Generational styles in oral storytelling
What can be learned from narrative priming?
When it comes to autobiographical narratives, the most
spontaneous and natural manner is preferable. But neither individually told
narratives nor those grounded in the communicative repertoire of a social group
are easily comparable. A clearly identifiable tertium
comparationis is mandatory. We present the results of an
experimental ‘Narrative Priming’ setting with French students. A potentially
underlying model of narrating from personal experience was activated via a
narrative prime, and in a second step, the participants were asked to tell a
narrative of their own. The analysis focuses on similarities and differences
between the primes and the students’ narratives. The results give evidence for
the possibility to elicit a set of comparable narratives via a prime, and to
activate an underlying narrative template. Meaningful differences are discussed
as generational and age related styles. The transcriptions from the participants that authorized the publication are available online.
Article outline
- Introduction
- Models of narratives: Levels of analysis
- Narratives as plots
- Narratives in interaction: Narrativity, functions, and positioning
- What can (not) be primed in narrative priming?
- The narrative priming experiment
- The primes
- Participants and setting
- Analysis
- Priming effects
- “Here you go”: Doing storytelling in an experimental setting
- Experiencing punishment: Positioning
- Discussion
- Concluding remarks
- Acknowledgements
-
Bibliography
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