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In:Informality in Japanese: Getting close in a formal context
Edited by Haruko Minegishi Cook and Momoko Nakamura
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 357] 2027
► pp. 20–49

Chapter 2
Construction of shared affect in a Japanese research interview

Changes in participation framework

 | University of Hawaii at Manoa
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
This chapter explores how the participants of a multi-party research interview create an informal context within the formality of a research interview. The qualitative analysis of the data reveals that formality/informality is not only indexed by the desu/masu and plain forms but also is interactionally coordinated with a change of participation framework (Goffman 1981). When the interviewer asks a question, the interviewees often answer her question by carrying out an informal conversation among themselves rather than answering directly to the interviewer. This move changes the participation framework and constructs an embedded frame within the frame of interview (a dual communicative frame). The chapter demonstrates that this simultaneous multilevel reframing is an effective way to incorporate informality within the formal frame of a research interview.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Participation framework and dual communicative frame
    • 2.1Participation framework
    • 2.2“Collaborative response” as a ratified response in a Japanese multi-party research interview
    • 2.3Dual communicative frame
    • 2.4Multi-party research interview as a dual communicative event
  • 3.Data
  • 4.Analysis
    • 4.1Expected formality of a research interview
    • 4.2Construction of an informal context within a formal research interview
    • 4.3Display of strong emotive expressions in Frame 2
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
References (41)
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