Modification of the intensity of evaluation as an interactional resource

Using the methodology of conversation analysis, this study considers excerpts from Japanese spontaneous conversation in which the intensity of evaluation is modified through self-repair operations. It demonstrates that the modification is utilised as an interactional resource. The analysis reveals that the intensity of evaluation is modified to achieve two interactional outcomes: to disambiguate or amplify the speaker’s evaluative stance toward the referent and to display the speaker’s orientation to the lack of direct epistemic access or strong commitment to the position. The findings are discussed to explore the possibility that the public process of modifying the intensity of evaluation may itself be an interactional resource with which to display the speaker’s dual orientations. The paper further considers the possible crosslinguistic relevance of the findings.