1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Interactional Linguistics
  4. Online First Articles
  5. Online First Article
image of Indexing pragmatic functions of kiss-teeth through embodiment and viewpoint construction
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

Everyday discourse involves interpreting composite utterances like speech-with-gesture composites. Taking a multimodal and discourse-pragmatic perspective, this single-case study explores the complexity of meaning-making by considering the interweaving of gesture-speech composites and discursive strategies in talk-in-interaction. Specifically, the paper examines various pragmatic functions of kiss-teeth (i.e., a conventionalised sound gesture) when combining it with other multimodal resources. The data for this study was derived from an interview conducted during ethnographic fieldwork in Suriname in 2022. The results show that kiss-teeth has several discourse-pragmatic functions in various contexts, including (1) conveying a reprimand, (2) participating in flirtatious teasing and (3) engaging in gossip. While the research suggests that the meaning of kiss-teeth is closely tied to various multimodal resources, the study also considers the participant’s uses of viewpoint constructions for perspective-taking in demonstrations of kiss-teeth as diverse social actions. The analysis illustrates that the participant indexes distinct gesture functions through viewpoint constructions which rely on descriptions, depictions, and composite utterances. By analysing viewpoint construction, the study does not only aim to scrutinise the gesture’s meanings but also how kiss-teeth contributes to the interaction as a whole. Ultimately, the findings point to the importance of gesture-speech composites and narrative discourse strategies in talk-in-interaction.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/il.24003.sch
2024-12-10
2025-01-17

