Table of Contents
Week 13—Feeling our way
Week 13—Feeling our way
Main reading: Edwards (2023)
Ways of speaking and communicating are things we share with others. We have often emphasized the ways in which communication as a resource is unequally shared. This discussion of the experience of DeafBlind communication through touch helps to think about the phenomenal reality of communication itself and its implications for being in community.
Performativity and indexicality
- I promise to pay you back five dollars
- I apologize for stealing five dollars from you
Giving and giving off
| American | Auhelawa | |
| Ripped jeans | Hip, stylish, bohemian | Poor, rural, simple (bilibilij) |
| Unwashed hair | Dirty, unhygienic | Respectful of father’s matrikin during a time of mourning |
Goffman: We need to distinguish between signals that we give and those we give off (Goffman 1973, 2).
The performative indexicality of an utterance depends on how another person responds to it
A: I really will pay you back five dollars. I am honest. You can trust me.
B: Your promises mean nothing. I can tell from the sound of your voice.
A: I am a strict vegan. No eggs for me!
B: That's not what you said last week.
A: Isn't it funny how [Hideous cultural stereotype]? LOL!
B: Oh my God, that's awful. How could you say that to me?
A: I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. You're too sensitive.
Identity is performed, but not in a vacuum. Performances of self require an audience
Consider two examples from Bucholtz and Hall (2005):
- Korean-speakers mock an English-speaking Korean friend: “Where is Denver ([ˈdɛnvʌ=r])?” (2005, 604)
- Jin and friends discuss Jin's white roommate (2005, 590)
Mirroring
Mirroring signs is how people can learn to create signs by matching the movement and form of a teacher (Hoffman-Dilloway 2011, 286).
In the way that a lot of communication in interaction is phatic, a lot of it is on some level mirroring:
- “I am strict vegan” / “You don't eat eggs? Wow!”
- “You never gave me back my five dollars” / “I am really sorry about taking your money.”
References
Bucholtz, Mary, and Kira Hall. 2005. “Identity and Interaction: A Sociocultural Linguistic Approach.” Discourse Studies 7 (4–5): 585–614. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605054407.
Edwards, Terra. 2023. “The Hands as Reflex Republic.” Signs and Society 11 (2): 223–35. https://doi.org/10.1086/724180.
Goffman, Erving. 1973. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Overlook Press.
Hoffmann-Dilloway, Erika. 2011. “Lending a Hand: Competence through Cooperation in Nepal’s Deaf Associations.” Language in Society 40 (3): 285–306. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404511000194.