Backchannels in French and Japanese languages : a contrastive study ; Les régulateurs discursifs en français et en japonais : une étude contrastive

In this thesis, we explore verbal interactions using Conversation Analysis as a methodological approach. Specifically, we focus on the study of short vocalizations and head nods known as "discourse regulators", which are used by the addressee to show an active listening. We compared the characteristics of these regulators in French and Japanese languages by examining two corpora of spontaneous dyadic conversations between students, one collected at the University of Paris Nanterre and the other at Kobe University. Our hypothesis was that Japanese interactants use discourse regulators more frequently and with a wider range of functions compared to French ones. We tried to verify it by analysing the types of discourse regulators, their pragmatic functions, their position within the speaker's turn, and their frequency in both languages. The results show that the main differences lie in the fact that Japanese speakers use verbal regulators from the beginning of the speaker's turn construction unit, reflecting the importance placed on social harmony and empathy. On the other hand, in French, complex units manifesting a strong agreement are more frequently used to demonstrate engagement in the interaction. Nonetheless, speakers of both languages employ regulators with the same frequency. These findings highlight that the use of these signals in managing conversational flow holds equivalent importance in French. This therefore emphasizes a shared communicative ethos between French and Japanese, wherein both languages manifest cooperation in communication through active listening. This highlights the significance of using these discourse regulators in facilitating effective conversations across linguistic and cultural boundaries. ; Cette thèse s’inscrit dans le domaine de l’étude des interactions verbales. L’approche méthodologique sur laquelle on prend appui est l’Analyse conversationnelle. L’entrée d’analyse est constituée par les vocalisations courtes et les hochements de tête que l’allocutaire emploie pour ...