A Conversation Analysis Of The Sequence Of Proposing In Mandarin Mundane Talk

The existing studies on proposing are mainly from the perspectives of Pragmatics and Conversation Analysis(hereafter CA).After reviewing these studies,we can learn that(1)there are few studies focusing on proposing in Mandarin mundane talk,besides these studies do not strictly distinguish proposing from other actions,like suggesting,and their achievements are mainly based on non-naturally occurring data,which cannot provide a precise usage of proposing in real talk-in-interaction;(2)although the existing conversation analytic studies on proposing provide certain insights to the present research,especially studies conducted in terms of deontic rights and entitlement,these studies are mainly based on the data collected in institutional settings,such as planning meetings in work places,and treatment recommendations between the doctor and the patient in hospitals;and(3)proposing is normally deemed as an action distributing deontic rights symmetrically to each participant compared with other actions,such as announcing,and commanding.Yet the specific distribution and establishment of the deontic rights in and through sequences of proposing are still uncovered.Therefore,the present research aims to fill these gaps.The present research is a conversation analysis of deontic symmetry and asymmetry established in and through sequences of proposing in Mandarin mundane talk.The whole database from which sequences of proposing were selected consists of 640 intact mundane telephone talks between classmates,friends,boyfriend-girlfriend,couples,relatives,parent-child etc.mainly living in northern region of China,and the 33-hours data were collected from 2014 to 2022.In addition,one or more sequences of proposing were noted in 111 intact telephone calls out of the total 640 telephone calls,and these 111 calls last for5 hours or so and contain 224 sequences of proposing.Proposing in the present research involves both the proposer and the recipient mutually as agents and beneficiaries of a future activity,and this specific type of action has much to do with the notion of deontic rights which refers to the rights to determine action.The deontic relation or the distribution of deontic rights between the proposer and the recipient is found either symmetrically or asymmetrically established in the turn-by-turn sequential unfolding of interaction.The above conclusion is arrived at by probing into the following three research questions:(1)What does the proposer achieve with proposing in a certain sequential environment?(2)How does the proposer claim his / her own deontic rights by proposing?(3)How does the recipient acknowledge or not the proposer’s deontic rights as well as claim his / her own deontic rights through a response and / or through both participants’ subsequent actions?To answer the question that what the proposer achieves with proposing in a certain sequential environment,the position where proposing occurs was specified.Three different positions were found,namely,in the opening,middle and closing segments of a call.Proposing in the opening segment of a call is normally conducted as the reason-for-call,which could be proposing to participate in a leisure activity,or proposing to solve a mutual problem.Proposing in the middle segment of a call could be classified into two categories.The first category is related to proposing’s prior sequence,and it includes proposing an arrangement concerning a prior decision and proposing a solution to a prior mutual problem or an alternative arrangement.The other one is understood as occasioned proposing which is triggered in the calling,and it covers occasioned proposing to participate in a leisure activity,and occasioned proposing to solve a mutual problem.Proposing in the closing segment of a call is normally proposing to participate in a future activity to close the current call.It is found that proposing to participate in a leisure activity in the opening segment of a call tends to have a pre-sequence,while proposing of other types tends to have no pre-sequence.This probably is due to the obvious self-evident mutual benefit in the later types of proposing compared with the prior type of proposing whose mutual benefit is still under discussion.With regards to how the proposer claims his / her deontic rights by proposing,four types of turn designs are sorted: proposing with a neutral stance,a decisive stance,a tentative stance,and a withdrawing stance.The vast majority of proposing in the data of the present research are conducted with a neutral stance displaying a relatively equal distribution of deontic rights between the participants.Proposing with a decisive stance distributes more deontic rights to the proposer,yet proposing with a tentative stance and a withdrawing stance result in distributing less to almost no deontic rights to the proposer.When it comes to how the recipient acknowledges or denies the proposer’s deontic rights as well as claims his / her own deontic rights through a response and / or through both participants’ subsequent actions,five categories of responses are identified: full acceptance,weak acceptance,rejection,other response,and absence of an immediate response.Out of the above categories three kinds of responses satisfy the conditional relevance,which are full acceptance,weak acceptance,and rejection.These responses are conducted by the recipient to either acknowledge or not the proposer’s deontic rights and even to express his / her own deontic rights.However,for a weak acceptance,the recipient and / or the proposer would probably alter the status quo with a subsequent action.Therefore,the recipient would immediately carry out a subsequent action in the same turn to intensify or weaken the deontic incongruence,or leave the deontic incongruence untouched;while the proposer engaging in a subsequent action after a weak acceptance would maneuver the prior deontic stance by maintaining it,making it more decisive or more tentative,or even cancelling it.The proposer would also enact a subsequent action after his / her proposal being rejected by maneuvering the prior deontic stance through maintaining it,or making it more decisive or more tentative.In sequences of proposing with other response,the recipient may execute the action of initiating a repair,seeking confirmation,or providing a counter to suspend the deontic acknowledgment;while the recipient may also start a side sequence to get the chance to probably deviate from the deontic acknowledgment.When there is the absence of an immediate response,the proposer would normally maneuver the prior deontic stance by maintaining the prior deontic stance,making it more decisive or more tentative,or even cancelling it,in order to restart the sequence to pursue a preferred response or at least a vocal response.By answering the above three research questions,the present research highlights the real talk-in-interaction as the locus of social order,and seeks to enhance our understanding of the symmetric and the asymmetric distribution of deontic rights through the turn-by-turn sequential unfolding of interaction in a supposed “equal” activity involving both the proposer and the recipient as mutual agents and beneficiaries of a future activity.Besides,it will in some sense shed new lights on probing into the establishment of an equal relationship among individuals.