The Functions of the Response Token O

Chapter 4

The Functions of the Response Token O

4.0 Introduction

In the previous chapter, we have discussed the discourse functions of shi-o. It is a newsmarker, which is responded to news. As a continuing study, we examine a similar RT, o, based upon the same framework. Since the present thesis focuses on response tokens, we only include the tokens of o which occur in the speaker’s response answering the preceding turn. The non-RT o used mainly by the speaker to propose an informing such as wo kaosu ni o “You know, I want to tell you something,” is not taken into account. It may be related to the topic of talk in the previous turns, but it is not the concurring turn used to reply to the previous turn.

Such a type of o is not included in our study. Besides, the pitch of o in our data is not discussed since all the occurrences of o are drawn from MSN conversations.

A total of 993 occurrences of o are found in the databank, which display a higher frequency than shi-o does (330 tokens). They can be classified into two main categories, initial response token o (IRT: 574 tokens) and final response token o (FRT:

419 tokens). The former includes those that are not attached to an utterance but occur initially within a turn constructional unit, while the latter indicate those which are attached to a head utterance. Among the 993 tokens of o (IRT+FRT), over half of o tokens are IRT o (574/993=57.8%). Based on the initial observation, we will tap into the discourse functions of IRT o in detail in section 4.1 first and then further explore the functions of FRT o in section 4.2. Section 4.3 summarizes the findings and discusses the similarities and differences of IRT o and FRT o.

4.1. Discourse Functions of Initial RT O

Based on the framework we use in analyzing shi-o, IRT o can be classified into four types as follows, as illustrated in Table 4.

Table 4. Types of IRT O in MSN Talk

I will examine the functions of IRT o in different conversational contexts. O aligned with brief talk will be discussed in section 4.1.1 first. It will be analyzed by looking at its surrounding environment, especially the brief responses that follow.

The brief responses include short responsive talk, assessments, and repetitions which do not add much substantially referential meaning to the proposition in the prior turn (cf. Gardner 2001:102). Section 4.1.2 concentrates on the function of free-standing o. In section 4.1.3 and section 4.1.4, we discuss how IRT o behaves when it is

followed by a question and a newly introduced topic by the same speaker. A summary is presented in section 4.1.5

4.1.1 With a Statement

As shown in Table 4, 229 (229/574=39.9%) occurrences of o are used with a statement. Furthermore, such a statement is exclusively a brief talk. Take (4.1) as an example.

(4.1) MN1: liaotian shi yao zeme kai 聊天 室 要 怎麼 開 Chat room want how activate ‘How do you activate a chatroom talk?’

MN2: nimen dou hao lihai 你們 都 好 厲害

Types With a Statement Free-standing O With a Question

Change-of- Activity Sum 229

(39.9%)

228 (39.7%)

59 (10.3%)

58 (10.1%)

Total 574 (100%)

2PL all very great

‘You are all so great.’

MN3: wo zhi hui dan da 我 只 會 單 打 1SG only can single type

‘I can only use two-way chatroom.’

GG1: :|

GG2: jiu an zuo shang jiao de yaoqing 就 按 左 上 角 的 邀請 just click left above corner GEN invitation

‘Just click on the button “invitation” on the left side above,’

GG3: jiu keyi 就 可以 just can

‘and it will work.’

MN4: zhijie an zuqun ma 直接 按 族群 ㄇ[嗎]

direct click group PAR

‘Just click on the button “group members”?’

GG4: fanzheng ni an xuanze ni yao yaoqing de 反正 你 按.. 選擇 你 要 邀請 的 anyway 2SG click choose 2SG want invite NOM

‘Anyway, you just click on..click on (the name of person) you want to invite.’

ÆMN5: o liaojie

瞭解

RT understand ‘Oh, I see.’

(the end of the current topic)

Questions are linguistic means employed to request for information and actions and

thus they are enacted to ‘fulfill an expectation’ (Schiffrin 1987:104). In other words,

when a chatter proposes a question, his/her uninformed state is assumed and the

respondent is assumed to have the ability and the responsibility to answer the question

(Heritage 1984). As shown in (4.1), MN uses a WH-question to target the

information gap that needs to be filled in to complete this unfinished proposition in

MN1 (cf. Schiffrin 1987:104). MN does not know how to use MSN chatroom system and GG in GG2 and GG3 gives her the directions. Finally in MN5, by producing o, MN shows that she has received all the information which she needs with o and an immediately following brief talk, liaojie “I got it.” That is, the brief statement after o in MN5 depicts the chatter’s current knowledge state and the topic is usually terminated at this point. Thus, this structure, o-plus-brief talk is regularly topic-curtailing in essence, as found in Heritage’s (1984) analysis on English oh. O together with a brief statement commonly occurs at the end of ‘complete’ informing since the chatter does not project o until he/she completely understands.

As argued by Heritage (1984:310), English oh involves the transmission of information from an informed to an uninformed party. Similarly, Mandarin o typically functions as an information receipt to mark the receipt of the prior information and display a speaker’s understanding (cf. Chao 1968: 405). Besides, it is interesting to note that IRT o usually occurs in a Q-A sequence (319/574=55.6%).

O is usually employed to signal the successful transmission of information requested

by the inquirer.

Since o marks the chatter’s change of information state, it is also used to display recognition of a certain piece of information (Schiffrin 1987:91). The information might be known to the speaker formerly but does not exist in the speaker’s current knowledge state. In this case, o is used to show the recalling of a familiar piece of information, as illustrated in example (4.2).

(4.2) (SA and GG are expressing that they hate to go to work on a rainy day since they may get wet when they ride a motorcycle.)

SA4: mei banfa weile wu dou mi haishi dei zheyao

沒 辦法..為了 五 斗 米 還是 得 折腰

NEG way for five PL rice still need bend

‘I can do nothing about it but to work hard for money.’

GG3: mei cuo 沒 錯 NEG wrong

‘That’s right.’

GG4: you leng yu you da 又 冷.. 雨 又 大 too cold rain too big

‘It’s cold and raining a lot.’

SA5: ni de jiajiao ye zai shi zhengfu fujin a 你 的 家教 也 在 市 政府 附近 啊..

2SG GEN tutor too at city government near PAR

‘You tutoring job is also near the (Taipei) City Hall?’

GG5: jinghuacheng a jiu jingguo songshan gaozhong 精[京]華成[城] 阿.. 就 經過 松山 高中

Jinghuacheng PAR just pass Songshan senior-high-school guoqu jiu dao le

過去 就 到 了 pass just reach PFV

‘Don’t you remember that it is near (the Department Store) Jinghuacheng.

After passing Songshan Senior High School, you reach the place where I work.’

ÆSA6: o wo xiang qilai le

...我 想 起來 了..

RT 1SG think up CRS

‘Oh, I remember it.’

