Ostermann2003b

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Ostermann2003b
BibType ARTICLE
Key Ostermann2003b
Author(s) Ana Cristina Ostermann
Title Localizing Power and Solidarity: Pronoun Alternation at an All-Female Police Station and a Feminist Crisis Intervention Center in Brazil
Editor(s)
Tag(s) EMCA, Pronoun, Domestic violence, Code-Switching, Interactional sociolinguistics, Institutional Interaction
Publisher
Year 2003
Language English
City
Month
Journal Language in Society
Volume 32
Number 3
Pages 351-381
URL Link
DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404503323036
ISBN
Organization
Institution
School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title
Chapter

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Abstract

This article brings the study of language to the social phenomenon of gender-related violence as it is currently being dealt with in institutional settings. It investigates the social significance of 2nd person pronoun variation and alternation in 26 professional-victim interactions in two parallel institutions created to address violence against women in Brazil: a police station with an all-female staff, and a feminist crisis intervention center. A quantitative analysis of patterns of use is complemented by a qualitative analysis of the interactional strategies of 2nd person pronoun alternation in the two settings. Pronoun switching is innovatively analyzed under the theory of code alternation developed by Auer 1995. The qualitative analysis demonstrates how pronoun alternation functions as a contextualization cue in face-to-face interactions. In particular, it shows the different ways in which pronoun alternation is used to contextualize phenomena such as preference organization and changes in frames and footings, and locally to exercise power and/or solidarity.

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