Kedo-ending turn format as a formula for a problem statement with a deontic implication

Abstract

In many languages, some turn formats are highly fixed and closely associated with specific interactional contexts, and thus function as formulas for particular actions. In Japanese, one of the recurring turn formats for referring to a problem found in the surrounding situation or other’s conduct is a clause ending with the contrastive particle kedo ‘but’. Based on close examination of examples from naturally-occurring conversations using the analytic framework of Interactional Linguistics, this article illustrates that the format with kedo is used to assign a deontic authority concerning an observed problem to the recipient and thereby leaving to the recipient a decision about how the problem should be dealt with and by whom. This shows a clear contrast with the turn format ending with yo, which is used to inform the recipients of what the speaker knows as a problem, and thereby to ask the hearers to register it.