In: Journal - Issues in Intercultural Communication 2007 1(2) ISSN: JICO Editor: Samuel Gyasi Obeng, pp. © 2008 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. FEEDBACK AS A TOPIC CHANGING STRATEGY IN JAPANESE TV DISCUSSIONS Kaoru Amino Kyushu University, Graduate School of Social and Cultural Studies ABSTRACT Feedback (FB) as a part of the Topic Changing (TC) structure in Japanese conversation was examined. Most studies about topic changing strategies in the Japanese context have centered on discourse markers in the beginning of a new topic, although those strategies easily coincide with turn-taking strategies. This study observed the end parts of previous topics. These sections are located at the junction between two topics and frequently function as feedback (FB) for the previous speaker. I also explored what kinds of formulas are used and how they are used in the setting of TV discussions. My findings show a high rate of FB in those areas. The formulas used as FB share the same elements as checking the knowledge and understanding of a speaker and listener. These findings suggest that FB plays a specific role in the whole structure of topic changing. Key words: Topic changing, IRF moves, feedback, summary, co-speech INTRODUCTION In Japanese conversations, certain groups of strategies tend to be employed in conversational interactions. These include taking turns with utterances or changing the topic. In particular, expressions such as “nee” and “ano” to signal a cognitive change, and “-tte” to express the frame of each topic, are frequently used as topic changing (TC) strategies. These are currently called “initiation” (Murakami & Kumatoridani, 1995). Usually these strategies are observed in the beginning of the new topic. However, the problem is that such strategies appear at the same point in the conversational structure as the turn-taking (TT) strategy because the beginning of a new topic overlaps the beginning of each turn. Murakami and Kumatoridani (1995) also described other types of TC strategies. These appeared at the end of the previous topic as well as at the beginning of a new topic. They noted the response to the previous speaker and formulated markers leading to a summary of the previous speaker’s remarks. However, a detailed description of the strategies found at the end of the previous topic remained, along with their functions in the entire conversational structure related to TC. The data in this study were collected from the scripts of two Japanese political TV discussion programs. Responses that can be recognized as Feedback (FB) to the previous speaker, based on the definition of Sinclair and Coulthard (1975), frequently appear at the end part of the previous topic. These locations in conversational structures were extracted in order