Continuing and reopening

Abstract Adopting the framework of interactional linguistics and employing the methodology of conversation analysis, this study investigates the discourse-interactional functions of the causal conjunction yinwei (“because”) in naturally occurring Mandarin conversation. Moving beyond its conventional use as a marker of reason or cause, the analysis reveals two prominent interactional functions of yinwei in everyday talk: (1) continuing a pre-prior course of action to advance the speaker’s interactional agenda, and (2) reopening a previously completed telling to pursue affiliative or responsive uptake from the hearer. These findings demonstrate that yinwei functions not only as a semantic connector but also as a resource for managing conversational structure and speaker-hearer alignment. By showing how speakers strategically exploit yinwei to organize discourse and negotiate participation, this study contributes to a more nuanced and interactionally grounded understanding of causal conjunctions in Mandarin and highlights the importance of sequential positioning in shaping their discourse functions.