Adversarial Discourse in Prime Minister's Questions
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2350366 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Peter Bull (0000-0003-4739-2892, University of York, York, UK), Pam Wells (0000-0001-7535-0804, University of York, York, UK) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 30-48 |
| Publication date | 2012-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Language and Social Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0261-927X • E-ISSN: 1552-6526 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0261927x11425034 |
| OpenAlex | W2170244565 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 34 |
| References cited | 13 |
In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) are a weekly 30-minute parliamentary session, in which the prime minister (PM) responds to questions from both government and opposition members of parliament (MPs). In this study, 18 PMQs (April-November, 2007) were analysed, 9 with Labour PM Tony Blair, 9 with his successor Gordon Brown; in all 18 sessions, their opponent was Conservative Party leader David Cameron. In PMQs, MPs are expected to converse through questions and replies, while refraining from "unparliamentary language" (e.g., direct insults to another MP). However, within these constraints, PMQs are notorious for adversarial discourse, analysed in this study through the concept of face-threatening acts (FTAs). Six distinctive ways in which FTAs are performed by the leader of the opposition in questions and five distinctive ways in which the PM may counter FTAs in replies were identified. Overall, it is proposed that face aggravation in PMQs is not just an acceptable form of parliamentary discourse, it is both sanctioned and rewarded, a means whereby MPs may enhance their own status through aggressive facework
Adversarial system · Adversary · Converse · Epistemology · Face negotiation theory · Media studies · Parliament · Political science · Politics · Prime minister · Sociology · Successor cardinal · Computer Science · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Law · Philosophy · Swearing, Euphemism, Multilingualism
Formulaic Forms of Address as (Im)politeness Markers in Prime Minister’s Questions
(Im)politeness during Prime Minister’s Questions in the U.K. Parliament
The Pragmatics of Language and Politics
Expanding factors in threat to face
Political equivocation in a less-adversarial campaign context
“Let me now answer, very directly, Marie’s question”
Discussion, dispute or controversy
Effects of gender and verbal aggression on perceptions of U.S. political speakers
Why Do We Think Politicians Are So Evasive? Insight From Theories of Equivocation and Deception, With a Content Analysis of U.S. Presidential Debates, 1996-2012
The more we verify it, the more truth there is’
Adversarial interaction in Prime Minister’s Questions in the UK
Prime Minister's questions as political ritual
Conflictual behaviour in legislatures
Speaking out against everyday sexism
Petty in Pink
How is that unparliamentary?”
Calling Mr Speaker ‘Mr Speaker’
Politicization of Immigration and Language Use in Political Elites
Uncivil political discourse in televised election debates in the Netherlands from 1981 to 2023
Can’t Answer? Won’t Answer? An Analysis of Equivocal Responses by Theresa May in Prime Minister’s Questions
Curbing Their Antagonism
Questions to the Prime Minister
Questions to the Prime Minister in the Canadian House of Commons
Questions to the PM versus questions by the PM
How are prime ministers held to account? Exploring procedures and practices in 31 parliamentary democracies
The Effects of Counterfactual Attacks on Social Judgments
The use of actually in a non-native English parliamentary context
Verbal evasion among Iranian presidential candidates
On the ritualization of commemorative practices
Meta-questions and meta-answers
He Is Just the Nowhere Man of British Politics
Playing the Man, Not the Ball
Effects of Verbal Aggression and Party Identification Bias on Perceptions of Political Speakers
The Strategic Use of Counterfactual Communication in Politics
| Unique citing works | 34 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,43 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2025 (14) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 32 |