(the end of the current topic)

As exemplified in example (4.2), SA forgets where GG tutors her student although they discussed this topic before. In GG5, GG introduces several famous buildings, such as a department store and a senior high school, to evoke SA’s memory.

When SA suddenly recalls where it is, o is used to mark his recognition explicitly with a short statement to display his sudden recognition and that he is informed now.

Since SA can identify where GG works, GG does not continue to elaborate it. It can

be further noted that shi-o is inappropriate in this context in that what is informed is a

known piece of information, whereas shi-o commonly occurs after a new and unexpected piece of informing.

Based upon the fact that o indicates a chatter’s recognition of familiar information, we may expect o to be used not to signal chatter’s surprise in some contexts. Observe the example (4.3) and (4.4) respectively.

(4.3) (Both CW and FQ want to purchase a mirror from the Internet. CW introduces a website to FQ showing that a variety of goods are sold and that she wants to do the on-line shopping.)

CW2: wo hui mai ze ge 我 會 買 這 個 1SG will buy this CL

‘I’ll buy this one.’

ÆFQ1: o o ni gei wo kan guo

，你 給 我 砍[看] 過 RT 2SG give 1SG see ASP

‘Oh, you showed me (this website) before.’

CW3: dui ya 對 呀 yes PAR ‘Right.’

CW4: wo men na shi mai erjiujiu zhile de ba 我 們 那 時 買 299 之類 的 吧 1SG PL that moment buy 299 something ASSOC PAR

‘(I guess) that we spent 299 buying (a mirror) at that time.’

FQ2: en en 嗯 嗯 RT RT

‘Mm mm.’

(FQ then describes the type of mirror that she wants to purchase and this is not sold in the website that CW introduces.)

(4.4) BM1: Jade shuo ta danjiang yinggai keyi shang ye Jade 說 他 淡江 應該 可以 上 耶 Jade say 3SG Danjiang should can enter PAR

‘Jade said that she may be admitted to Tamkang (University).’

BM2: shuo fuda you dian pin 說 輔大 有 點 拼 say Furen-university have a little difficult

‘She said that it may be a little difficult for her to be admitted to Furen University.’

ÆCW1: o na hen hao ya

.. 那 很 好 呀 RT that very good PAR

‘Oh, very good.’

CW2: ^^

BM3: en a 恩 阿 RT PAR ‘Mm hum.’

BM4: wo shuo danjiang na fangzi hao pianyi 我 說 淡江 那 房子 好 便宜 1SG say Danjiang that house very cheap

‘I said that (the rent) of the houses near Tamkang University is low.’

BM5: ta shuo yao ban chuqu zhu 他 說 要 搬 出去 駐[住]

3SG say want move out live

‘She said that she will move out and (won’t live in the dorm at school).’

CW3: dui 對...

RT

‘Yeah,’

CW4: hen pianyi 很 便宜 very cheap

‘Very cheap.’

(the end of the topic)

As exemplified in example (4.3), CW shows a website to FQ and in CW2 tells her

which mirror she would like to purchase. However, after receiving the informing,

FQ produces o first, and then tells CW that the website was shown to her before.

Since this is also a familiar piece of action, FQ opts for o to indicate her receipt of it and does not imply tone of surprise. FQ continues to talk about the type of mirror that she herself wants to purchase and ignores what mirror CW wants to buy. This implies that FQ does not show much interest in the informing that CW proffers.

Regarding example (4.4), BM makes a news announcement in BM1 and BM2.

CW responds to this piece of news by the production of o followed by an assessment.

Although the assessment is positive, CW does not participate actively in the development of this topic but responds briefly and passively. Besides, the topic is curtailed soon after a few turns. It seems that BM has sensed CW’s detachment and thus does not develop the topic further. Therefore, o does not only serve as an information receipt but also frequently marks the speaker’s detachment.

A special use of o is found where it prefaces a repair completion (cf. Schiffrin 1987). Sometimes, a repairable item may arise during the conversation due to the speaker’s misunderstanding, as shown in the following example.

(4.5) (JM tells BD that he has a girlfriend who works in Taipei. However, he complains that his girlfriend seems to be unusually busy because she has not contacted him recently.)

BD23: keshi zai mei kong ye yigai you kong gen ni he 可是 再 沒 空 也 應該 有 空 跟 你 喝 but again NEG free too should have free with 2SG have bei kafai ba

杯 咖啡 吧 CL coffe PAR

‘But no matter how busy she is, she should have had time to have a cup of coffee with you.’

JM21: wo xianzai bu zai taibei 我 現在 不 在 台北 1SG now NEG in Taipei

‘I am not in Taipei now.’

JM22: zai longtan 在龍潭 in Longtan

‘I am at Longtan now.’

BD24: a 啊??

PAR

‘What?’

ÆBD25: o

∼ RT ‘Oh,’

BD26: yuanlai ni pao qu longtan la 原來 你 跑 去 龍潭 啦 turn-out 2SG run go Longtan PAR

‘You have gone to Longtan, haven’t you?’

JM24: shi a wo men yao gen zhe gong di pao 是阿，我 們 要 跟 著 工 地 跑 RT 1SG PL need follow DIR construction site run

‘Yeah, we got to move around with the team of the construction company.’

(Topic shift here)

In BD23, BD considers that there is something wrong with JM’s relationship with his girlfriend. BD says that no matter how busy JM’s girlfriend is, she at least should have had time to have a cup of coffee with JM since both of them work in Taipei.

However, this causes a repairable item for JM to revise in that JM is not in Taipei now but at another city. This is contrastive with BD’s assumption. At first, BD appears to be confused by uttering a plus question marks because she assumed that JM worked in Taipei. Then, BD produces o in BD25 and an additional short statement in the immediate following turn to repair her own misunderstanding. This evidences that o is used to signal BD’s sudden realization, and the symbol ‘~’

seems to signal

1

The punctuation marks such as ‘~’ and dots have not been conventionalized by MSN users. Some

MSN users may use them to mark lengthening but not every chatter uses them.

her change of knowledge state. Besides, additional completion is provided by JM in JM24 to reconfirm the replacement and explain why he is at another city, Longtan.

In addition to a repair that designate acceptance of information, it is common to find an approbation item after o, as seen in example (4.6).

(4.6) (The chatters are discussing how to play on-line poker and they are testing the system.)

WL1: ei wo aixin qi zhang danshi yi dian ㄟ 我 愛心 7 張 但是 1 點 1SG heart seven CL but one point

‘Hey, I have seven hearts, but only one point.’

WL2: ni xing ma 妳[你] 行 嗎 2SG okay PAR

‘Can you follow me?’

CB1: deng yi xia 等 一 下 wait one CL

‘Wait.’

CB2: wo yao jieshu 我 要 結束 1SG want end

‘I want to end the game.’

CB3: wo xiangyao shi kan kan bie de 我 想要 試 看 看 別 的 1SG want try see see another NOM

‘I want to try another (table).’

ÆWL3: o hao

好 RT RT

‘Oh, ok.’

