A Comparison of Listener Behavior Regarding Topics in First-Meeting Conversations of Chinese and Japanese Speakers

Abstract

This study analyzes role exchange in topics between speaker and listener and clarifies the patterns of topic development seen in Japanese and Chinese conversations between fellow native speakers, as well as differences in how the listener participates in the conversation in regard to the topic. Results of the analysis show: 1) Compared to Japanese conversations, exchange of listening and speaking roles is frequent in Chinese conversation, with a participant who had taken the listener role often making an utterance appropriate for the speaker role. 2) Four patterns in topic development were seen: fixed roles, cooperative alternation, recurrent roles, and competition for speaker role. A significant difference in the distribution of these patterns was seen between Chinese and Japanese conversations. In the course of the development of a single topic, the roles of speaker and listener for that topic are relatively fixed in a Japanese conversation, whereas competition for the speaker role is frequently seen between participants in a Chinese conversation. This is a clear illustration of differing characteristics between Chinese and Japanese conversations.