The Token "Yeah" in Nonnative Speaker English Conversation

Abstract

Abstract This article is concerned with a previously unobserved lexical element-yeah-observed in the speech of nonnative speakers of English whose native language is Mandarin. Using the framework of conversation analysis, I discuss the same-turn repair environment in which the token yeah occurs but reveal that the token serves as an additional component, doing something other than repair. This form of turn-medial yeah is used to present an image of the speaker as one who is competently managing throughout disfluency (and repair). In serving this function, the yeah contributes to our understanding of how speakers construct their identities as nonnative speakers (or learners) of the language of interaction. Its usage in native speaker English conversation is extremely rare.