(the end of the topic)

Example (4.6) shows that CB and WL are playing an on-line poker and they need to

make sure whether both parties can activate an on-line poker table to play with other

anonymous people on-line. Thus, WL asks CB whether his system is viable in WL2.

However, it seems that there is something wrong and CB tells WL in CB3 that he wants to try another table. WL shows his reception of information by producing o which is immediately followed by hao serving as an agreement/acceptance marker (Wang 2005:78). Hao again does not contribute much new information to the prior talk. And the poker talk is terminated at this point.

So far, we have explored the functions of IRT o with a variety of brief responses.

O regularly emerges after an answer solicited from a question and precedes brief

statement to mark the chatter’s change of knowledge state and current informed state.

Basically, o marks the receipt of the information and is followed by statements without rich referential meaning. The following statements regularly express the speaker’s assessment on the prior informing or report the speaker’s currently informed knowledge state, such as liaojie ‘I understand,’ hao ‘okay,’ or statement signaling that the information was formerly known to the current chatter. In particular, o often occurs with brief talk after familiar information and this discourse structure marks the chatter’s detachment in that the brief talk usually suggests that the speaker has no intention to continue the current topic. Accordingly, the conversation topic is always terminated immediately or soon after o-utterance is made. Such a tone of low involvement and interest is even more prominent with the use of free-standing o, as we will discuss below.

4.1.2 Free-standing O

Free-standing o accounts for second highest occurrence of all the tokens, about

39.7% (228/569). As discussed above, o signifies that the speaker goes through a

change of knowledge state. The brief response after o regularly depicts the chatter’s

current cognitive state or a brief subjective evaluation. In the following, we will

show that even though no other brief responses follow o, the interlocutor still knows that the chatter uttering o is now in an informed state. (4.7) is an example:

(4.7) MB1: ni yuanchuan dianhua ji hao ya 你遠傳電話幾號呀？

‘What is your cell phone number?’

　 AL1: XXXXXXXXXX(cell phone number) ÆMB2: o

哦

‘Oh.’

(…the end of the current topic)

As shown in (4.7), MB proposes a wh-question to request AL to give him the cell phone number. After receipt of the information, only a free-standing o in MB2 is used to indicate that MB’s information gap has been filled. Since MB does not inquire further but only uses o in his response, we can infer that he has already obtained the telephone number he wants. This is supported by previous researches on Mandarin o which can signal understanding (C. Wang 1984; L. Wang 1987; Chao 1994). Furthermore, since the answerer does not further the talk in the subsequent turn after o, we can say that a free-standing o is also topic-curtailing, as does o-plus-statement.

As noted in the discussion of (4.5), o is regularly used to show the speaker’s repair of his/her misunderstanding. A free-standing o can also mark that the chatter accepts the counterinforming as correction. As illustrated in (4.8), FQ does not know that there is an information gap existing in her own knowledge state about time of eating until CW tells her that she will eat MOS fast food tomorrow:

(4.8) (A sudden message shows on the FQ’s screen when she is surfing the net.) CW1: wo yao chi mosi

我 要 吃 磨斯 (MOS fast food restaurant)

1SG want eat MOS

‘I want to go to MOS restaurant to eat.’

FQ1: zeme turan 這麼 突然 so sudden

‘How immediate .’

FQ2: zaijian 再見 goodbye

‘See you.’

CW2: tumaluo

orz

土罵羅(tomorrow) tomorrow

‘(I mean I will eat MOS fast food) tomorrow.’

ÆFQ3: o

~ RT ‘Oh.’

(The end of the current topic.)

The message that CW wants to eat at MOS restaurant suddenly pops up on FQ’s screen. Because of the lack of specific time annotated in CW1, FQ thinks CW is going to have a meal at MOS fast food restaurant right away and says goodbye to her.

After the repair by CW to clarify that CW will go to MOS restaurant tomorrow (CW2), o in FQ3 is used to indicate FQ’s repair of knowledge state and her acceptance of CW’s revision.

Similarly, with the use of free-standing o, the speaker can express that he/she accepts another speaker’s position after a series of contrastive arguments.

(4.9) (WL feels bored and wants to invite CB to watch a baseball game. However, the only tickets sold now are for the team which they do not support, so CB does not want to watch the game.)

2

This is a popular sequence of English letters symbolizing a person who kneels down on the ground.

It usually denotes that the chatter cannot believe the information he/she just received.

CB1: qianwan bu yao zuo didui de 千萬 不 要 坐 敵對 的 definitely NEG want sit opposite NOM

‘Never sit in the area of the opposite team (when you watch a baseball game).’

WL1: zhi shi zai jia hui men si ba 只 是 在 家 會 悶 死 吧 only COP at home will bored die PAR

‘But if I just stay at home, I will feel extremely bored.’

WL2: me sheme cha la zhende 沒 什麼 差 啦 真的 NEG what difference PAR real

‘I do feel that it doesn’t make any difference (between sitting in the area of opposite team to watch the game and in the area of a team we support.)’

CB2: zhende hen you cha 真的 很 有 差

real very have difference

‘It does make a difference.’

WL3: zhi shi qu kan qiu 只 是 去 看 求[球]

only COP go watch ball

‘What will we do there is just to watch the game.’

CB3: wo mei pian ni 我 沒 騙 妳[你]

1SG NEG cheat 2SG

‘What I said is true.’

CB4: qu xianchang kan qiu qishi jiu shi ganshou qifen 去 現在[場] 看 球 其實 就 是 感受 氣粉[氛]

go spot watch ball actually just COP feel atmosphere

‘Actually, the purpose that we go to watch the live baseball game is to feel the atmosphere.’

CB5: ruguo mei you zuo zai ziji de dui 如果 沒 有 坐 在 自已 的 隊 if NEG have sit in self GEN team

‘If we don’t sit in the area of the team we cheer for,’

CB6: na qu kan qiu qishi jiu mei sheme yiyi le

那 去 看 球 其實 就 沒 什麼 意義 了

that go watch ball actually just NEG what meaning CRS

‘then it does not mean a lot to go watching the game.’

CB7: wo men keyi deng dao xia yi ci dui zhan zai 我 們 可以 等 到 下 一 次 對 戰 在[再]

1SG PL can wait utiil next yi time to fight again kan ye mei guanxi

看 也 沒 關系[係]

watch too NEG relation

‘We can watch the competition (between the opposite team and our favorite team).’

CB8: you bu hui hen ji 又 不 會 很 急

‘There is no hurry.’

CB9: you de shi jihui 有 的 是 機會 have NOM COP chance

‘We have lots of chances (to watch the game).’

ÆWL4: o

RT ‘Oh.’

CB10: mei cuo 沒 錯 NEG wrong

‘That’s right.’

(Topic ended.)

