Getting attention in different languages : A usage-based approach to parenthetical LOOK in Chinese, Dutch, English and Italian

The present article examines the broad function of attention-getting embodied by parenthetical look in Chinese, Dutch, English and Italian. It analyzes a sample of the marker’s occurrences in corpora of spontaneous conversations and of interviews and discussions in terms of a systematic typology of parameters of interactional behavior and adopts a range of statistical methods to uncover patterns of (dis)similarity. The results include, inter alia, a cross-linguistic preference for clause-initial and turn-initial/medial position, a strong association across languages with assertive and expressi... Mehr ...