IULC Publications

Linking Openings to Closings in Kiswahili Conversations

By Alwiya Omar

Alwiya Omar focuses on the related discourse functions of conversation openings (COs) and closings (CCs) in Kiswahili and their pragmatic importance in the culture. The author modifies existing analyses in other languages to account for all aspects of these functions in Kiswahili. COs, characterized by elaborate and recursive formulaic features, share elements with CCs. Only in COs, however, does the relative age of the participants determine the role each must assume, i.e., openings may reflect an orderly sequence of turns between Questioner and Respondent, or competition resulting in partially or totally overlapping turns. Omar provides an enlightening cross-cultural perspective to these discourse functions.

52 pages
$6.00

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