Voices and identities

The purpose of this chapter is to develop a notion of polyphony which is anchored both in linguistic instructions and in the mechanisms of discourse. Combining the ScaPoLine and praxematics, I propose an operational definition of discursive polyphony, centred on the communicative intention of the speaker. The analysis is systematised by adopting and adapting the modular approach to discourse analysis developed by the Geneva school of discourse analysis. To illustrate this theoretical and methodological framework, I analyse excerpts from speeches by Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Nicolas Sarkozy to the European Parliament. In the analysis I identify an interplay of voices which represents an important part of their rhetorical strategies and which reflects their standing in Europe.