Dui as a marker in the exchange structure

Excerpt 25. CAI and JUN are asked to clean up the playroom before they leave. They decide that they both have to take care of the blocks one has touched by his own.

*CAI: 這個 到底 是 誰的?

(The blocks) I kicked were all cleaned up.

*JUN: 對 我的 外套 [% 拿外套]. ß achieve the speakers’ shared information. Moreover, because it is the core meaning of dui that associated with the information state, each token of dui, no matter in which discourse structure, functioned simultaneously in the information state.

4.3.2 Dui as a marker in the exchange structure

In the current data of Mandarin-speaking children’s peer conversation, dui was used mainly in the exchange structure. According to earlier studies, dui in the exchange structure serves the functions of expressing the speaker’s confirmation of

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information, agreement, or acknowledgement, which is very similar to the function of reactive tokens or backchannels (Tsai, 2001; Wang et al., 2010; Yu, 2004). Among all the functions of dui in the exchange structure, Mandarin-speaking 5-year-old children used dui predominately to confirm the truthfulness of the previous speaker’s assessment or information, which indicates their agreement. In other words, dui signaled the speaker’s agreement by verifying the previous speaker’s information. For instance, in excerpt 26, NIN and CAI were playing with toy cars. NIN claimed that it is really interesting and asked CAI if he felt the same way by using a tag question dui-bu-dui. CAI agreed with NIN’s statement hao hao wan ‘a lot of fun’ by answering dui.

Except prior propositions, dui could also be used to show the speaker’s agreement to the previous move as seen in excerpt 27. In this example, JUN used dui to show his positive assessment towards CAI’s action of setting up the toy door. Moreover, he explicitly said fang zhe li ‘put (it) here’ to express his agreement. Mandarin-speaking children’s use of dui to confirm the other speaker’s information demonstrated not only shared information but also their shared orientation towards it. This use of dui further indicated the speaker’s agreement and collaborative stance and thereby helped the children to establish alliances and maintain their relation with peers.

Excerpt 26. CAI and NIN are playing with toy cars.

*NIN: 好 好玩 喔.

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Excerpt 27. CAI and JUN are setting up for their game that they are going to send out some letters.

%sit: CAI takes the door in JUN’s hand and puts it onto the blocks

*JUN: 對! ß

Other than showing agreement, dui could also be used in the speaker’s own turns to affirm and strengthen the truthfulness of his subjective beliefs (Chui, 2002; Tsai 2001; Yu, 2004). According to Chui (2002), this assertive meaning of dui in the speaker’s own turns is a result of a conventionalized routine. That is, during the conversations, the addressee routinely asked for confirmation about the truthfulness of what the speaker has said, and the speaker’s habituated answer is dui. As a conversation routine, the speaker affirms his own utterance using dui without the

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addressee’s requests. Based on this ritualization process, the confirmation function of dui was therefore recognized in the exchange structure of discourse in the study since it is related to the conversational exchange between the speaker and the hearer. This function of dui occasionally appeared in Mandarin-speaking 5-year-old children’s peer conversation. As seen in excerpt 28, NIN explained to JUN about whether he could come to school after his family moved to another place. When NIN finished his explanation, he uttered dui at the end of his turn to strengthen the truthfulness of his belief that he may come to the kindergarten only on weekends.

Excerpt 28. NIN told JUN that his family is going to move to another place. JUN asked if NIN would still come back to school.

*JUN: 每天 來 看 情況?

meitian lai kan qingkuang everyday come look situation

(Can you) come every day to see what’s happening?

*NIN: 每天 不能.

Because I can only come to see (what’s happening) on Saturdays and 禮拜天 <來> [/] 來 看.

secretly PREP doorway look your situation Secretly watching you in the doorway.

*NIN: 對. ß

dui right Right.

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Because on Mondays I have to go take other course.

要 去 上 別的 課.

yao qu shang biede ke

have to go take other course

Furthermore, when dui served as a marker in the exchange structure, it often combined with discourse particle a (or ya/wa)² in Mandarin-speaking children’s peer interaction. Chu (1999) considered particle a in Mandarin as a kind of “personal-involvement particle” (p. 146) indicates the speaker’s personal concern for the other speaker or the topic of current talk. It adds no new information on the propositional content but only serves the pragmatic function indicating the speaker’s intention to participate in the present topic. For example, in excerpt 29, CAI asked JUN where his mother works. After hearing the answer, CAI was surprised and reconfirmed the information that JUN’s mother works at home. More than just answering dui, JUN used dui a to indicate his personal concern of his mother’s work. Excerpt 30 also illustrates Mandarin children’s use of dui a. As shown in the example, JUN asked NIN if he is playing on the swings. NIN answered dui a to show his involvement in the topic. Moreover, he further developed the topic by adding his comment that if they could shrink, they could actually play on the toy swings.

2  Particle  a  in  Mandarin  has  variants  such  as  ya,  wa,  na,  depending  on  the  vowel  of  the  preceding   word  (Chu,  1999).  Because  these  variants  of  a  were  not  the  main  concern  of  the  present  study,   for  simplicity  the  basic  form,  a,  would  be  used  to  represent  for  all  the  variants.  

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Hey JUN, where does your mother work?

*JUN: 在 -: 我 家 上班.

Excerpt 30. NIN is swinging a bell and a shovel in his hands.

*JUN: 你 在 玩 盪 鞦韆 喔?

ni zai wan dang qiuqian o

you ASP play swing swing PRT

Are you playing on a swing?

*NIN: 對 啊. ß

• 國

立 政 治 大

㈻㊫學

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N a tio na

l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y

Generally speaking, when interacting with peers, Mandarin-speaking 5-year-old children used dui mainly in the exchange structure to express their agreement toward others’ propositions or in their own turn to affirm and strengthen their subjective beliefs. The use of dui as an acknowledgement marker was not found in the children’s conversation. Dui in the exchange structure often appeared with particle a to further indicate the speaker’s personal involvement to the current topic. As an agreement maker in the exchange structure, dui indicated the children’s collaborative stances and their intention to build alignments with each other, which may benefit their peer relationships.