Title
Drawing on the words of others at public hearings: Zoning, Wal-Mart, and the threat to the aquifer
Document Type
Article
Date
2007
Keywords
public hearings, risk, reported speech, quotes, Wal-Mart, discursive analysis, rhetoric
Language
English
Disciplines
Communication | Speech and Rhetorical Studies
Description/Abstract
This study examines two public hearings on a zoning proposal that would allow the construction of a Super Wal-Mart Center on a field over the town’s aquifer. Many citizens speak out against the zoning change because of the risk to drinking water, as well as other issues. Citizens face the speaker’s problem of how to make their presentations convincing, given the technical matters involved and the fact that Town Board members have likely already heard about these issues. Some speakers draw on the words of others in their presentations. Using another ’s words allows the speaker to cite an authoritative source or to respond to what another has said, to evaluate it, and often to challenge it. Speakers use other devices in addition to quotes, such as formulations, repetition, and membership categorizations to develop their evaluative stances in the reporting context. The study’s focus is the discursive construction and rhetoric of using others’ words for the speaker’s own purposes.
Recommended Citation
Buttny, R., & Cohen, J.R. (2007). Drawing on the words of others at public hearings: Zoning, Wal-Mart, and the threat to the aquifer. Language in Society, 36, 735-756. Retrieved electronically from SURFACE: http://surface.syr.edu/crs/1/
Additional Information
Originally published in Language in Society. doi: 10.1017/S0047404507070674 http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?aid=1377380