Rectifying others’ misunderstandings without doing correcting: Living with obscurities in one world

• In Event: 50403 - Conversation Analysis and Ethnomethodology: Context, Sequence, and Meaning in Interaction

Abstract

This study addresses the covert rectification of the recipient’s potential misunderstanding. It analyzes Japanese interactions using the methodology of conversation analysis, exploring two practices of rectifying a potential misunderstanding without doing correcting: (1) adding new information that contradicts the recipient’s incorrect assumption and (2) using a similar phrase as possibly framing the speaker’s reattempt of the potentially misunderstood talk. In conclusion, we discuss how covert rectifications contribute to address interactional problems.

Author

• Aug Nishizaka, Chiba University