Berger2020
Berger2020 | |
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BibType | ARTICLE |
Key | Berger2020 |
Author(s) | Łukasz Berger |
Title | Forms of Talk in Roman Comedy. Reading Plautus and Terence with Goffman and Conversation Analysts |
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Tag(s) | EMCA, Goffman, Plays, Participation framework, Footing, Latin |
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Year | 2020 |
Language | English |
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Journal | Dionysus ex machina |
Volume | 11 |
Number | |
Pages | 137-167 |
URL | Link |
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Abstract
The paper aims at examining different types of talk represented in the plays by Plautus and Terence. To this end, it combines Goffman’s participation framework with tools of Conversation Analysis, which serve to offer a more nuanced definition of speaking turns and the conversational floor. After discussing several types of footing within comedy dialogues, turns are differentiated from other strands of communicating: side comments (including theatrical asides), self-directed cries and backchannel talk. Moreover, verbal interactions in Plautus and Terence are analysed in relation to their floor structure and the kind of participation they entail for the interlocutors. Finally, the concepts here presented, as argued throughout the paper, help to revisit some of the existing accounts of verbal interaction in Roman comedy.
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