyzing responses to queries sheds light on ways in which recipients likely understood them. The paper identifies three types of sequences in which recipients respond to the inferred purpose of the prior query. To infer a purpose of a query, recipients draw on the form of the query, the immediately prior interaction, and assumedly shared knowledge about the current situation. It concludes with a discussion of the relationship between inferring the purpose of a prior query and participants’ pervasively addressing the question ‘why that now’.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Data and methods
- 3.Analysis
- 3.1Sequence Type 1: Inferred purpose of a yes/no or fixed choice question is to seek an explanation
- Example 1
- Example 2
- Example 3
- 3.2Sequence Type 2: Inferred purpose of a request for confirmation is seeking response to an associated query
- Example 4
- Example 5
- 3.3Sequence Type 3: Inferred purpose of an open query is seeking information about a specific matter
- Example 6
- 4.Discussion
Notes References
References (15)
Clayman, Steven E. 1993. "Reformulating the Question: A Device for Answering/Not Answering Questions in News Interviews and Press Conferences." Text 3 (2): 159–188.
Heritage, John. 2013. "Epistemics in Conversation." In The Handbook of Conversation Analysis, ed. by Jack Sidnell and Tanya Stivers, 370–394. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Jefferson, Gail. 1980. "On 'Trouble-Premonitory' Response to Inquiry." Sociological Inquiry 50 (3–4): 153–185.
Koshik, I. 2002. "A Conversation Analytic Study of Yes/No Questions which Convey Reversed Polarity Assertions." Journal of Pragmatics 34 (12): 1851–1877.
Lee, Seung-Hee. 2011. "Responding at a Higher Level: Activity Progressivity in Calls for Service." Journal of Pragmatics 43: 904–917.
. 2013. "Response Design in Conversation." In The Handbook of Conversation Analysis, ed. by Jack Sidnell and Tanya Stivers, 415–432. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Levinson, Stephen C. 1981. "Some Pre-Observations on the Modelling of Dialogue." Discourse Processes 4 (2): 93–116.
Pomerantz, Anita. 1988. "Offering a Candidate Answer: An Information Seeking Strategy." Communication Monographs 55 (4): 360–373.
Raymond, Geoffrey. 2003. "Grammar and Social Organization: Yes/No Interrogatives and the Structure of Responding." American Sociological Review 68 (6): 939–967.
Stivers, Tanya. 2008. "Stance, Alignment, and Affiliation during Storytelling: When Nodding is a Token of Affiliation." Research on Language and Social Interaction 41 (1): 31–57.
Cited by (25)
Cited by 25 other publications
Nicolaisen, Emilie Munch & Gitte Rasmussen
Prettner, Robert, Hedwig te Molder & Jeffrey D. Robinson
Prettner, Robert, Hedwig te Molder & Jeffrey D. Robinson
Küttner, Uwe-A. & Beatrice Szczepek Reed
Moore, Cassidy R. & Jeffrey D. Robinson
Prettner, Robert, Hedwig te Molder & Bogdana Humă
Bolden, Galina B., John Heritage & Marja-Leena Sorjonen
2023. Introduction. In Responding to Polar Questions across Languages and Contexts [Studies in Language and Social Interaction, 35], ► pp. 1 ff.
Garcia, Angela Cora
La Mattina, Nicco A.
Robinson, Jeffrey D. & John Heritage
2023. Renewing a social action in US primary care. In Responding to Polar Questions across Languages and Contexts [Studies in Language and Social Interaction, 35], ► pp. 328 ff.
Vepsäläinen, Heidi, Anna Sundqvist, Marja-Leena Sorjonen & Auli Hakulinen
2023. Responding to polar questions without a polarity item ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in Finnish. In Responding to Polar Questions across Languages and Contexts [Studies in Language and Social Interaction, 35], ► pp. 301 ff.
Deppermann, Arnulf & Michael Haugh
Raymond, Chase Wesley
Clift, Rebecca & Michael Haugh
Drake, Veronika
2021. Alternative questions and their responses in English interaction. Pragmatics. Quarterly Publication of the International Pragmatics Association (IPrA) 31:1 ► pp. 62 ff.
Heritage, John & Chase Wesley Raymond
Küttner, Uwe-A.
Lerner, Gene H. & Celia Kitzinger
Mazeland, Harrie
Williams, Val, Joe Webb, Sandra Dowling & Marina Gall
Yu, Guodong, Yaxin Wu & Paul Drew
Seuren, Lucas M.
Haugh, Michael
Haugh, Michael
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 28 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.