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/il.24003.sch
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Billig, M.
    (1999a) Conversation Analysis and the Claims of Naivety. Discourse & Society, (), –. 10.1177/0957926599010004007
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926599010004007 [Google Scholar]
  2. (1999b) Whose Terms? Whose Ordinariness? Rhetoric and Ideology in Conversation Analysis. Discourse & Society, (), –. 10.1177/0957926599010004005
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926599010004005 [Google Scholar]
  3. Bucholtz, M., & Hall, K.
    (2016) Embodied sociolinguistics. InN. Coupland (Ed.), Sociolinguistics (1st ed., pp.–). Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9781107449787.009
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107449787.009 [Google Scholar]
  4. Clark, H. H.
    (2016) Depicting as a method of communication. Psychological Review, (), –. 10.1037/rev0000026
     https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000026 [Google Scholar]
  5. Debreslioska, S., Özyürek, A., Gullberg, M., & Perniss, P.
    (2013) Gestural Viewpoint Signals Referent Accessibility. Discourse Processes, (), –. 10.1080/0163853X.2013.824286
     https://doi.org/10.1080/0163853X.2013.824286 [Google Scholar]
  6. ELAN (Version 6.2) [Computer software]
    ELAN (Version 6.2) [Computer software] (2021) Nijmegen: Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, The Language Archive. Retrieved fromhttps://archive.mpi.nl/tla/elan
  7. Enfield, N. J.
    (2009) The Anatomy of Meaning: Speech, Gesture, and Composite Utterances (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511576737
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511576737 [Google Scholar]
  8. Ferrara, L., & Hodge, G.
    (2018) Language as Description, Indication, and Depiction. Frontiers in Psychology, , . 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00716
     https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00716 [Google Scholar]
  9. Figueroa, E.
    (2005) Rude sounds: Kiss Teeth and negotiation of the public sphere. InS. Muehleisen & B. Migge (Eds.), Politeness and face in Caribbean creoles (pp.–). John Benjamins. 10.1075/veaw.g34.06fig
     https://doi.org/10.1075/veaw.g34.06fig [Google Scholar]
  10. Goodwin, M. H., & Alim, H. S.
    (2010) “Whatever (Neck Roll, Eye Roll, Teeth Suck)”: The Situated Coproduction of Social Categories and Identities through Stancetaking and Transmodal Stylization: Whatever (Neck Roll, Eye Roll, Teeth Suck). Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, (), –. 10.1111/j.1548‑1395.2010.01056.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-1395.2010.01056.x [Google Scholar]
  11. Hepburn, A., & Bolden, G. B.
    (2012) The Conversation Analytic Approach to Transcription. InJ. Sidnell & T. Stivers (Eds.), The Handbook of Conversation Analysis (1st ed., pp.–). Wiley. 10.1002/9781118325001.ch4
     https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118325001.ch4 [Google Scholar]
  12. Holler, J.
    (2022) Visual bodily signals as core devices for coordinating minds in interaction. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, (), 20210094. 10.1098/rstb.2021.0094
     https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2021.0094 [Google Scholar]
  13. Hollington, A.
    (2017) Emotions in Jamaican: African conceptualizations, emblematicity and multimodality in discourse and public spaces. InA. Storch (Ed.), Culture and Language Use (Vol., pp.–). John Benjamins. 10.1075/clu.19.05hol
     https://doi.org/10.1075/clu.19.05hol [Google Scholar]
  14. Janzen, T.
    (2017) Composite utterances in a signed language: Topic constructions and perspective-taking in ASL. Cognitive Linguistics, (), –. 10.1515/cog‑2016‑0121
     https://doi.org/10.1515/cog-2016-0121 [Google Scholar]
  15. Jewitt, C.
    (2016) Multimodal analysis. InA. Geōrgakopoúlou & T. Spilioti (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of language and digital communication (pp.–). Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Kendon, A.
    (2004) Gesture: Visible Action as Utterance. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511807572
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511807572 [Google Scholar]
  17. Koefoed, G., & Jadoenandansing, S.
    (1993) Surinamese languages. InG. Extra & L. T. Verhoeven (Eds.), Community languages in the Netherlands (1st ed., pp.–). Swets & Zeitlinger.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Kress, G. R., & Van Leeuwen, T.
    (2001) Multimodal discourse: The modes and media of contemporary communication. Arnold; Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Kurz, K. B., Mullaney, K., & Occhino, C.
    (2019) Constructed Action in American Sign Language: A Look at Second Language Learners in a Second Modality. Languages, (), . 10.3390/languages4040090
     https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040090 [Google Scholar]
  20. Mittelberg, I.
    (2017) Experiencing and construing spatial artifacts from within: Simulated artifact immersion as a multimodal viewpoint strategy. Cognitive Linguistics, (), –. 10.1515/cog‑2016‑0124
     https://doi.org/10.1515/cog-2016-0124 [Google Scholar]
  21. Mohr, S., & Bauer, A.
    (2022) Gesture, sign languages and multimodality. InS. Völkel & N. Nassenstein (Eds.), Approaches to Language and Culture (pp.–). De Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110726626‑007
     https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110726626-007 [Google Scholar]
  22. Mondada, L.
    (2016) Challenges of multimodality: Language and the body in social interaction. Journal of Sociolinguistics, (), –. 10.1111/josl.1_12177
     https://doi.org/10.1111/josl.1_12177 [Google Scholar]
  23. Norris, S.
    (2004) Analyzing multimodal interaction: A methodological framework. Routledge. 10.4324/9780203379493
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203379493 [Google Scholar]
  24. Patrick, P. L., & Figueroa, E.
    (2002a) KISS-TEETH. American Speech, (), –. 10.1215/00031283‑77‑4‑383
     https://doi.org/10.1215/00031283-77-4-383 [Google Scholar]
  25. (2002b) The Meaning of Kiss-teeth. Black Language in the U.S. and Caribbean: Education, History, Structure, and Use, –.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Pillion, B., Grenoble, L. A., Um, E. N., & Kopper, S.
    (2019) Verbal gestures in Cameroon. Zenodo. 10.5281/ZENODO.3367152
     https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.3367152 [Google Scholar]
  27. Quinto-Pozos, D.
    (2014) Enactment as a (signed) language communicative strategy. InC. Müller, A. Cienki, E. Fricke, S. Ladewig, D. McNeill, & J. Bressem (Eds.), Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft / Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science (HSK) 38/2 (pp.–). DE GRUYTER. 10.1515/9783110302028.2163
     https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110302028.2163 [Google Scholar]
  28. Rickford, J. R., & Rickford, A. E.
    (1976) Cut-Eye and Suck-Teeth: African Words and Gestures in New World Guise. The Journal of American Folklore, (), . 10.2307/539442
     https://doi.org/10.2307/539442 [Google Scholar]
  29. Schnellinger, T.
    (2024) A multimodal perspective on communicative competence in multilingual Afro-Surinamese speaker communities. InS. Mohr & L. Ferrara (Eds.), Learning Languages, Being Social (pp.–). De Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110794670‑005
     https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110794670-005 [Google Scholar]
  30. Searle, J. R.
    (1976) A Classification of Illocutionary Acts. Language in Society, (), –. www.jstor.org/stable/4166848
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Shun-chiu, Y.
    (1992) Six Characters in Search of a Gesture: Chinese Graphs and Corporal Behavior. InF. Poyatos (Ed.), Advances in Non-Verbal Communication: Chinese Graphs in Corporal Behavior (pp.–). John Benjamins Publishing Company. 10.1075/z.60.17shu
     https://doi.org/10.1075/z.60.17shu [Google Scholar]
  32. Sidnell, J.
    (2006) Coordinating Gesture, Talk, and Gaze in Reenactments. Research on Language & Social Interaction, (), –. 10.1207/s15327973rlsi3904_2
     https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327973rlsi3904_2 [Google Scholar]
  33. (2010) Conversation analysis: An introduction. Wiley-Blackwell.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Streeck, J., Grothues, J., & Villanueva, J.
    (2009) Gesturecraft: The manu-facture of meaning. John Benjamins Pub. 10.1075/gs.2
     https://doi.org/10.1075/gs.2 [Google Scholar]
  35. Sweetser, E.
    (2012) Introduction: Viewpoint and perspective in language and gesture, from the Grounddown. InB. Dancygier & E. Sweetser (Eds.), Viewpoint in Language (1st ed., pp.–). Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9781139084727.002
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139084727.002 [Google Scholar]
  36. Vigliocco, G., Perniss, P., & Vinson, D.
    (2014) Language as a multimodal phenomenon: Implications for language learning, processing and evolution. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, (), 20130292. 10.1098/rstb.2013.0292
     https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2013.0292 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/il.24003.sch
Loading
Indexing pragmatic functions of kiss-teeth through embodiment and viewpoint construction
John Benjamins ; https://doi.org/10.1075/il.24003.sch
/content/journals/10.1075/il.24003.sch
/content/journals/10.1075/il.24003.sch
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: multimodal analysis ; Kiss-teeth ; gesture-speech composites ; Suriname ; viewpoint construction

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error