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understanding between the interlocutors. Likewise this study shows that keywords
are highly utilized in intercultural communication among closely-related
languages. Intercultural communication is defined by Rehbein (2010) as “the
mediation of cultural differences between social groups through verbal or non-
verbal interaction” (p. 1). (Cultural) keywords were also observed to be used by
both Turkish and Azerbaijani native speakers as Işık (2003) states “language
cannot ultimately be understood without an excursion into culture”. As Işık
(2003) states, “understanding what people say requires an understanding of the
cultural context, and of cultural mechanisms at play” (Brislin and Brislin, 1999 as
cited in Işık, 2003: 139). For instance, in the analyzed data, Azerbaijani
interlocutor tries to explain the guess word
Çar (Tsar, title of Russian emperors).
He starts his explanation by making Turkish interlocutor think of the authoritarian
state systems with his utterance:
Şimdi s)) a deməli ((2_s)) demokrasidən
əvvəl... (Now ((4 s)) a you know ((2 s)) before democracy). Turkish interlocutor
understands what he means. Even though she thinks in the context of Turkey and
utters
A meşrutiyet vardı. Sultan. (A there was constitutional monarchy. Sultan),
upon hearing
sultan as a keyword, he continues by extending the meaning of
sultan over the globe. He says
A
yani sultan kimi ama a bi başqa ölkəde.
(Ah
I mean it's like sultan but a in another country). They made use of their shared
cultural
knowledge sultan in their discourse.
5.5.1. Pause
Pause, either short or long, accompanies Turkish and Azerbaijani
interjections signalling
(non-) understanding, specifically in
guessing signal
category which indicates that interlocutor tries to recall the lexical item from his
mental lexicon. Megehee et al. (2003) state that “pauses or silences in speech have
meaning and function in interpersonal communication in that they indicate, among
other things, punctuation, evaluation, revelation, emotional expression, or mental
activity” (Bruneau, 1973; Knapp & Hall, 1992 as cited in Megehee et al., 2003).
PRAAT analyses of such interjections indicate that duration of the interjection
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signalling
guessing is longer than the interjections signalling other categories
related to
(non-) understanding. A case in point is that Azerbaijani interlocutor
tries to explain the guess word
Angelina Jolie (an American actress) by giving an
example from a movie which she acted
Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Upon hearing the name
of the movie, Turkish interlocutor signals that name of the actress is on the tip of
her tongue. She even utters her surname
after a pause and hesitation of circa one
second
şey
Jolie (He well Jolie).
5.6.1. Asymmetrical Relation
It was also observed that there is no instance in the analyzed data with respect
to the Azerbaijani interjections signalling
misunderstanding and
partial
understanding utilized by Azerbaijani interlocutors. This result shows that unlike
Turkish interlocutors, Azerbaijani interlocutors better understand their
counterparts.
5.7.1. Use of Discourse Marker Şey
In the obtained data, it is apprehended that
şey is mostly used as a discourse
filler strategy to recall an element in Turkish.
Şey signals the
terminus a quo of
guessing/recalling strategy. It signals an ongoing planning action, here, implying
tip of the tongue phenomenon. The instances in which discourse marker
şey is
used by Turkish interlocutors as a strategy to recall an element implies the mental
condition of the hearer. These findings are in correlation with Yılmaz (2004) and
Ruhi, Ş.,
Hatipoğlu, Ç., Eröz-Tuğa, B. & Işık-Güler, H. (2010).
In the example in excerpt below, Azerbaijani interlocutor Fahir tries to
explain the guess word
Şaxta Baba (Santa Claus, Father Christmas). He explains
the approximate date of Christmas
in December by saying Bayram olanda otuz bir
dekabr (When the festival starts on December 31).
Turkish interlocutor does not
understand who he is and shouts in frustration:
O kim ya? (Who’s that yaa?). He,
then, tries to focus on the characteristics of Santa Claus such as “giving presents”
to make Turkish interlocutor understand. Upon hearing
Hədiyyə gətirir (He brings
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In Figure 55, intensity and
pitch analyses of ----) are presented below.
Figure 55: Intensity and pitch analyses of Turkish interjection
----) signalling
understanding
In Figure 55,
----) has two high toned elements. First element
Ha is the
interjection bearing a need for realization or signal of understanding. Therefore, it
has the highest pitch at the beginning. The second high pitched element is
şey.
Şey
signals an ongoing planning action, most probably thinking of the name of the
Noel Baba (Father Christmas).
Şey is mostly used as a discourse filler strategy to
recall an element in Turkish.
Implications for Further Research in Foreign Language Teaching
Communication in multilingual constellations varies in three different ways: