The current study examined a role-related difference in the use of playback (one form of repetition) in medical discourse. We adopted a language and social psychology approach and invoked communication accommodation theory (CAT) to explore this discourse. Thirty doctor/older adult dyads were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Findings suggested that the deployment of repetition is a strategy used by the addresser to either complement or converge to the other interlocutor, in order to ensure that the medical instrumental task is efficiently accomplished and interpersonal rapport is established. Our results show that discourse management is the dominant strategy used by speakers when playing back the other’s utterances. Our analysis also demonstrates that CAT strategies work interdependently. We conclude that CAT is a valuable framework to elucidate the dynamics of, and the social psychological processes underlying, the practice of repetition in medical interviews.

中文翻译：

---

回放：中医会诊中重复的话语含义及语用功能研究

当前的研究检查了在医学话语中使用回放（一种重复形式）的角色相关差异。我们采用了一种语言和社会心理学方法，并援引了沟通适应理论 (CAT) 来探索这种话语。记录并逐字转录了 30 名医生/老年人。研究结果表明，重复的部署是发话者用来补充或收敛到其他对话者的一种策略，以确保有效地完成医疗工具任务并建立人际关系。我们的结果表明，话语管理是说话者在回放对方话语时使用的主导策略。我们的分析还表明 CAT 策略是相互依赖的。