On the use of the personal pronoun we in communities

Íñigo-Mora, Isabel

doi:10.1075/jlp.3.1.05ini

Article published In: Journal of Language and Politics
Vol. 3:1 (2004) ► pp.27–52

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On the use of the personal pronoun we in communities

Isabel Íñigo-Mora | University of Seville

Published online: 27 May 2004

https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.3.1.05ini

The purpose of this paper is to show the existing relationships between the concept of community and the linguistic forms used to convey or even to manipulate it. First of all, the limits and restrictions of any form of community will be defined. Second, one specific form of community will be selected for analysis. The community chosen will be the Parliamentary community, and the linguistic form singled out for study will be the first person plural pronoun “we”. We will try to discover any type of relationship between (a) the scope of reference of this personal pronoun and (b) the intentions of the person who uttered it. In this way, we can see whether there is any connection between personal identity (in terms of inclusion/exclusion from a group) and pronominal choice. This could also lead us to the discovery of any possible strategic use of this personal pronoun.

Keywords: pronominal reference, community, parliament, manipulation, personal identity, linguistic forms

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