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Constructing Collectivity: 'We' across languages and contexts
Edited by Theodossia-Soula Pavlidou
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 239] 2014
► pp. 265–286

Author positioning and audience addressivity by means of ‘we’ in Greek academic discourse

| Hellenic American University, Manchester, U.S.A. cand Hellenic American College, Athens, Greece

The present chapter reports on a study of first person plural reference in a corpus of 15 Linguistics journal articles by Greek-speaking authors. This data-driven investigation aims to explore the ways in which linguists construct their position and their relationship with the audience/academic community within the Greek context. Three main categories of semantic reference were identified: referential, generic and ambiguous. Ambiguous referential uses are examined closely, including examples that cut across the inclusive-exclusive divide. The results suggest that the rhetorical practices of Greek-speaking authors seem to relate to the size and type of the academic community they are addressing.

Published online: 27 February 2014
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.239.18vla
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