Abstract
Although self-disclosure has been shown to be an important verbal means for conveying and strengthening solidarity in very close relationships, little attention has been paid to other ways in which talk is used to convey and develop solidarity among friends. This paper shows how talk is used to build cohesion by examining collaborative talk, in which an utterance supports or ratifies the previous utterance in some manner. Although collaborative talk occurs in a number offorms, collaborative narratives are of particular interest because the very strategies that are required to produce a coherent narrative also lead to a greater perception and feeling of solidarity among group members. Adolescent females use a variety of strategies when telling personal narratives jointly. Some of the strategies reflect sociolinguistic rules of narratives, such as dividing the different functions of description and evaluation among the different speakers. Other strategies reflect grammatical rules of narratives, such as maintaining coherence through repetition and conjunction. Girls also use sequencing rules to establish coherence when the speaker changes. In all cases the strategies help to enhance solidarity among the narrators.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call