In (4.9), WL wants to convince CB that it does not matter to watch a baseball game in the area of an opponent team to cheer for their favorite team. In WL2, WL uses zhende to emphasize what he said is true to convince CB. However, CB still holds

an opposite opinion and does not agree with WL. At first, he expresses his

opposition in CB2, which is still rejected by WL3. Then he produces a series of

statements from CB3 to CB9 to persuade WL. WL finally produces o in WL4. On

receiving the IRT o, CB only echoes WL’s response by showing his stance again and

not continuing to elaborate. We can infer that the free-standing o in WL4 shows that

WL makes concession to accept CB’s position since the argument is over and both interlocutors seem to make a compromise.

Next, we discuss the free-standing o occurring after a news announcement.

(4.10) JA1: <L2 Kevin L2> shang wanfang

<L2 Kevin L2> 上 萬芳 Kevin up Wanfang

‘Kevin is admitted to Wanfang (Senior High School).’

ÆCK1: o

‘Oh.’

JA2: <L2 wanda L2> shang jingmei

<L2 Wanda L2> 上 景美 Wanda up Jingmei

‘Wanda is admitted to Jingmei (Senior High School).’

CK2: wa <L2 wanda L2> shang jingmei 挖[哇]，<L2 WandaL2> 上 景美

‘My god! Wanda is admitted to Jingmei Senior High School.’

JA3: en 恩 RT

‘Mm.’

CK3: jingmei diji a 景美 第幾 阿[啊]

Jingmei whcih PAR

‘What is the ranking of Jingmei (among all of the high schools in Taipei)?

CK4: dier ma 第二 嗎 second PAR

‘Is it ranked as the second most famous school among all the senior high schools.’

JA4: <L3 wa a zai L3>

<L3 哇[我] 阿 災 L3>

1SG how know

‘How can I know that?’

checking who is admitted to which school. She tells CK the news that Kevin is admitted to Wanfang Senior High School. However, only a minimal response o is produced in CK1, which appears to show CK’s low involvement in that he has nothing to add in the following. By contrast, the other piece of news in JA2 catches CK’s eye. CK utters an interjection wa and the repetition of the prior information in CK3 to express his surprise and then proposes a question in CK3, which shows higher interest in this news in JA2 than that in JA1. As indicated in chapter 3, for the news announcer, the preferred response from the addressee is a request-to-tell structure which invites him/her to tell more. Here, by contrast, a free-standing o seems to signal to the addressee that the current speaker is uninterested. Therefore, the news announcer chooses to stop the topic or to initiate another topic in the next turn when receiving this “economical” response. On top of this, o typically does not mark the speaker’s affective meaning of surprise after a piece of news. In other words, a free-standing o commonly signals the chatter’s extreme detachment or indifference.

The above discussion shows that IRT o commonly indicates change of the knowledge state of the speaker and signals understanding. This is further supported by the frequencies of free-standing o and o-plus-statement, both of which take up the main distribution of o, approximately 80% (39.9%+39.7%) of all the occurrences of IRT o.

In the following, we continue to examine when o co-occurs with a question.

4.1.3 With a Question

A less frequent use of o is to co-occur with a question (10.3%, 59/574). The

combination is regularly employed to make an inquiry to further the topic which the

chatter intends to pursue.

(4.11) (Maggy, GG, and MA are good friends. MA’s parents live separately, which is known to Maggy and GG.)

GG1: ni zhidao <L2 Maggy L2> ba ma ye shi bu 你 知道 <L2 Maggy L2> 爸 媽 也 是 不 2SG know Maggy father mother too COP NEG he ma

合 ㄇ[嗎]？

match PAR

‘Do you know that Maggy’s parents’ relationship, (like that of MA’s), is not harmonious?’

MA1: bu zhidao duo jiu de shi la 不 知道... 多 久 的 事 啦 NEG know many long ASSOC thing PAR ‘I don’t know. How long has it lasted?’

GG2: ta shuo cong yiqian jiu zheyang 他[她] 說 從 以前 就 這樣 3SG say from before just this-way

‘She said that it has lasted since a long time ago.’

GG3: wo shi shang xingqi cai zhidao de 我 是 上 星期 才 知道 的 1SG COP last week just know NOM

‘Not until last week did I know this matter.’

GG4: ta mama yizhi ren zhe suoyi mei lihuan 他[她] 媽媽 一直 忍 著 所以 沒 離婚 3SG mother always tolerate DUR so NEG divorce

‘Maggy’s mother has been tolerating, so she hasn’t divorced her father.’

GG5: ta shuo ta ba ma tian tain jihu dou hui chaojia 他[她] 說 他[她] 爸 媽 天 天 幾呼 都 會 吵架

3SG say 3SG dad mom day day almost all will argue

‘She said that her parents almost quarrel with each other everyday.’

MA2: <L2 Maggy L2> hui huazhuang le shou <L2 Maggy L2> 會 化妝 了 說

Maggy will make-up CRS COMP

‘Hey, Maggy wears make-up now.’

GG6: shi a bu yiyang lei 是阿 不 一樣 勒 RT NEG same PAR

‘She looks different.’

MA3: duibuiqi tian wui fei lai yi bi 對不起 天 外 飛 來 一 筆 sorry sky outside fly come one pen

‘Sorry for the sudden shift of the current topic.’

ÆMA4: o na <L2 Maggy L2> zeme kan ba ma de wenti

那 <L2 Maggy L2> 怎麼 看 爸 媽 的 問題 RT that Maggy how see dad mom GEN problem ya

押[呀]

PAR

‘Oh. What does Maggy think about her parents’ bad relationship?’

GG7: bu guan a ta dangran zhichi mama buguo ta xiang 不 管 阿.. 他[她] 當然 支持媽媽.. 不過 他[她] 想 NEG deal PAR 3SG sure support mom but 3SG want

tao de yuan yuan de 逃 的 遠 遠 ㄉ[的]

run NOM distant distant NOM

‘(She just) ignores it. She definitely is on her mother’s side, but (at the same time) she wants to run away (from this family).’

(The topic continues further on Maggy’s feeling about her parents’ bad relationship.)

(4.12) (OS keeps cats in her place. BL thinks that there are some conditions for one to keep a pet.)

BL10: wo ye keyi ai wu ji wu 我 也 可以 愛 屋 及 烏 1SG too can love house expand crow

‘If I love some girl, I can also love her pet.’

BL11: dan jia li bixu shi ganjing de 但 佳[家] 里[裡] 必須 是 乾淨 的 but home inside must COP clean NOM

‘But the house must be kept clean.’

OS9: buguo xianzai ta bu ai wo suoyi hui ba qing 不過 現在 他 不 愛 我 所以 會 把 情 but now 3SG NEG love 1SG so will use love bian gueijiu yu wo yang mao

變 歸就[咎] 於 我 養 貓

change attribute to 1sG keep cat

‘But he doesn’t me now, he attributes our separation to the fact that I keep cats.’

ÆBL12: o ta bu xihuan ni yang mao

.. 她[他] 不 喜歡 妳 養 貓?

