The discourse marker ale in Bislama oral narratives

This study takes us to the South Pacific and concentrates on Bislama, one of the dialects of Melanesian pidgin (Siegel 2008: 4) and one of the official languages of Vanuatu. We take a discourse analysis perspective to map out the functions of ale, a conspicuous discourse marker in conversations and narratives. Using Labov & Waletzky (1967) model, we analyze the use of ale in narratives from the book Big Wok: Storian blong Wol Wo Tu long Vanuatu (Lindstrom & Gwero 1998) and determine that ale is a discourse marker which indicates temporal sequence and consequence, frames speech reports and closes a digression. We conclude our study by considering a possible historical development of ale. We map out how French allez could have become Bislama ale using imposition and functional transfer (Siegel 2008; Winford 2013a) of vernacular discourse markers (such as go in Nguna).

Roasting Videos: A YouTube-based Vernacular Discourse

This research endeavors to investigate the impact of a novel genre, that is, roasting. It also aims to know how this YouTube discourse finds its way into the vernacular discourse in the Pakistani context. The researchers selected two highly subscribed Pakistani YouTube channels, that is, KhujLee Family and CBA-Arslan Naseer. Using the purposive sampling technique two videos from each channel were selected, which made a total of four videos selected as sample. The researchers meticulously observed the trending section of YouTube with the purpose to select far reaching roasting videos of the aforementioned channels. This phenomenological research employed the Interactive Alignment Model as its theoretical framework. The conclusions suggested that conversation designs are the outcomes of addressee feedback and penetrate the vernacular discourse (Chiarello & Clark, 2012), casting a deep impact on its viewers particularly in terms of desensitization. The findings further explicated that desensitization has amplified because of the consumption and reciprocation of such content by the receivers, courtesy of the participatory culture of YouTube. This allows the viewers to not only enjoy roasting videos but also to imitate the abusive vocabulary used as punch line, mostly in Punjabi. The participation of viewers was observed through the comment section of the selected videos, advocating the consequent desensitization of the vernacular discourse. Subsequently, the study implies that the creation and dissemination of the roasting content can be achieved in a responsible manner by decreasing the use of curse words.

National Identities in Turkey

This chapter presents the empirical data collected and analyzed through intertextual analysis to extract competing proposals for Turkish national identity among the country’s population. The analysis includes examination of social and news media sources, interviews, surveys, and archives. The empirical data are also collected from popular culture sources such as novels, television shows, and films to capture vernacular discourse otherwise inaccessible to the researcher. The chapter employs a framework of identity content to parse out the constitutive norms, social purposes, relational meanings, and cognitive worldviews of citizens of Turkey. The four composite proposals that emerge are Republican Nationalism, Pan-Turkic Nationalism, Ottoman Islamism, and Western Liberalism. This process of identity extraction through intertextual analysis lays the groundwork for examining the red lines, or points of intolerability, across competing proposals for Turkey’s national identity.