German ach and achso in repair uptake: Resources to sustain or remove epistemic asymmetry

Using conversation analytic methodology, this article examines the use of the German tokens ach ‘oh’ and achso ‘oh I see’ in the uptake of repair. While achso has been studied from a functional-pragmatic perspective, no contrastive study of ach and achso exists. We investigate two questions: Do different forms of ach occur in the same sequential position? Are they associated with different interactional functions? The paper shows that in sequentially third position, repairs are receipted with ach or achso. The different tokens have different interactional import. While ach receipts new informational content (claiming a change-of-state, similar to English oh; Heritage 1984), it does not mark understanding. Achso, by contrast, serves as a receipt for information and prior action, claiming that speakers now share the same epistemic level and thus marking a successful repair resolution. Achso makes sequence closure relevant and is followed by a shift in action and/or topic while an ach-turn makes more talk relevant, specifically next turn confirmation. The paper concludes by discussing the component tokens ach and so separately and outlining implications for the study of epistemics through ‘little words.’