114 Advances in spoken discourse analysis
describes as that of primary knower or K1. She points out that in other
situations which involve a K1 there is nothing remarkable about evaluative
follow-up. In support of this she cites an exchange between a quizmaster
and a contestant:
Quizmaster: Which cathedral has the tallest spire?
Contestant: Salisbury.
Quizmaster: Yes.In such an exchange, she says, the initial question is not a ‘real’ question
in the sense that it is a request for information on the part of the speaker.
It is a ‘pseudo-question’. The quizmaster knows the answer very well and
simply puts the question in order to ascertain whether or not the contestant
knows the answer, just as teachers ask questions to see if pupils know the
answer.
Within Berry’s description a true question, one which seeks to elicit
information, will be asked not by a primary knower, K1, but by a secondary
knower, K2. The exchange given above, incorporating a ‘real’ question is
analysed as:
(I) K2: What’s that you’ve got?
(R) K1: A pair of scissors.
(F) K2f: Oh.Where K2f is a Follow-up move acknowledging the response to a question.
In an exchange like the quizmaster/contestant example, K1, the quizmaster,
is not seeking but witholding information which he is prepared to divulge
only after he has ascertained whether or not K2, the contestant, is able to
supply it unaided. For this reason Berry offers the following analysis:
(I) DK1: Which cathedral has the tallest spire?
(R) K2: Salisbury.
(F) K1: Yes.DK1 is a move in which the questioner defines the knowledge to which he
as K1 has access, the name of the cathedral with the highest spire, but
delays providing that information by defining it in the form of a question
rather than revealing it in the form of a statement. It announces the delay
of a K1 move. The K2 move offers information, but at the same time waits
for confirmation of that information. K1 provides that confirmation.
This is an elegant analysis which has a number of obvious attractions.
We have seen that the two exchanges are essentially different. Berry’s analysis
reveals that difference. It does so by identifying the roles fulfilled by the
questioners—K1 in the case of the teachers and quizmasters and K2 in most
other cases. It also underlines the similarity in function of:
(I) K2: What’s that you’ve got?and