Identity as a dialogic concept:

Weigand, Edda

doi:10.1075/ld.5.1.01wei

Article published in:

Constructing and Negotiating Identity in Dialogue
Edited by Răzvan Săftoiu
[Language and Dialogue 5:1] 2015
► pp. 7–22

Identity as a dialogic concept

Edda Weigand | University of Münster, Germany

Identity has been investigated from different perspectives and there are therefore numerous ways of interpreting this concept. Basically it seems to be a method of categorizing people. We are however not only a slot in a bureaucratic system but social and dialogic human beings. As social individuals we can think about social consequences, and as dialogic individuals we can demonstrate our own supposed identity and evaluate the alleged identity of our fellow human beings in dialogue. ‘The side we are on’ leaves its mark not only on how we evaluate actions and events but also on how we refer to people. In this way identity is constructed and negotiated in dialogue. The paper analyses various authentic texts in order to demonstrate the dialogic nature of the concept.

Keywords: identity construction, dialogue, speech act of identifying, role, purpose of action, evaluation, demonstrations, status function

Published online: 23 June 2015
https://doi.org/10.1075/ld.5.1.01wei

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