ABSTRACT
Sound stretches constitute one component of disfluent speech. Among different places where sound stretches may occur, the mid-clausal sound stretches may indicate stronger markedness for their less frequent occurrences. Using conversation analysis, I will analyze storytelling instances to understand the interactive dynamics of mid-clausal sound stretches. The analysis revealed that mid-clausal sound stretches fulfill various interactional roles in different storytelling phases. In the storytelling preface, they topicalize the preceding word for the story and thereby hold the floor for more to be told. In the telling sequence, they solicit the recipient’s alignment display for background information. In contrast, during the climax of the telling, they function as one of the resources to heighten the participants’ engagement. In the response sequence, they topicalize a new element to propose a direction for the subsequent talk. This analysis suggests that sound stretches are strategically produced during storytelling activity to accomplish different purposes that are relevant to the ongoing sequence. This study further suggests that interactants are sensitive to the subtle differences of the interactional task at hand and are able to display orientation to the precise placement of such disfluent speech.
