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Part of
The Discourse of Indirectness: Cues, voices and functions
Edited by Zohar Livnat, Pnina Shukrun-Nagar and Galia Hirsch
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 316] 2020
► pp. 167–202

Directness and indirectness in a presidential debate

| Universidad Nacional de La Plata

This contribution examines the use of directness and indirectness as utilized by the two candidates to the presidency of Argentina, in a debate broadcast on television before the 2015 elections. Adopting a socio-pragmatic perspective, this study makes a qualitative and quantitive analysis of addressivity at the micro and meso levels of the interaction. An exploration of the form and function of the interactants’ contributions demonstrated that directness is the preferred choice when presentations and closing fragments are produced, while the questions and answers addressed by the candidates to each other reveal differences in the use of in/directness. These disparate strategies have a bearing on the interpersonal discourse relationship between the two politicians and the audience.

Keywords: addressivity, political debate, directness, indirectness, micro level, meso level.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Directness and indirectness
  • 3.Context of the interaction and source of the data
  • 4.In/directness at the micro level of the discourse
    • 4.1Directness
    • 4.2Indirectness
    • 4.3Addressivity strategies occurring in all dimensions
  • 5.In/directness at the meso level of the interaction
    • 5.1Presentation of topics and final messages
    • 5.2Question and answer fragments
  • 6.Interpreting indirectness
  • 7.Concluding remarks
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 29 October 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.316.08gra
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