RT 3SG NEG like 2SG keep cat

‘Oh, he doesn’t like that you keep cats?’

OS10: zhe hen nan jie 這 很 難 解

this very hard understand

‘It is hard to understand (this excuse).’

OS11: haolai hui zhengqi mao luan jiao 後來 會 生氣 貓 亂 叫 later will angry cat mess cry

‘(Because my boyfriend later was angry when he heard cats meowing.’

(The topic continues to develop on why OS’s boyfriend starts to hate keeping cats.)

In (4.11), GG draws on a news inquiry in GG1 to initiate a new topic. Then MA expresses that she does not know about it and encourages GG to elaborate on the headline news. Through GG2 to GG5, GG provides the details about Maggy’s parents. Without responding to GG5 immediately, MA offers another piece of informing in MA2 concerning Maggy’s caring about her appearance with make-up.

This shows that MA does not seem to be interested in Maggy’s parents’ relationship.

Nonetheless, MA senses the digression in MA3 and expresses her apology. Then she resumes the topic about Maggy’s parents by responding to GG5 with MA4, which is accompanied by a question to further the talk.

A similar pattern is found in example (4.12). BL does not like keeping a pet in

his place since pets may make his place messy. However, in BL10 and BL11, he

expresses that he can tolerate his lover to keep one only if his place is still clean and

tidy. OS’s ex-boyfriend originally agreed that OS keeps cats. However, in OS9,

relationship. BL then replies with o combined with a question to invite OS to continue the talk since OS9 is not complete enough for BL. Different from IRT o combined with a short statement which is frequently topic-curtailing, IRT o co-occurring with a question is used to request for further information when the speaker considers that the prior informing is incomplete. Since o is topic-curtailing in essence, that o with a question does not often occur. Hence, the frequency of such combination is prominently less than free-standing o and o-plus-statement.

4.1.4 Change-of-Activity Uses

Recall that shi-o is used at the boundary of two topics. Such a function demonstrates the chatter’s extreme disinterest in the prior topic. Likewise, o is found when the chatter introduces another new topic in the course of conversation.

58 tokens of o fall into this function (58/574=10.1%). In the following dialogue, two chatters are talking about their tutoring jobs. Consider example (4.13) and (4.14) below:

(4.13) LS1: ni han jia jiajiao you ting ke ma 你 寒 假 家教 有 停 課 嗎

2SG cold holiday tutor have stop class PAR

‘Will you still have to do the tutoring job during winter vacation?’

GG1: jiajiao 家教 tutor

‘Tutor?’

GG2: wo hai bu zhidao 我 還 不 知道

‘I haven’t been informed (by the students’ parents yet).’

GG3: yinwei tamen xueqi mo hai mei dao 因為 他們 學期 末 還 沒 到..

because 3PL semester end still NEG arrive

‘Because the semester hasn’t ended yet.’

GG4: buguo wo cai yiding hui ting yi zhenzi zhishao guonian 不過 我 猜 一定 會 停 一 陣子..至少 過年 but 1SG guess must will stop one while at-least New year 一、兩 個 禮拜

yi liang ge libai one two CL week

‘But I guess my job will suspend for a while. At least, I won’t have classes in one or two weeks during the Chinese New Year.’

ÆLS2: o wo xiao san na ge mama zhende hen ai qing jiajiao ye

∼ 我 小 三 那 個 媽媽 真的 很 愛 請 家教 ㄟ！

RT 1SG little three that CL mom real very love ask tutor PAR wo han jia bu zai hai yao wo bangmang zhao 我 寒 假 不 再[在] 還 要 我 幫忙 找 1SG cold holiday NEG in still ask 1SG help search daike de

代課 的 substitute NOM

‘Oh. My third grade student’s mom really loves tutors. During winter vacation when I am not available, she asks me to search for a substitute teacher.’

LS3: dagai yao shang ge liang san ge libai ta ye shuang 大概 要 上 個 兩 三 個 禮拜 他[她] 也 爽 probably need up CL two three CL week 3SG too happy

‘Even though the substitute teacher only teaches two or three weeks, she feels happy and relieved.’

GG5: ha hen duo mama hui juede han jia bu shang ke 哈.. 很 多 媽媽 會 覺ㄉ[得] 寒 假 不 上課 ha very many mom will feel cold holiday NEG have-class hui yizhi wan

會 一直 玩 will always play

‘Ha, many mothers feel that if children do not have classes, they will fool around all day long.’

LS4: na ta dou mei kong kan katong la 那 他 都 沒 空 看 卡通 啦 that 3SG completely NEG free-time watch cartoon PAR

‘Then he (the child) will have no free time to watch cartoon.’

GG6: taipei de xiaohai mei banfa 台北 ㄉ[的] 小孩　.　.沒 辦法 Taipei ASSOC child NEG way

‘(This situation is common in) children’s life in Taipei, and we can do nothing about it.’

LS5: en kelian 恩∼可憐 RT poor

‘Poor children.’

(4.14) (43 lines are omitted here. FQ takes the floor to describe how she celebrated Valentine’s Day with her boyfriend.)

CW14: na tian qingren jie lingchen a <L2 Ricky L2> da lai 那 天 情人 節 凌晨 啊....<L2 Ricky L2>打 來 that day lover holiday morning PAR Ricky call come shuo ta canting ding hao le jia wo gen ta chi fan 說 他 餐廳 訂 好 了...叫 我 跟 他 吃 飯....

COMP 3SG restaurant reserve ok PFV call 1SG with 3SG eat rice

‘On the daybreak of Valentine’s Day, Ricky called me and said that he had made reservation for dinner in a restaurant. He invited me to have dinner with him.’

ÆFQ31: o o

RT

‘Oh.’

FQ32: ei ㄟ hey

‘Hey!’

FQ33: ni qu kan laing dia 你 去 看 兩 代 you go watch two generation

‘Go watch the (TV program), Super Generation.’

CW15: en 嗯~?

RT

‘Mm?’

FQ34: <L2 Cindy L2> zai shang mian ye

<L2 Cindy L2> 在 上 面 耶 Cindy in up side PAR

‘Y’know, Cindy is on TV now.’

(FQ continues to tell CW about the TV program and asks CW to watch it.)

In (4.13), LS asks whether GG needs to do one-to-one English tutoring during the winter vacation and from GG1 to GG4, GG describes her own situation to LS. With o indicating her receipt of the information, LS then shifts to another topic, which

seems to be her real intention to start the conversation. She complains that her student’s mother prefers having the child learn English even during the short vacation since LS considers that children should lead a happy life (LS2). Notice that following o, the talk shifts to a completely different, focus on LS’s situation. At this point plays a role of marking the juncture of the talk.

