In:Bonding through Context: Language and interactional alignment in Japanese situated discourse
Edited by Risako Ide and Kaori Hata
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 314] 2020
► pp. 39–59
Chapter 2Reported thought, narrative positioning,
and emotional expression in Japanese public
speaking narratives
Published online: 3 December 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.314.02dun
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.314.02dun
Abstract
Scholarship on oral
narrative has drawn attention to how narrators
position themselves both as characters within the
narrative and as narrators in relation to an
audience. This chapter examines how reported
thought is used in Japanese narratives to shift
frames between a narrating voice (anchored in the
current situation) and a narrated voice (anchored
within the story world). Functions of reported
thought include: drawing contrasts between what
was thought and what was (not) said; creation of a
vivid, emotional narrative through the enactment
of inner speech; and allowing speakers to perform
speech acts while partially escaping
responsibility for their illocutionary force.
Reported thought allows narrators to momentarily
shift footing without challenging genre
conventions or established social roles and
relationships.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Bonding and narrative positioning
- 3.Reported speech and thought
- 4.Data and analysis
- 5.Narrative frames, speaking roles, and
speech styles
- 5.1The narrating frame: Public Speaking Register
- 5.2The narrated frame: Reported Speech and Thought
- 6.Functions of reported thought in public
speaking narratives
- 6.1Use of reported thought to draw contrasts between what was thought and what was (not) said
- 6.2Use of reported thought to enact emotional reactions of the narrated character
- 6.3Reported speech allows the statement of forceful assertions without directing the illocutionary force of the utterance at the narrative audience
- 7.Conclusion
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