On the use of the Korean polite interjection ney in turn design

This study examines the interactional use of the Korean polite interjection ney at turn-initial and turn-final positions in dyadic interactions between previously unacquainted individuals. At turn-initial position, ney is employed to enter speakership politely and to project the initiation of a turn as interactionally relevant. At turn-final position, ney is used to mark turn completion and facilitate the transfer of speakership. Through these practices, ney functions not only as a linguistic resource for turn design but also as an index of speakers’ orientation to maintaining a respectful atmosphere between previously unacquainted interlocutors, thereby navigating interpersonal relationships in accordance with the socio-cultural conventions of politeness in Korean speech communities. This use of ney exemplifies language use through (inter)subjectivity, which reflects speakers’ orientation toward ongoing sequential contingencies as well as their sensitivity to listeners’ presence, evaluation, and potential uptake (i.e., turn-taking).