Academic Journal
Gender, interaction and intonational variation: The discourse functions of High Rising Terminals in London.
| Title: | Gender, interaction and intonational variation: The discourse functions of High Rising Terminals in London. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Levon, Erez1 |
| Source: | Journal of Sociolinguistics. Apr2016, Vol. 20 Issue 2, p133-163. 31p. 4 Charts, 5 Graphs. |
| Abstract: | In this paper, I examine the different conversational and interactional functions that High Rising Terminals ( HRT) fulfil among young, White, middle-class speakers of London English. Data are drawn from sixteen small-group interviews with forty-two individuals (28 women and 14 men) aged 18-25. From this corpus, 7351 declarative Intonation Phrases were extracted, and auditorily coded for the presence/absence of HRT as well as for a variety of social, interactional and pragmatic factors. I combine quantitative and qualitative methods to demonstrate that while all of the speakers investigated use HRT to accomplish relational work in conversation, the specific interactional strategies that the feature is recruited to perform differ markedly across genders. I consider the ramifications of this finding for our understanding of 'politeness' as a gendered practice, and illustrate the importance of examining a variable like HRT in its discourse-functional context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Subject Terms: | *English language, *Language & gender, *Sociolinguistics, *Intonation (Phonetics), English language -- Variation, Young adults, Linguistic politeness |
| Geographic Terms: | London (England), United Kingdom |
| Copyright of Journal of Sociolinguistics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| ISSN: | 13606441 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/josl.12182 |
| Database: | Communication & Mass Media Complete |
| Full text is not displayed to guests. | Login for full access. |