Elinor Ochs Keenan
Biographic Data
| ID | 143446 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Elinor Ochs Keenan |
| GIVEN NAMES | Elinor Ochs |
| FAMILY NAME | Keenan |
| SIGNATURE | KEENAN E O |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Southern California |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 9 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 111 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 9 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1973 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Topic as a Discourse Notion: A Study of Topic in the Conversations of Children and Adults( )
Topic has been described as a discourse notion (see, for example, Chafe 1972 ; Li and Thompson, this volume). However, there has been no systematic study in linguistics of the way in which topics are initiated, sustained, and/or dropped in naturally-occurring discourse. This paper addresses itself to this concern. It draws from notions developed by sociologists engaged in conversational analysis and integrates them with our own observations of th…
Norm-Makers, Norm-Breakers: Uses of Speech by Men and Women in a Malagasy Community
The language spoken throughout Madagascar, in various dialects, is Malagasy. It is a verb-first, subject-final language belonging to the Western Malayo-Polynesian subfamily of languages. The people of Namoizamanga speak the major dialect of the island, Merina. There are two major modes of speech use distinguished by the villagers. Namely, resaka, it refers to teny-an-dava'andro (everyday speaking). Resaka contrasts with kabary, which refers both …
Making It Last: Repetition in Children’s Discourse
Proceedings of the First Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society (1975), pp. 279-294
Foregrounding Referents: A Reconsideration of Left Dislocation in Discourse
Proceedings of the 2nd Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society (1976), pp. 240-257
The universality of conversational postulates
Grice's analysis of conversational maxims and implicatures is examined in the light of Malagasy language and ways of speaking. A cultural contrast in primary assumptions is described. Grician analysis retains usefulness but within the perspective of a comparative typology in which locally valid systems may differ strikingly in what is marked and unmarked. An ethnographic base and ethnological comparison are required. The situation somewhat resemb…
Dimensions in Sociolinguistics - M. A. K. Halliday, Explorations in the functions of language. London: Edward Arnold
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Coherency in children's discourse
Conversational competence in children
Observations of early morning conversations between twin boys (2;9 at onset of research) indicate that young children are able to sustain a coherent dialogue over a number of turns. Contrary to the views of Piaget (1926), the interlocutors generally attend to one another's utterances. Coherence is achieved to a large extent by attending to the form of one another's utterances. Extended exchanges are maintained by speakers focusing on a sequence o…
A sliding sense of obligatoriness: The poly-structure of Malagasy oratory
On the plateau area of Madagascar, the rules for ceremonial speech (kabary), and skill in it, are sources of pride and topics of great interest. The most elaborate use of kabary is in the public marriage request. This event is intended to give honor to the girl's family and to evoke confidence in the boy's family, securing an alliance between them. Conceptions of the ground rules of proper kabary are diverse. There are discussions of them before,…
The universality of conversational postulates
Grice's analysis of conversational maxims and implicatures is examined in the light of Malagasy language and ways of speaking. A cultural contrast in primary assumptions is described. Grician analysis retains usefulness but within the perspective of a comparative typology in which locally valid systems may differ strikingly in what is marked and unmarked. An ethnographic base and ethnological comparison are required. The situation somewhat resemb…
A sliding sense of obligatoriness: The poly-structure of Malagasy oratory
On the plateau area of Madagascar, the rules for ceremonial speech (kabary), and skill in it, are sources of pride and topics of great interest. The most elaborate use of kabary is in the public marriage request. This event is intended to give honor to the girl's family and to evoke confidence in the boy's family, securing an alliance between them. Conceptions of the ground rules of proper kabary are diverse. There are discussions of them before,…
Coherency in children's discourse
A sliding sense of obligatoriness: The poly-structure of Malagasy oratory
On the plateau area of Madagascar, the rules for ceremonial speech (kabary), and skill in it, are sources of pride and topics of great interest. The most elaborate use of kabary is in the public marriage request. This event is intended to give honor to the girl's family and to evoke confidence in the boy's family, securing an alliance between them. Conceptions of the ground rules of proper kabary are diverse. There are discussions of them before,…
Conversational competence in children
Observations of early morning conversations between twin boys (2;9 at onset of research) indicate that young children are able to sustain a coherent dialogue over a number of turns. Contrary to the views of Piaget (1926), the interlocutors generally attend to one another's utterances. Coherence is achieved to a large extent by attending to the form of one another's utterances. Extended exchanges are maintained by speakers focusing on a sequence o…
Dimensions in Sociolinguistics - M. A. K. Halliday, Explorations in the functions of language. London: Edward Arnold
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Coherency in children's discourse
The universality of conversational postulates
Grice's analysis of conversational maxims and implicatures is examined in the light of Malagasy language and ways of speaking. A cultural contrast in primary assumptions is described. Grician analysis retains usefulness but within the perspective of a comparative typology in which locally valid systems may differ strikingly in what is marked and unmarked. An ethnographic base and ethnological comparison are required. The situation somewhat resemb…
Making It Last: Repetition in Children’s Discourse
Proceedings of the First Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society (1975), pp. 279-294
Foregrounding Referents: A Reconsideration of Left Dislocation in Discourse
Proceedings of the 2nd Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society (1976), pp. 240-257
Norm-Makers, Norm-Breakers: Uses of Speech by Men and Women in a Malagasy Community
The language spoken throughout Madagascar, in various dialects, is Malagasy. It is a verb-first, subject-final language belonging to the Western Malayo-Polynesian subfamily of languages. The people of Namoizamanga speak the major dialect of the island, Merina. There are two major modes of speech use distinguished by the villagers. Namely, resaka, it refers to teny-an-dava'andro (everyday speaking). Resaka contrasts with kabary, which refers both …
Topic as a Discourse Notion: A Study of Topic in the Conversations of Children and Adults( )
Topic has been described as a discourse notion (see, for example, Chafe 1972 ; Li and Thompson, this volume). However, there has been no systematic study in linguistics of the way in which topics are initiated, sustained, and/or dropped in naturally-occurring discourse. This paper addresses itself to this concern. It draws from notions developed by sociologists engaged in conversational analysis and integrates them with our own observations of th…
Linguistics (6 works) · Psychology (6 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies (4 works) · Philosophy (4 works) · Developmental psychology (2 works) · Discourse analysis (2 works) · Gender Studies (2 works) · Gender Studies in Language (2 works) · Law (2 works)