The role of the initial utterance in contingent query sequences: its influence on responses to requests for clarification

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Abstract
Utterances for which clarification is requested have not always been considered an integral part of the ensuing contingent query sequence. To examine this issue, characteristics of children's utterances which were targeted for requests for clarification were examined to determine if they influence the nature of responses. Any relationship here would (a) establish the role of the initial utterance as part of the contingent query discourse unit, and (b) begin the documentation of that role. Twenty-six children (nine aged between two and three, eleven between three and four, and six between four and five) were videotaped in a one-hour free-play session. Twenty times during the session an experimenter signalled non-comprehension of a comprehensible utterance by asking ‘What?’. The queried utterances were categorized as serving one of three functions (interpersonal, child activity or environmental) and as occurring in one of three social contexts (eye contact, other social or private). Responses were classified as being either a no-response, repetition or revision. Results showed that social context interacted with response type: more no-responses and fewer repetitions occurred in the private relative to the eye-contact context. This interaction demonstrated that the initial utterance plays a role in response determination, and is therefore an important part of the contingent query sequence. Findings also indicated that response type changed with development.

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