Universität zu Köln

Janz, Alicia (2022). Navigating Common Ground Using Feedback in Conversation - A Phonetic Analysis. Masters thesis, Universität zu Köln.

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Abstract

This Thesis investigates Backchannels (BCs) in German in different conversational contexts. Backchannels are usually defined as other-oriented feedback signals such as e.g. “mm-hm”, “okay”, or “genau” which are used by listeners in conversation to show that they are actively listening to their interlocutor and understanding their utterance. In this thesis it is shown that depending on the context or formality of the conversation, listeners adapted their feedback signals regarding lexical content and intonation. We argue that there are differences in the specific functions, backchannel feedback serves in different conversational contexts. Our findings emphasize the importance of considering the conversational setting, especially when investigating quintessentially interactional aspects of speech communication.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters thesis)
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Janz, Alicia a.janz@uni-koeln.de UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-724076
Series Name at the University of Cologne:	Papers on Prominence
Volume:	19
Date:	8 August 2022
Language:	English
Faculty:	Collaborative Research Centers Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Fächergruppe 1: Kunstgeschichte, Musikwissenschaft, Medienkultur und Theater, Linguistik, IDH > Institut für Linguistik > Phonetik Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Fächergruppe 3: Deutsche Sprache und Literatur > Institut für Deutsche Sprache und Literatur I Collaborative Research Centers > CRC 1252: Prominence in Language Collaborative Research Centers > CRC 1252: Prominence in Language > TP A02
Subjects:	Language, Linguistics
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language Feedback, turn-taking, pragmatic functions, intonation, backchannels, conversation, discourse English
Date of oral exam:	2022
Referee:	Name Academic Title Grice, Martine Prof. Dr. Mücke, Doris Prof. Dr.
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/72407