Political dialogues in Argentina

Abstract

This study addresses positioning in dissention fragments in political interviews in the Argentine media. The aim is to disclose how participants position themselves and others, and the consequences this has on meaning making in the interaction. From a dialogic perspective and a discourse pragmatic approach, we use the tenets of Positioning Theory and the Appraisal framework in the analysis of the data. We base our research on an exploratory-interpretive paradigm that provides qualitative results. To examine the position of the interactants, our attention focuses on the interrelated components of positioning, and on the linguistic resources used by the participants. The results reveal the implications of positioning for the communication of diversity, the relationship between participants, and the building of tense or relaxed atmospheres.