‘OK, well, first of all, let me say …’: Discursive uses of response initiators in US presidential primary debates

Abstract

This article examines the discursive uses of frequent response initiators by Republican and Democratic presidential candidates in the genre of televised US primary debates. Ten full transcripts of debates held between February and April 2016 are investigated from the perspectives of political discourse studies and conversation analysis. It is shown that the response initiators well, first of all, look, you know and let me (just) speech act verb fulfill specific discursive functions in competitive media discourse. On the textual level, candidates exert power and control by negotiating turn-taking processes and managing the information flow. On the interactional level, competitors use response initiators to frame themselves as likable and competent personas, to establish common ground with voters and to enhance negative perceptions of opponents. Conclusively, in the multilogue of election debates, response initiators significantly contribute to the construction of individual preferability.

Interpersonal Function of Joe Biden’s Victory Speech (Systemic Functional Linguistics View)

“…Thus, he could win extensive supporters and advocates. The mood system in which declarative and imperative clause found in this study corroborated previous studies saying that linguistics resources might differently contribute to frame a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of any kinds of the genre (Da Cunha, 2019; Mubarak & Batam, 2007;Schubert, 2019;Silke et al, 2019;Zhan & Huang, 2018).…”

“…By and large, the use of mood system, modality, and pronoun in the speech text under study indicate the high power or solidarity, good intimacy, and familiarity as well. In this regard, this findings mirrors the previous findings saying that cohesion devices and other linguistics resources might differently contribute to frame a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of any kind of text (Schubert, 2019;Silke et al, 2019;Yin, 2017;Zhan & Huang, 2018) and the socio discourse competence is of benefit in constructing certain text (Afzaal, 2020;Cartagena & Prego-vázquez, 2018;Määttä et al, 2021;Navarro et al, 2020).…”

“…Metaphor is regarded as a prevailing way and a rhetoric dimension to frame political issues of political actors in their speech (Kelly, 2020;Moragas-fernández, Calvo, & Capdevila, 2018;Nartey, 2018). Meanwhile, cohesion devices and other linguistics resources could differently contribute to frame a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of any kind of genre or text types (da Cunha, 2019;Xuan, 2017;Jitpranne, 2018;Martin Zappavigna, 2029;Schubert, 2019;Silke, Quinn, & Rieder, 2019;Zhan & Huang, 2018).…”

Self-authorizing action: Onlet me Xin English social interaction

“…Though lemme X sometimes serves the recipient's interests or furthers some shared aim, because it provides a place for the speaker to do some action rather than one made relevant by the recipient, it is structurally biased towards prioritizing the speaker's prerogatives and perspectives. This kind of prioritization has been described, in the context of political debates, as 'asserting dominance and power' (Schubert 2019). However, we might respecify dominance and power in terms of agency (Enfield 2013).…”

Speech Analysis (Discourse Semantic Analysis Based on Systemic Functional Linguistics Theory)

“…The aspect in question is pivotal to judge the speaker's or writer's message. In addition, the coherence and cohesiveness of speech text are definitely determined by the choice of words and speech acts employment (Bu, Connor-linton, & Wang, 2020;Chu & Huang, 2020;Gusthini, Sobarna, & Amalia, 2018;Poulimenou, Stamou, Papavlasopoulos, & Poulos, 2016;Qian & Pan, 2019;Risberg & Lymer, 2020;Hopke & Simis, 2016;Horváth, 2017;Kelly, 2020 Capdevila, 2018;Nartey, 2018;da Cunha, 2019;Xuan, 2017;Jitpranne, 2018;Martin Zappavigna, 2029;Schubert, 2019;Silke, Quinn, & Rieder, 2019;Zhan & Huang, 2018).…”