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Article published In:
Towards Culture(s) of Dialogue: Communicating Unity and Diversity through Language and Discourse
Edited by Urszula Okulska, Grzegorz Kowalski and Urszula Topczewska
[Language and Dialogue 12:2] 2022
► pp. 245–267

Political dialogues in Argentina

Positioning in dissention fragments

| National University of La Plata
| National University of La Plata

This study addresses positioning in dissention fragments in political interviews in the Argentine media. The aim is to disclose how participants position themselves and others, and the consequences this has on meaning making in the interaction. From a dialogic perspective and a discourse pragmatic approach, we use the tenets of Positioning Theory and the Appraisal framework in the analysis of the data. We base our research on an exploratory-interpretive paradigm that provides qualitative results. To examine the position of the interactants, our attention focuses on the interrelated components of positioning, and on the linguistic resources used by the participants. The results reveal the implications of positioning for the communication of diversity, the relationship between participants, and the building of tense or relaxed atmospheres.

Keywords: dialogue analysis, dissention, political interviews, Argentina, Spanish, Appraisal, Positioning Theory
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The construction of personae in dialogic interaction
    • 2.1Positioning theory
    • 2.2Appraisal theory
  • 3.Data and methodology
  • 4.Positioning in media dialogues – analysis
    • 4.1The politician
    • 4.2The candidate
  • 5.Concluding remarks
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 8 August 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ld.00124.gra
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