On the ritualization of commemorative practices: Paying tribute in British Prime Minister's Questions

Abstract

In this paper, paying tribute is analyzed as an emergent ritual for national commemoration at British Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs). This study draws on data taken from some of the earliest audio recordings available (1978–1988) to more recent video footage (2003–2013), and Hansard, the official record of parliamentary proceedings. The diachronic interactional sociolinguistic study suggests that paying tribute constitutes a rather unusual practice in which parliamentary speakers tend to display unity across party ranks. In the older dataset, the prime minister's paying tribute is prompted by a substantial parliamentary question. By contrast, in the more recent dataset, the initial ritual answer turn slot has emerged as a locus for ritualized commemoration. The observed process of ritualization, which is accompanied by an individualization and distinction of the troops killed in action, is discussed against the backdrop of political events and as well as changes in the institutionalized procedure in parliament.