(4.14) is a more obvious example demonstrating that the speaker is showing extreme disinterest. In the beginning, FQ proffers a long narration about how she celebrated her own Valentine’s Day. After the long description, it seems that CW wants to tell her own story on Valentine’s Day (CW14). However, FQ merely indicates her reception of CW’s informing with two os. She shifts to invite CW to watch the TV program right away since she found that their classmate Cindy is on TV now, which is more interesting to her. Obviously, o operates in a disaffiliative fashion in that the topic is not the one to which o is oriented.

4.1.5 Summary of IRT O

So far, we have demonstrated that IRT o is an RT which invariably occurs

initially within a turn marking the receipt of the prior informing and the speaker’s

change of knowledge state. That is, the chatter does not produce o until he/she fully

understands the information, and thus the occurrence of o often incurs the curtailment

of the current topic soon and implies the chatter’s detachment or disinterest. This is particularly shown in free-standing o, accounting for 39.7%.

Besides, although IRT o frequently occurs with a statement to briefly claim the speaker’s informed state or showing participation, such as providing assessments, repetition of the received information and so on, they do not contribute rich referential meaning to the prior talk and the topic is usually not developed further. Similar to free-standing o, o occurring with a statement usually signifies the speaker’s disinterest.

As high as 32.8% (188/574) of the tokens of IRT o carry such an overtone.

Similarly, IRT o can show topic disalignment—marking the receipt of the prior informing and then shifting to the topic which interests the speaker more (10.1%).

This use of IRT o completely signals the chatter’s detachment since he/she terminates the current topic and move directly to a new one.

Finally, when the prior informing is incomplete, the chatter can propose another inquiry to select the next speaker to elaborate on the telling. The combination of o and a question seems to be the only type that does not show the speaker’s disinterest since the speaker pursues the current topic further.

Overall, about 82.6% of occurrences of IRT o are associated with the overtone of detachment or indifference. Due to its high frequency in such a context and its phonological brevity, it is an even more marked response token than shi-o to encode the speaker’s low involvement, or express extreme disinterest after a piece of news.

In the following, we will continue to examine when o is tagged to a head utterance.

4.2 Discourse Functions of FRT O

In this section, we discuss final RT o, i.e. o which is attached to the end of an

utterance. IRT o is discussed in terms of the following turn component, yet FRT o

cannot follow this framework since it is always attached to a statement. Instead we

categorize FRT o in terms of its functions, as illustrated in Table 5.

Table 5. Functions of FRT O in MSN Talk

We will discuss the functions of FRT o in the following order. Section 4.2.1 presents FRT o as a token of marking reception of information. Then in section Section 4.2.2 examines FRT o tagged to the end of a new topic or subtopic, which is introduced by the prior speaker. In section 4.2.3, we examine contexts where FRT o serves as a mitigator, smoothing the tone of imperatives and revealing the speaker’s warning/suggestion. 4.2.4 centers on how FRT o is attached to an utterance to form a question. Finally, section 4.2.5 summarizes the finding on FRT o.

4.2.1 Reception of Information

Similar to IRT o, when o suffixes a head utterance, it may serve as a marker of indicating the reception of the information. However, the status of the announced news is new to the current speaker, in contrast with IRT o which does not always respond to new information. 45.1% (189/419) of FRT o fall into this category.

Observe (4.15) below, for example.

(4.15) (Lines are omitted, in which OS asks XT whether she is back to Taipei since XT went back to her hometown, Tainan several days ago. However, XT is still in Tainan now.)

OS5: tainan ye hen re ba 台南 也 很 熱 吧 Tainan too very hot PAR Functions Reception of

Information

Other-Initiated Topic

Mitigator Requesting for

Clarifications

Sum 189 (45.1%) 35 (8.4%) 13 (2.9%) 182 (43.7%)

Total 419(100%)

‘It is also hot in Tainan, isn’t it?’

XT6: en 恩 RT

‘Mm.’

XT7: dan bu men 但 不 悶 but NEG sultry

‘But it is not sultry.’

ÆOS6: zheyang o 這樣

this FRT ‘I see.’

(…the end of the current topic)

Knowing that XT is still in Tainan now, OS continues to guess about the weather in Tainan (OS5). XT then confirms that OS’s guess is correct but she parenthetically adds that it is hot but not sultry in Tainan (XT6 and XT7). The following response with FRT o in OS6 only marks the receipt of the new and unexpected informing with little substantial meaning. This appears to exhibit the chatter’s detachment, which is further proved by the immediate curtailment of the current topic.

In addition to being attached to a head utterance without specific meaning, FRT o can also be attached to an utterance reduplicating the prior informing, marking not only the speaker’s receipt of information but his/her tone of surprise.

(4.16) BB1: 你 最進[近] 有 沒 物色 到 不 錯 看 ni zueijin you mei wuse dao bu cuo kan 2SG recent have NEG pick reach NEG bad look

ㄉ[的] 阿 de a ASSOC PAR

‘Have you found a boy who is handsome (at your school) recently?’

BB2: ha ha

哈哈 ha ha

‘Ha.’

JA1: mei you 沒 有 NEG have

‘No.’

BB3: mei you 沒 有?

NEG have

‘No?’

JA2: a you la ㄚ[阿] 有 啦 PAR have PAR

‘Ok, yes.’

JA3: jita she gongguan 吉他 社 工[公]關 guitar club publicist

‘He is the publicist in the guitar club.’

ÆBB4: you o 有

!!

have FRT ‘Really?’

JA4: zhi you <L2 only one L2>

只 有 <L2 only oneL2>

only have only one JA5: jita she gongguan

吉他 色[社] 公關 guitar club publicist

JA4-5: (I only find that ) the publicist of the guitar club is handsome.’

BB5: hen shuai ma 很 帥 嗎 very handsome PAR ‘Is he very handsome?’

BB proffers an enquiry about whether JA meets any handsome boys in her new school

(BB1). At first, JA provides a negative answer, which arouses BB’s doubt (JA1 and

BB3). Then JA corrects her answer and tells BB that she indeed meets a handsome boy, which counters BB’s expectation. BB projects an utterance as an echo by reduplicating the prior answer with a suffix o (BB4). It mainly functions as a news receipt, marking the receipt of the prior informing and the chatter’s unexpectedness, which can be further inferred from the exclamation mark following o. In addition, it is worth noting that BB seems to show much interest in this piece of news in that she proposes another question to pursue information about the boy whom JA admires (BB5).

Moreover, the attachment of FRT o to an utterance can signify the speaker’s surprise and his/her implied disagreement concurrently, as exemplified in (4.17).

(4.17) (MI is asking CW’s about the recent life of her boyfriend, River. River is good at sports and was on the school team before. He is preparing for the coming Joint College Entrance Exam again beacuase he failed last year.)

MI8: na ta xiangyao nian na yi fangmian de a 那 他 想要 念 哪 一 方面 ㄉ[的] 阿 then 3SG want study which one aspect NOM PAR

‘Then which field does he prefer majoring in?’

