Talking American: Cultural Discourses on DonahueThis study explores cultural features in communication and examines language in use by studying the talk within a prominent cultural event, the DONAHUE show. First, the study provides a detailed reading of America today, showing the importance of the individual in American society, the prominence of choice, and the role of the self as an antagonist to traditional social roles and the institutions of society more generally. Similarly, the study explores common ways of speaking such as being honest about who one is, sharing one's thoughts and feelings, and really communicating with others. By unraveling how these words give shape to American means and meanings, the study demonstrates how routine communication creates powerful motives in contemporary American life. Second, the study provides a way of seeing and hearing ordinary communication as a resource to develop a cultural perspective on ordinary communicative action. |
Contents
ice xiii | |
Discourse on Personhood 15 | |
A Political Code of Respect 21 | |
Copyright | |
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actions acts aligned American American discourse assertions audience member awareness Bali boys choice concept Conceptual Metaphor constraints context create cultural category cultural discourses David Schneider described discourse of personhood discussed display dividual Donahue enactments environment ethnographic evaluate example explore expressed father feelings focal concerns folk taxonomies forces freedo freedom functions Geertz guest Gumperz Hallowell heard highlight honest human Hymes identified identity Ilongot independence individual interaction interlocutors interpretation involves labeled male prostitutes marriage meanings metaphorical speech mother motives munication native genres norm notion one's opinions parents participants particular patterns Phil Donahue polemical code polysemic premises Press problems prominent refer relations relationship respect responses ritual Rosaldo Schneider semantic dimensions sense sharing society speakers Speech Acts spoken statement stepfamily suggest symbolic system talk Toughlove traditional social roles unication unique University utterances valued verbal Victor Turner vidual voice woman women