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In:The Pragmatics of Adaptability
Edited by Daniel N. Silva and Jacob L. Mey
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 319] 2021
► pp. 143–170

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Chapter 7
Quotation, meta-data and transparency of sources in mediated political discourse

 | University of Augsburg, Germany
Published online: 17 March 2021
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https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.319.07fet
Abstract
Quotation has been defined as metarepresentation, metarepresenting not only the pragmatic force and content of a conversational contribution, but also its source and contextual coordinates. It thus displays a higher degree of explicitness than does the original contribution, as is reflected in explicit metadata which contribute to the contextualisation of the original participation format, the participants’ communicative intentions, communicative goals and intended perlocutionary effects, as well as physical, temporal and discursive setting. The chapter suggests that participants adapt the formatting of their quotations and the entextualisation of metadata to the contextual constraints and requirements of the quoting discourse. In mediated political discourse quotations and metadata are used strategically to (1) intensify the force of a contribution, (2) demonstrate argumentative (non)coherence and (non)credibility, (3) express (non)alignment, and (4) secure discourse common ground between multilayered and multifaceted audiences. On a more global level, quotations contribute to the construal of interdiscursitivity.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Quotation: Theory and practice
    • 2.1Linguistic formatting
    • 2.2Functions
  • 3.Quotation and metadata in mediated political discourse
    • 3.1Quotations and metadata in political interviews
    • 3.2Quotations and metadata in Prime Minister’s Questions
    • 3.3Quotations in political speeches
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
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