Functions of Interrogative Structures in Advice Giving: A Case Study

Abstract

Activity types have been described as interactional events that impose constraints on the allowable contributions and on the inferential schemata used by participants to interpret the function of linguistic structures used. In this study, this theoretical framework is applied to the analysis of interrogative structures in clinical dialogues, highlighting their diverse functions in relation to the goal of the activity type, its structure and the roles of the participants. The results of the analysis contribute to ongoing research on questions in dialogues and on the study of communication in medical encounters.