AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE USE OF THE PARTICLE WELL - COMMENTARIES ON A GAME OF SNOOKER

Previous accounts of the particle well have been based upon observatio n of its use in a conversational context where it has been found to ac company responses which involve, for example, a qualification with reg ard to what the addressee has said. As a consequence, it is unclear ho w these accounts might be applied to the use of well with utterances w hich have no bearing on a previous conversational move, such as televi sion commentaries on a game of snooker. The aim of this study is, then , to investigate the use of well in this hitherto uncharted context of use. It is shown that well occurs with commentaries which: (1) addres s the positional consequences of an error in the play; (2) address a p ositional problem of apparent concern: (3) remark upon a surprisingly good shot; (4) remark upon an unexpected observation. In the subsequen t discussion it is argued that the contextual conditions which produce the use of well with snooker commentaries may be seen to share some s imilarities with its use in everyday conversational discourse. The stu dy concludes by proposing an alternative account for the role of well based upon the analysis of snooker commentaries and further discussion of previous accounts.