Lightning talk: Poster: Exploring semiotic repertoires in Afro-Surinamese speech communities

In more recent years, the multimodal nature of social interaction has become an important focus of current research in linguistics. This line of research acknowledges that human communication relies on various multimodal resources, highlighting that spoken language represents only one mode among many (Norris 2004: 2). Thus, speech and gesture share a complementary relation as they “interact with one another to create a precise and vivid understanding” (Kendon 2004: 174).

While there has been a growing interest in the multimodal facets of meaning-making, semiotic repertoires of postcolonial societies remain a largely neglected research area (Mühleisen 2011: 116). Even fewer studies are concerned with the relationship between the embodied and multilingual practices used in these understudied cultural contexts.

The investigation presented here focuses on multimodal and multilingual resources in postcolonial Suriname. More specifically, the ethnographically informed study examines how embodied modes of communication interrelate with the multilingual sociolinguistic reality of Afro-Surinamese speech communities. The data stem from a three-month field research conducted in Paramaribo, Suriname in 2022, drawing on field notes, participant observation, natural video recordings and interviews.

Altogether, this study provides new insights into interactional strategies, illustrating that speakers use diverse semiotic resources in different social situations and for various pragmatic ends.

References
Norris, S. 2004. Analyzing Multimodal Interaction: A Methodological Framework. NY: Routledge.
Kendon, A. 2004. Gesture: Visible Action as Utterance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mühleisen, S. 2011. “4. Pragmatics in Multilingual Language Situations”. In G. Andersen and K. Aijmer (eds.) Pragmatics of Society. Boston: De Gruyter. 115–134.

Info

Tag: 04.11.2022
Anfangszeit: 14:30
Dauer: 00:15
Raum: Wiwi-Bunker —Room 3016
Track: Sociolinguistics
Sprache: en

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