MI9: hai shi tiyu ma 還 是 體育 ㄇ[嗎]？

still COP physical-education PAR

‘Does he still prefer physical education?’

…(There are two lines omitted here. CW tells which university River wants to apply for.)

　 　 CW7: shang ba 商 吧 business PAR

‘(Maybe) business.’

　 　 MI11: shang bu fuhe ta 商？！ 不 符合 他 business NEG match 3SG

‘Business? I don’t think that he should major in this field.’

…(There are eight lines omitted here. MI asks CW whether River studies by

himself or goes to cram school. CW tells MI that River goes to take a Chinese course in the cram school.)

MI15: weisheme yao bao guowen a 為什ㄇ[麼] 要 抱[報] 國文 啊 why want register Chinese PAR

‘Why did he take a Chinese course (at cram school)?’

CW14: yiwie ta zhi ai guowen 因為 他 只 愛 國文 because 3SG only love Chinese

‘Because he is only interested in Chinese.’

MI16: bu shi yigai yao bao quan ke ban 不 是 應該 要 抱 拳[全] 科 班 NEG COP should need register all subject class zhi lei de ma

之 類 ㄉ[的] ㄇ[嗎]

of kind NOM PAR CW15: ta yao kao wu yue de

他 要 考 五 月 ㄉ[的]

3SG want take May month NOM

‘He wants to take the (Joint College Entrance Exam) held in May.’

ÆMI17: ta ai guowen o

他 愛 國文

＝ ＝ 3SG love Chinese PAR

‘(Are you sure) that he is interested in Chinese?’

MI assumes that River is good at sports and he may want to major in sports (MI9).

However, CW tells MI that River wants to apply for a business department (CW7),

which stands in disagreement with MI’s expectation (MI11). MI then is curious

about whether River goes to cram school. CW tells MI that River does not take all

the courses but only the Chinese course in the cram school, which again arouses MI’s

interest (MI15). CW replies to MI that River is interested in Chinese only, which is

beyond MI’s expectation since it is unusual that a sport-loving person like River is

interested in classical Chinese. Hence, in MI17, in addition to showing her

unexpectedness, MI simultaneously reveals the tone of disbelief, which can be further

implied in the following sign of ‘= =’ because such a symbol signifies the chatter’s incredibility.

Similarly, FRT o can be attached to an assessment which does not contribute much referential meaning to the prior turn as well. On the whole, this structure is used to express the speaker’s subjective assessment, as illustrated in example (4.18).

(4.18) GG1: zuo tian wo gen ban shang de tongxue qu qianguei 昨 天 我 跟 班 上 ㄉ[的] 同學 去 錢櫃 last day 1SG with class up ASSOC tongxue qu Cashbox

‘I went to the Karaoke box Cashbox with my classmates yesterday.’

GG2: zhonghua xin guan zhen bang 中華 新 館 真 棒 Zhonghua new building really great

‘The new branch of Zhonghua building is really great.’

ÆMA1: hao hao o 好 好

good good PAR

‘I envy you going there.’

GG3: baituo wo yi liang nian mei chang guo ge le 拜託 我 1、 2 年 沒唱過歌 ㄌ[了]

request 1SG one two year NEG sing EXP song CRS

‘Come on! I haven’t sung in a Karaoke box for about one or two years.’

GG4: buguo mei you xiang daxue nayang ai chang le 不過 沒 有 像 大學 那樣 愛 唱 ㄌ[了]

but NEG have like college that-way love sing CRS

‘But I don’t like to go there as often as I did in college.’

MA2: en en zuei you sha ge hao chang 恩恩 最近 有 啥 哥[歌] 好 唱 RT recently have what song good sing

‘Mm. Are there any good songs (for you) to sing (in the Karaoke box)?’

In this dialogue, GG informs MA that she goes to the new branch of a famous

Karaoke box (GG1 and GG2). After GG’s description, MA proposes her subjective evaluation to comment on it. In MA1, ‘hao hao o’ signals the speaker’s envy towards GG’s activity. Basically, the function of FRT o serves as an information receipt, signaling the receipt of the information in the prior turn. The o-suffixed utterance does not involve much substantial meaning.

In this section, we have shown that almost half (45.1%) of the use of FRT o primarily signals the reception of the prior informing and does not contribute much semantic content to the prior informing, for example, by reduplicating the prior information. However, FRT o does not necessarily indicate the speaker’s detachment but frequently signals that the prior informing is contrary to the chatter’s expectation. In the next section, we will show another context where FRT o acts similarly to the ones discussed above, i.e. to tag a new topic/subtopic.

4.2.2 Other-initiated Topic

FRT o can be tagged to a new topic which is come up with by the prior speaker, as is also found in Taiwanese o (Li 1999). It takes up 8.4% (35/419) of all the occurrences of FRT o. Observe example (4.19) in the following.

(4.19) SA1: ni you yao gen ni nan peng qu nali kua nian ma 你 有 要 跟 你 男 朋友 去 那裡 跨 年 嗎...

2SG have want with 2SG boy friend go where cross year PAR

‘Do you have any plan with your boyfriend on New Year’s Day?

GG1: ai lao le mei dongle zhi xiang chi 唉.. 老 了.. 沒 動力.. 只 想 吃:-#

RT old CRS NEG motivation only want eat

‘I am getting old. I don’t have any motivation (to join any activities).

What I want is to eat.’

GG2: ni ne 你 ㄋ[呢]

2SG PAR

‘How about you?’

SA2: suoyi mingtian yao qu chi dai can 所以 明天 要 去 吃 大 餐??

so tomorrow will go eat big meal

‘So are you going to enjoy a big meal tomorrow (to celebrate New Year)?

ÆSA3: wo o hui gen <L2 Pitt L2> hai you xuedi 我

.. 會 跟 <L2 Pitt L2> 還 有 學弟

1SG FRT will with Pitt still have junior school mate yiqi guo ba

一起 過 吧...

together pass PAR

‘Me? Probably, I’ll celebrate New Year with Pitt and a junior school mate.’

GG3: wa zhen qinlao 　 挖　.　.　. 真 勤勞

Gee really industrious ‘Gee! You are so vigorous.’

GG4 :ting shuo shi jiufen dui ba 聽 說 是 九份.. 對 ㄅ[吧]

hear say COP Jiufen right PAR

‘It is said that you plan to go to Jiufen, don’t you?’

(The topic continues to be developed on SA’s activity on New Year’s Day.)

At the beginning, SA initiates the topic about how GG will celebrate the coming of New Year’s Day. GG1 shows that she will not have any special activity on that day and then she asks how SA will spend that holiday. The suffix o in SA3 signals SA’s receipt of the previous enquiry in GG2, and in the following, the whole trajectory of talk shifts to how SA celebrates the New Year’s Day. Notice that when comparing IRT o and FRT o in this function, we find that the distinction is made by whether the topic is introduced by the speaker himself/herself. Both IRT o and FRT o are used to mark the receipt of the prior informing and the speaker’s change of knowledge state.

