I wonder + indirect question: Action formation and action ascription
Abstract
This study explores the interactional work being done by speakers of American English when they use the format “IWIQ” (I wonder + indirect question; as in, “I wonder how that actually works”). IWIQs in our mundane conversational data are used for making a private, internal state or position publicly available, which in turn allows IWIQs to serve as vehicles for opening an opportunity space for the participants to join in speculating on the matter raised by the IWIQ, without, however, necessarily mobilizing a response. Nonetheless, responses are sometimes produced, having been mobilized through other means, such as gaze. We aim to show that the IWIQ format performs a distinct social action, and thereby to contribute to our understanding of action ascription, categorization, and formation. Data are in American English.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Embodied and Extended Cognition
Action Observation and Synchronization
Language
Metaphor
and Cognition
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Research on Language and Social Interaction
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Volume
- 59
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 107–124
- Publication date
- 2 January 2026
- Language
- EN