A Conversational Analysis of Acholi: Structure and Socio-Pragmatics of a Nilotic Language of Uganda

376 Pages·2020·5.478 MB·

by  Maren Rüsch

AConversationalAnalysisofAcholi
Brill’s Studies in Language,
Cognition and Culture
SeriesEditors
AlexandraY.Aikhenvald(CairnsInstitute,JamesCookUniversity)
R.M.W.Dixon(CairnsInstitute,JamesCookUniversity)
N.J.Enfield(UniversityofSydney)
volume 25
Thetitlespublishedinthisseriesarelistedatbrill.com/bslc
A Conversational Analysis
of Acholi
StructureandSocio-Pragmatics
of aNiloticLanguageof Uganda
By
MarenRüsch
LEIDEN | BOSTON
Coverillustration:Gulutown,courtesyofChristinavonHörsten.
ThisbookisarevisedversionofthedissertationacceptedbytheFacultyofArtsandHumanitiesofthe
UniversityofCologneinJuly2018.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Names:Rüsch,Maren,author.
Title:AconversationalanalysisofAcholi:structureandsocio-pragmaticsofa
NiloticlanguageofUganda/MarenRüsch.
Othertitles:Brill'sstudiesinlanguage,cognitionandculture;v.25.18795412
Description:Leiden;Boston:Brill,2020.|Series:Brill'sstudiesinlanguage,
cognitionandculture,18795412;25|Includesbibliographicalreferencesand
index.
Identifiers:LCCN2020033702(print)|LCCN2020033703(ebook)|
ISBN9789004437586(hardback)|ISBN9789004437593(ebook)
Subjects:LCSH:Acholilanguage–Discourseanalysis.|Acholilanguage–Social
aspects.|Conversationanalysis–Uganda–GuluDistrict.|
Sociolinguistics–Uganda–GuluDistrict.
Classification:LCC PL8041.R872020(print)|LCC PL8041(ebook)|
DDC496.5584–dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2020033702
LCebookrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2020033703
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ISSN1879-5412
ISBN978-90-04-43758-6(hardback)
ISBN978-90-04-43759-3(e-book)
Copyright2021byMarenRüsch.PublishedbyKoninklijkeBrillNV,Leiden,TheNetherlands.
KoninklijkeBrillNVincorporatestheimprintsBrill,BrillHes&DeGraaf,BrillNijhoff,BrillRodopi,
BrillSense,HoteiPublishing,mentisVerlag,VerlagFerdinandSchöninghandWilhelmFinkVerlag.
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ForApril,
thestrongestwomanIknow,
whoshowedmehowstartingaconversation
byaskingasimplequestioncanchangeyourlife
AndforElijah,
mayyouneverlosethestrengthtoaskquestions,
andalwaysbeabletodiscoverthetruth
inthewordsyouarebeingtold
∵

Contents
Acknowledgements xi
ListofMaps,Tables,andFigures xiii
Abbreviations xvi
1 Introduction 1
1.1 AbouttheGenesisofThisBookandtheStudyItComprises 3
1.2 Historical,PoliticalandLinguisticBackground:NorthernUgandaand
AcholiinNumbers,GraphicsandQuotes 6
1.2.1 GuluandtheNorthernRegion 6
1.2.2 TheWarandItsAftermath 8
1.2.3 EvolutionofaPre-colonialAcholiEntity 11
1.2.4 StigmatizationduringtheBritishColonizationandBeyond 13
1.3 AcholiPreliminaries:WrittenandSpokenLanguage“Standards” 16
1.3.1 BasicGrammarandLiterature 16
1.3.2 CommonElision 23
1.4 OnMethodology,EthicsandConventions 26
1.4.1 DocumentationofEverydayLanguage 27
1.4.2 ElicitationofEmicPointsofView 36
1.4.3 EthicalConsiderations 37
1.4.4 ConventionsofTranscription 38
2 FramingInteraction 40
2.1 ActionandReaction 40
2.1.1 AboutMutualParticipationandInterdependency 41
2.1.2 AboutLanguageasSocialAction 46
2.2 FramingandContext 49
2.2.1 AboutCognition,FramesandSchemas 49
2.2.2 AboutCommunicationandCulture 54
3 ConversationalMicro-andMacro-management 56
3.1 StartingfromScratch:TurnsandAdjacencyPairs 60
3.1.1 Turn-ConstructionalUnitsandTransitionRelevance
Places 60
3.1.2 AdjacencyPairsandPreference 74
3.2 OrderandActionBefore,After,andWithin:Sequences 80
3.2.1 Openings 81
3.2.2 Closings 86
viii contents
3.2.3 ConversationalNarrative 90
3.2.4 ListenersasCo-authors:Back-ChannelingwithContinuersand
Assessments 118
3.2.5 SchismingasSequentialandSocialAction 120
3.3 DealingWithConversationalTrouble:RepairandOverlaps 134
3.3.1 InitiatingRepairandSolvingTrouble 135
3.3.2 Other-InitiatedRepair 138
3.3.3 Self-InitiatedRepair 146
3.3.4 SearchingforWords:TheCaseofgìnɛ̀ 149
3.3.5 Overlaps 151
3.4 SayingItAgain:Repetitions 157
3.4.1 TypesandFunctionsofRepetitionsinLanguageUse 157
3.4.2 DiaphonicRepetition 159
3.4.3 AutophonicRepetition 164
3.4.4 OtherInstancesandFunctionsofRepetition 171
4 Socio-pragmatics 174
4.1 AboutPoliteness,Criticism,andEvaluation 175
4.1.1 First-WaveApproachestoPoliteness 177
4.1.2 ScientificApproachestoPolitenesssince2000 179
4.1.3 SomeNotionsonDirectness 190
4.2 CreatingtheDifferencewithTinyWords:PragmaticMarkers 200
4.2.1 AnInsightintotheAbundanceandWidthofFunctions 201
4.2.2 DiscourseMarkersvs.ModalParticles:ATaxonomyfor
Acholi 202
4.2.3 ASampleofAcholiDiscourseMarkers 205
4.2.4 CommonAcholiModalParticlesScrutinized 208
4.2.5 DrawingtheContext:TheperceptionofModalParticles 213
4.3 DepictionofAction:Ideophones 217
4.3.1 CharacteristicsofAcholiIdeophones 218
4.3.2 ConversationalUse 220
4.4 RitualInteraction 227
4.4.1 De-mystifyingRitualInteraction:Definitionand
Meaning 228
4.4.2 AppreciatingtheMostVitalRitualoftheDay:The
Greeting 229
4.4.3 TheFreedomtoReactinaDispreferredWay:RitualInteraction
intheMarket 242
4.4.4 TheRelevanceofStorytellingasInteractivePractice 250
contents ix
5 Non-verbalContributionstoConversation 255
5.1 DoingThingswithoutWords:Depictive,DeicticandEmblematic
Gestures 257
5.1.1 Counting 258
5.1.2 DescribingThings 261
5.1.3 ShowingPlacesandDirections 266
5.2 Non-verbalActioninConversation:ANoteonParalinguistic
Features 269
5.2.1 LaughterandKiss-Teeth 269
5.2.2 SomeCommentsonBreathing 285
5.2.3 Silence 288
5.3 AMultimodalApproach:StructureandActionthroughGesture,
Gaze,andBody 294
5.3.1 Sample1:ARepetitionSequence 295
5.3.2 Sample2:AShortExtractFullofSoundsandBody
Language 299
6 AMultidimensionalConceptualizationofConversationAnalysisin
Acholi 313
6.1 UniversalandLanguage-SpecificFeatures 313
6.1.1 ContextualizationandtheSpaceandLocalityof
Interaction 314
6.1.2 Languaging-in-(Inter)action 317
6.2 AMultidimensionalApproach 319
6.2.1 MultipleAnglesofAnalysisintheResearchofAcholi
Conversation 319
6.2.2 ConversationalInteractionasMultidimensionalAction 321
Epilogue 323
References 325
IndexofLanguages 351
IndexofSubjects 353