Hva fanden ('what the devil'): a conversation analytic investigation of swearing and stance in questions and quotation

This study investigates the use of the swear word expression hva fanden ('what the devil') in Danish talk-in-interaction by analysing 17 cases using Conversation Analysis and Interactional Linguistics. Hva fanden occurs in information-seeking actions, which include repair (i.e., word search and other-initiated repair) and requests for information. Hva fanden conveys the speaker's non-access to certain information, in word search without stance-taking but in other functions displaying a negative stance to e.g. a referent. Hva fanden also occurs in quoted usage, where it performs assessment by framing some conduct as worthy of a response with a negative stance, with variation in their responses (i.e., immediate or none). Through detailed analyses of interaction, the study contributes to knowledge on swearing in interaction.