(Inter)Faces of Dialogue: Proceedings of the IADA Workshop Braşov 5-7 June 2014
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((IINNTTEERR))FFAACCEESS OOFF DDIIAALLOOGGUUEE proceedings of the IADA workshop Braşov, 5-7 June 2014 edited by Răzvan Săftoiu transilvania university of braşov iada.online.series Volume 1/15 (Inter)Faces of Dialogue: Proceedings of the IADA workshop Braşov 5-7 June 2014 Edited by Răzvan Săftoiu Published by the International Association for Dialogue Analysis ISSN: 1999-5598 Visit IADA online at www.iada-web.org This work is licensed under the Creative Commons «Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International» license. You are free to share, copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format under the following conditions: Attribution. You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. Non-commercial. You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No derivative work. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work, with a link to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder. Nothing in this license impairs or restricts the author’s moral rights. Cover: Free illustration at www.pixabay.com/p-279330 (INTER)FACES OF DIALOGUE proceedings of the IADA workshop Braşov, 5-7 June 2014 edited by Răzvan Săftoiu transilvania university of braşov 2015 Contents Chapter 1 3 Political correctness and the rationale behind it Liliana ALIC Chapter 2 37 Self-reference and reference to the other in the speech of two children and their parents Alessandra DEL RÉ, Paula Cristina BULLIO Chapter 3 70 Names and naming practices. A case study of Romanian and Chinese personal names Corina Silvia MICU, Lili LIU Chapter 4 83 Forms of metatextual dialogism in the work of I. L. Caragiale Ana ENE Chapter 5 105 Between discourse and memory: dialogism in Romanian oral texts Margareta MANU MAGDA Chapter 6 128 The display of English in public space in Tel Aviv Asher SHAFRIR Chapter 7 147 Dialogue in their language: Cultural aspect in managing a mediation process Rachel SHARABY Chapter 8 180 The construction of an anti-hero. Identity through media filters Jamie Elizabeth (GABRINI) METZGAR Chapter 9 203 Negotiating contested identities in Carmen Miranda’s biographical film Andrea Claudia VALENTE Political correctness and the rationale behind it Liliana ALIC Transilvania University of Braşov (Romania) Abstract Political correctness represents an aspect of present time language mostly used by journalists and politicians to avoid offending interlocutors and members of the general public. At the same time, it became a means of protecting oneself from face threatening acts in social interaction. In our opinion, Political correct language and Wooden language are two aspects of natural languages which developed under specific social and political circumstances. Sometimes, the two terms are used as synonyms though they recover and reflect different realities, an opinion we are defending in this paper. Besides social approach, a linguistic one should reveal differences and similarities between these two aspects, as well as their effect on human relationship. We intend to pursue this matter mostly in present day France, with all its implications. Key-words: political correctness, wooden language, stereotype, cliché Political correctness, an ambiguous term No doubt, Political correctness is an ambiguous term, having known quite a few interpretations ever since it appeared. It is not a mere case of polysemy, as in happens with the French word cartouche, which can mean: cartridge, scroll, banner, microphone cartridge, filter cartridge, card, carton of cigarettes. As for Political correctness, it has become a chameleon, a magic word as F. Atlani called the French pronoun on: on l’illusionniste “the chameleon it” (Atlani 1984, 13), due to the pronoun capacity to change its meaning according to social or linguistic context. Originated from the United States, Political correctness first served to criticize racist and sexist 3 attitudes by the end of 1960 (Larrazet 2010, 111) then it has become an expression that qualified freedom of speech in connection with topics considered delicate by politicians, such as race, social class, gender or religion. This term has crossed centuries and continents and has become, in our opinion, a kind of language register, compulsory in specific social environment or particular circumstances. Currently, Political correctness is treated with a certain amount of tolerance by linguists, who rank it with the phrases and deal with it making inventories and identifying fields, contexts of use or term forming mechanisms. As for its users, the most diligent and conscientious ones are to be found among politicians and journalists. “Politically correct” language as a synonym of “Wooden language” Politically correct language and Wooden language overlapping is due to their frequent and wide use mostly in politics. Politicians and ideologists relied on Politically correct language to reinforce or to undermine an ideology, a conviction, an idea. As for Wooden language, it is reputed for its great success in imposing ideologies, especially those of totalitarian governments or repressive ones. Its bad reputation is equally due to meaningless words and phrases and to extremely ample and generous clauses. Politically correct language has been known in France beginning with 1990, when it was imported from the United States of America, while Wooden language is of European origin, being in use in Russia from the 19th century, describing the heavy and obscure style of the administrative language in the tsar’s epoch. Later on, the Soviet communist authorities began building their own jargon, an unnatural and heavy language appreciated for its form, deprived of any meaning, suitable to disguise reality and manipulate masses. It served the purposes of communist 4 ideology, which were persuasion of the crowds as for the legitimacy of their totalitarian regime and its reinforcement. So, chronologically speaking, Wooden language, of European origin, preceded Politically correct language in Europe. The latest, with its American origins, needed some time adjusting to new circumstances and new cultures and mentalities and becoming a part of political and media world. From the beginning, politically correct language was seen as artificial, deprived of substance, insincere and meaningless. Surprisingly, these characteristics normally seen as weaknesses, imperfections or shortcomings became the very outstanding force of this new aspect of language. It was the perfect tool for anyone wanting to conceal his or her intentions and real thoughts and wishing to say half-truths or distorted truths or no truth at all. This way of reporting reality so inaccurately may become useful in certain circumstances and in some social, cultural, business, political groups. Diplomats, politicians, businessmen, journalists are often compelled to do so. An important thing should be noted: both the Wooden language and the Politically correct language use mostly the same linguistic means and processes to be put into place: abstract nous, a lot of superlatives, abstract verbs, stereotypes, clichés, metaphors, euphemisms. Here is an example of such Wooden language, used by Ceauşescu, the Romanian dictator: (1) «Nous sommes fortement décidés à militer sans relâche pour le renforcement de l’unité et de la solidarité de toutes les forces progressistes et anti-impérialistes du monde entier, à coopérer étroitement avec tous les peuples.» (cité d’après Luciana Radut-Gaghi, 2010) “We are strongly determined to fight tirelessly to reinforce unity and solidarity of all progressive and anti-imperialist forces from all-over the world, in close cooperation with all peoples.” 5 We have not heard the last from the Wooden language, even if the majority of communist regimes have collapsed; it has only grown and beautified, extending to new situational contexts, and receiving a helping hand from the latest technology, the digital one. Computer programmers have developed o soft to generate Wooden language and the results are remarkable: (2) «Mesdames, Messieurs, Je tiens à vous dire ici ma détermination sans faille pour clamer haut et fort l’effort prioritaire en faveur du statut précaire des exclus qui doit nous amener au choix réellement impératif de solutions rapides correspondant aux grands axes sociaux prioritaires.» (www.presidentielle-2007.net/generateur-de-langue-de-bois.php) “Ladies and Gentlemen, I do want to express in front of you my strong determination to promote the absolute priority to regulate the precarious status of socially excluded people, which must direct us imperatively to find rapid solutions corresponding to the most important social priorities.” The software called in French générateur de langue de bois “wooden language generator” is supposed to elaborate, on demand, by typing on the keyboard, an appropriate discourse for circumstances such as: elections, local or presidential; the discourse of a city councillor, of the Mayor of a city, a manager of a public institution, and so on. Abstract terms, multiple meanings, multiple contexts of use of the terms, emptiness of the phrases and clauses became outstanding characteristics that could give any discourse multiple directions