Abstract

In modern spoken Mandarin, the second-person pronoun nǐ ‘you’ is frequently used beyond its canonical addressee-reference function, including for third-person reference. Although previous studies have documented this phenomenon, little is known about how it is sequentially organized, what interactional work it accomplishes, and how recipients orient to it in naturally occurring conversation. Drawing on conversation analysis, this study examines the use of nǐ for third-person reference in the DIG Mandarin Conversations (DMC) Corpus, focusing on its sequential construction, recipient uptake, and interactional import. The analysis shows that this practice typically follows a recurrent sequential pattern: the referent is first introduced in initial position through an unmarked recognitional form, after which nǐ appears in subsequent position, serving as a marked resource for stance-taking. In response turns, minimal tokens function to provide acknowledgment and possible affiliation, whereas sentential responses enable stance modulation and topic redirection. These findings demonstrate that nǐ used for third-person reference is not an incidental deictic shift, but a recurrent interactional practice for the display and management of stance in Mandarin conversation. This study contributes to broader discussions on person reference, footing, and intersubjectivity in talk-in-interaction.

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