However, the topic after IRT o is introduced on the current speaker’s initiative for

further information while the one after FRT o is introduced by the prior speaker (SA, in (4.19)) since the o-suffixed utterance marks the reception of the topic which has just been brought up.

4.2.3 Mitigator

Li and Thompson (1981:311) argue that utterance final o is a particle showing the speaker’s caring and concern. Among the uses of o in the MSN talk, in addition to marking the receipt of prior information, this use of o tagged to an utterance is also found to soften a directive. However, it only accounts for 2.9% (13/419) of all the uses of FRT o.

(4.20) CW1: wo jin tian qing jia hueilai 我 今 天 請 假 回來 1SG this day ask leave back

‘I asked for a leave today.’

MI1: gan ma 幹嘛

‘For what?’

CW2: yinwei hao bu shufu 因為 好 不 舒服

because very NEG comfortable

‘Because I didn’t feel good.’

MI2: xiuxi ma 休息 嘛 rest PAR

‘Then take a rest.’

CW3: en en 嗯嗯 RT

‘Mm hum.’

ÆMI3: na guaigai o 那 乖乖

then good FRT

‘Then take care.’

CW4: wo hui ya 我 會 呀 1SG will PAR

‘Sure.’

(the end of the topic )

CW has a part-time job during summer vacation. She tells MI that she takes a day off in that she does not feel good (CW1). Receiving the bad informing, MI shows her concern as if she were CW’s mother by virtue of o-suffixed suggestion. FRT o here smoothes the tone of imperative and speaker’s concern is revealed. Another example shows the speaker’s warning, as indicated in (4.21).

(4.21 ) CW1: wo yao zhao ren bao yang wo 我要找人包養我

1SG want find person wrap keep 1SG

‘I want to be someone’s concubine.’

LM1: kao 靠

dependent

‘Shit.’

CW2: smiley

LM2: wo juede yang wo nu pengyou yijing hen chili le 我 覺得 養 我 女 朋友 已經 很 吃力 了 1SG feel keep 1SG girl friend already very laborious CRS I feel that supporting my girlfriend has cost me a lot.’

LM3: jiao shouji fei jiu liang qian 角[繳] 手機 費 就 兩 千 pay cell-phone fee just two thousand

‘Just for the phone bill, I need to spend two thousand (every month) on it.’

CW2: duo yang yi dian ba 多 養 一 點 吧 more keep one CL PAR

‘You can raise one more (person).’

LM4: ＝ ＝

CW3: wo chi hen shao

我 吃 很 少 1SG eat very less

‘I don’t eat much’

CW4: wo yi ge yue shi wuan jiu hao 我 一 個 月 10 萬 就 好 1SG one CL month ten ten-thousand just okay

‘It will only cost ten thousand each month (if I were your concubine).’

ÆLM5: ni tai gui le o 你 太 貴 了

2SG too expensive CRS FRT

‘Hey! You are too expensive.’

CW5: ha ha ha 哈 哈 哈 ‘ ha ha ha

‘ha ha ha.’

LM6: mei ren hui yang 沒 人 會 養 NEG person will keep

‘No one will support you.’

CW6: hai hao la 還 好 啦 still good PAR

‘I don’t think so.’

(The following shifts to another topic.)

CW jokes with LM that she wants to be a concubine. In LM2 and LM3, LM

tells CW that it is difficult for him to have another lover since financially just paying

the cell phone bill for his current girlfriend is already a big load to him. CW plays a

joke on LM that she would like to be LM’s concubine if LM pays her one hundred

thousand dollars a month (CW4). In LM5, the warning attached to by an FRT o

reminds CW of the fact that CW neglected (cf. Shie 1991:169), i.e. it is too expensive

to keep her as a concubine. He warns CW that she is asking too much and no one

would take her (LM6). With FRT o, however, the warning sounds mild and

humorous, particularly in the contxt where the two interlocutors are joking,.

In sum, FRT o may be used to mark the receipt of information and at the same time mitigate the degree of directive force and show the speaker’s concern.

Additionally, the overall tone of FRT o in this use is soft and mild, which is similar to Taiwanese o, which has the function of decreasing the degree of demanding (Li 1999:168). The fact that it is less frequent might be because such a use is often used by people who are in different social statuses, like mother to child, teacher to student, and so on. However, all of the MSN chatters in our study are peers, and this factor may therefore reduce such a use of FRT o.

4.2.4 Requesting for Clarifications

When receiving a piece of informing which signals message contrary to the chatter’s information state or not existing in his/her knowledge world, he/she may respond with an utterance tagged with an FRT o for clarification. An o-tagged utterance marking the speaker’s request for further clarifications accounts for 43.7%

(182/419) of all the occurrences of FRT o.

(4.22) JJ1: shuxue shujia zuoye shi sha 數學 暑假 作頁[業] 是 啥 math summer-vacation assignment COP what

‘What is the math assignment during our summer vocation?’

LH1: en kan yi ban shu hou xie xinde jige laoshi 恩　.　.看 一 本 書 後 寫 心得 寄 給 老師 RT read one CL book after write feeling mail to teacher

‘Mm, read one book and then write your reflection. (Remember to) mail it to our teacher.’

LH2: ranhao hai you timu yao xie 然後 還 有 題目 要 寫 then still have question need write

‘Then some problems we need to solve as well.’

ÆJJ2: o bu shi na san zhang kaojuan o 喔　.　.ㄅ[不] 是 那 三 張 考卷

RT NEG COP that three CL paper FRT

‘Oh, aren’t they the three test sheets (which were our assignments)?

LH3: xie zai eifour biji ban 寫 在 A4 筆記 本 write in A four note book

‘Just write them in the notebook in the A4 format.’

LH4: na san zhang ye shi a 那 三 張 也 是 阿 that three CL too COP PAR

‘The three test sheets are also included.’

JJ3: shi o wa 是喔　 哇∼∼∼

RT RT

‘Is that so? My goodness!’

LH5: en heng 恩哼

‘Mm hum.’

LH6: ni hai mei xie a 你 還 沒 寫 阿@@”

2SG still NEG write PAR

‘(I can’t believe) you haven’t done it.’

(…the topic continues)

JJ asks LH what their assignment is for summer vacation in JJ1. After receiving the message from LH1 and LH2, JJ uses an IRT o to indicate the successful transmission of the information and utters an o-tagged utterance (JJ2). The o-suffixed utterance signals JJ’s surprise because the prior informing appears to contradict his expectation.

Since JJ shows his unexpectedness, simultaneously he implies that he needs more clarification to eliminate his uncertainty towards the new and unexpected information.

The o-suffixed utterance is therefore perceived as a clarification question to LH, who

continues to clarify the ambiguity in LH4. Note, however, that FRT o is not a typical

question marker since it mainly indicates the chatter’s unexpectedness and indirectly