INTERACTIONAL FUNCTIONS OF şey IN TURKISH: EVIDENCE FROM SPOKEN TURKISH CORPUS

This corpus-based study investigates the interactional functions of Turkish discourse particle şey. The data was obtained from the demo version of the Spoken Turkish Corpus (STC). The study presents that şey is one of the most frequent discourse particles used in Turkish and has multiple interactional functions in conversations. In this regard, the main functions of şey in Turkish in natural conversations are self-repair, introducing / initiating a new topic, holding the floor and signaling a topic shift. In addition to its conversational turn organization functions, şey also functions as a face saving device in spoken language. Supporting the findings of the previous research on the discourse particle, the study further emphasizes that şey has a crucial role in natural conversations to smooth the interaction, organizing topic shifts and enabling cohesion.