Skinder as gespreksgenre
Date
2005-04
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AOSIS Publishing
Abstract
Gossip as a discourse genre
Gossip is one of the wide range of sub-categories of discourse genres
in story-telling. It is one of the most common interactive forms of
discourse in informal conversation, because it has its origin in the
general inclination of man to show an intense interest in other
people’s activities. Although the development of gossip differs with
regard to the subject of discussion, the context and situation in which
it is produced as well as the persons participating, it is possible to
distinguish definite universal features of gossip. This article deals with
the most prominent characteristics of gossip. The focus falls on the
structure, the gossiping process, the content, the pejorative,
evaluating nature of it and the social aspects involved in gossiping.
Special attention is paid to non-verbal elements, which are frequently
used when people gossip. In spite of the negative connotations gossip
has, it is very important in the establishment of social identities and
relations. It should therefore not be neglected in the study of
language.
Description
CITATION: Van der Merwe, G. S. 2005. Skinder as gespreksgenre. Literator, 26(1): 117-136, doi: 10.4102/lit.v26i1.222.
The original publication is available at http://literator.org.za
The original publication is available at http://literator.org.za
Keywords
Gossip, Interpersonal communication, Informal forms of conversation, Discourse analysis -- Social aspects
Citation
Van der Merwe, G. S. 2005. Skinder as gespreksgenre. Literator, 26(1): 117-136, doi: 10.4102/lit.v26i1.222