ZiYang2026
| ZiYang2026 | |
|---|---|
| BibType | ARTICLE |
| Key | ZiYang2026 |
| Author(s) | Zi Yang, Fan Yang, Xueming Wang |
| Title | Managing alignment: the third-position repetition in medical question–answer sequences |
| Editor(s) | |
| Tag(s) | EMCA, Third-position repetition, Question-answer sequence, Alignment, Epistemics, Conversation analysis, Medical interaction |
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| Year | 2026 |
| Language | English |
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| Journal | Lingua |
| Volume | 341 |
| Number | October 2026 |
| Pages | 104236 |
| URL | Link |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.lingua.2026.104236 |
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Abstract
Based on conversation analysis of doctor-patient interaction during verbal examination in traditional Chinese medicine consultations, this study explores how third-position repetitions in question–answer sequences serve as an interactional resource to shape subsequent courses of action. It foregrounds the relatively under-examined dimension of (dis)alignment between the answer and the questioner’s expectation, and demonstrate its central role in organizing third-position repetitions in institutional settings. Findings reveal that both the intonational design of the repetition and the subsequent responses are systematically sensitive to whether the patient’s answer aligns with the interactional expectation embedded in the doctor’s question design. Aligning answers typically elicit falling-intonation repetitions that invite elaboration, whereas disaligning answers tend to prompt falling-intonation repetitions seeking confirmation or rising-intonation repetitions pursuing justification. These patterns, diverging from those observed in ordinary conversation, reflect participants’ distinctive orientation to epistemic configuration specific to the institutional context. By foregrounding expectation-based (dis)alignment as a key factor in action ascription, this study advances understanding of how repetition assumes its interactional import and contributes to broader accounts of third-position practices in question–answer sequences.
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