Speaking Relationally Culture, Communication, and Interpersonal Connection

by Fitch, Kristine L.

• ISBN13: 9781572303058
• ISBN10: 1572303050
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-01-30
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

Deepening our understanding of the social context of interpersonal interaction, this book examines the communication practices through which members of a particular culture construct and maintain their relationships. The author presents an ethnographic case study of urban, largely middle-class Colombians, taking a close look at interactional practices and speech patterns in a range of everyday settings--from schools, workplaces, and social service agencies, to gatherings of family and friends. In focusing on a context outside of North America and Europe, the book sheds light on cultural assumptions about personhood, relationships, and communication that often remain unexamined in the literature. A compelling epilogue offers a more personal glimpse of Colombian culture and probes both the rewards and the limitations of the ethnographic approach.

Author Biography

Kristine L. Fitch, PhD, is Associate Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Iowa.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
A Broad View of Personal Relationships: Relational Ideals	p. 13
An Ethnographic Approach to Personal Relationships	p. 15
Relational Ideals	p. 25
Personal Address	p. 34
Five Categories of Address Terms	p. 35
Speech Events with Names	p. 45
Directives: Requests and Commands	p. 69
Directive Speech Events	p. 74
Four Rules of Directive Performance	p. 92
Palanca: A Narrative Genre	p. 96
Palanca Narratives from Everyday Talk	p. 97
Speech Events Associated with Palanca	p. 103
Palanca as a Cultural Myth	p. 112
Conclusion	p. 121
Friends, Family, and Workmates: A Situated Enactment of a Personal Relationship	p. 122
Friends, Family, and Workmates: Mariela and Josefina	p. 123
Relational Codes	p. 141
"A Set of Bonds to Others": Elaborating an Ideology of Connectedness	p. 146
Dilemma #1: Sincerity versus Appropriateness	p. 152
Dilemma #2: Conflict between Vinculos	p. 160
Dilemma #3: Confianza versus Authority/Respect	p. 164
Dilemma #4: Being Verraca in a Machista Society	p. 168
Cultural Dilemmas as Relational Dialectics	p. 172
Colombian Relational Dialectics	p. 175
Personal Relationships in Comparative Perspective	p. 180
Interpersonal Ideology	p. 182
A Comparative Glance at Power in Interpersonal Ideology	p. 187
Epilogue - Connections: A Death Foretold	p. 195
App.: Master List of Address Terms	p. 218
References	p. 220
Author Index	p. 229
Subject Index	p. 233
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