Universität zu Köln

Al-qaoud, Juman (2025). Analyzing Tag Questions in Jordanian Arabic Talk-in-Interaction from a Multimodal Perspective. PhD thesis, Universität zu Köln.

PDF (Final version for a doctoral dissertation accepted by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities) Dissertation Alqaoud final version.pdf - Accepted Version Download (12MB)

Abstract

This dissertation offers a comprehensive examination of invariant tag questions (ITQs) in Jordanian Arabic, by focusing on their interactional and multimodal functions in spontaneous conversation. By drawing on approximately 20 hours of video-recorded interaction among 70 speakers in Irbid City, the study investigates how linguistic forms, prosody, and embodied conduct co-occur to produce socially meaningful actions. By employing Conversation Analysis (CA) in combination with multimodal interaction analysis and a new transcription tool, the research challenges the view of tag questions as mere syntactic structures for seeking confirmation. Instead, it demonstrates that they are dynamic, context-sensitive resources that vary in form, function, interactional force, and response-mobilizing potential. The analysis centers on 102 validated instances of ITQs, categorized into three types: response-mobilizing ITQs (Chapter 4), non-response-mobilizing ITQs (Chapter 5), and post-positioned question tags (PPQTs) (Chapter 6). Response-mobilizing ITQs typically appear in turn-final position and are often accompanied by a recurrent cluster of multimodal cues—rising intonation, direct gaze, and downward head nods—that enhance their response relevance. Forms such as sˤaħ (right), willa laʔ (or not), and sˤaħ willa laʔ (right or not) vary in their epistemic stance and pressure for uptake, depending on their prosodic and embodied features. Non-response-mobilizing ITQs, by contrast, tend to appear in non-initial sequential positions and often serve rhetorical, narrative, or emphatic functions. These tags are typically prosodically integrated with the anchor and lack strong multimodal cues, though they occasionally elicit responses that reinforce or reinterpret the speaker’s stance. Chapter 6 introduces PPQTs—question tags that occur at a distance from their syntactic anchor. This previously undocumented phenomenon in Arabic conversation is shown to be interactionally rich, with prosodic and bodily cues playing a central role in conveying their functions. The chapter develops a typology of PPQTs based on the nature of intervening elements (e.g., gaps, acknowledgments, or multimodal continuers) and distinguishes between their response-mobilizing and non-mobilizing functions. The dissertation makes several theoretical contributions. It extends CA by incorporating multimodal analysis to show how turn design, prosody, and embodied conduct operate together to construct social action. It also refines models of conditional and scalar relevance by demonstrating how visual and vocal cues modulate response expectations. Additionally, it draws on discourse-segmentation and prosodic-integration frameworks to explain whether the anchor and the tag function as a single cohesive unit or as separate discourse acts, and how this distinction reflects speaker certainty and influences uptake. Methodologically, the study innovates by adapting digital tools such as DOTE, ELAN, and Praat for Arabic multimodal data. It proposes an annotation system that treats gesture and speech as co-equal, and it demonstrates a replicable workflow for multimodal transcription in underrepresented languages. The integration of these tools supports fine-grained analysis and contributes to the development of multimodal corpora and semi-automated transcription systems. Overall, the study provides the most detailed account to date of ITQs in Jordanian Arabic. It shows how speakers use ITQs not merely for confirmation but as versatile resources for managing alignment, negotiating stance, and structuring talk. The findings invite further research across Arabic dialects and support the expansion of multimodal approaches in interactional linguistics.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD thesis)
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Al-qaoud, Juman jalqaou1@uni-koeln.de UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-793162
Date:	2025
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Fächergruppe 1: Kunstgeschichte, Musikwissenschaft, Medienkultur und Theater, Linguistik, IDH > Institut für Linguistik > Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft
Subjects:	Language, Linguistics
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language Tag question English Multimodality English Jordanian Arabic English Conversation Analysis English Response mobilization English
Date of oral exam:	31 October 2025
Referee:	Name Academic Title Bonifazi, Anna Prof. Dr. Mietzner, Angelika Prof. Dr. Al-Shawashreh, Ekab Prof. Dr.
Funders:	DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst)
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/79316