Forskningsenheden Semantik, udsigelse og oversættelse inviterer til

Gæsteforelæsning

 ass. prof. Øyvind Gjerstad

Universitetet i Bergen

Onsdag den 10. april. Lokale 1481-568

“Polynarrativity”

Combining narrative and polyphonic analysis to reveal intersecting storylines in texts 

Thirteen years ago, Kjersti Fløttum (2010) first proposed that discourse on climate change has a fundamental narrative structure, in which the destabilization of the climate system constitutes the complication, followed by complex sets of proposed actions in order to solve the problem. Such climate change narratives transpire not only in classical narrative form, or so-called narrative text sequences (Adam 1992), but also in argumentative or deliberative sequences. The implication of this observation is that narrativity can be found and studied in texts such as policy documents and scientific reports, that typically do not represent the kind of storytelling that is associated with genres such as fairytales, fables, or personal anecdotes. Furthermore, this broad narrativity can also be found in texts on a range of topics beyond climate change, and even beyond political and societal issues.

Later studies (e.g. Gjerstad 2019) have combined narrative analysis with the analysis of polyphonic markers, such as reported speech, negation, and concession. These linguistic phenomena signal the presence of other voices than that of the speaker or author, who can use them to reject, concede to or affirm the points of view (pov) of these voices (Nølke et al. 2004, Nølke 2017). The combined analysis of narrative and polyphony, or “polynarrativity”, shows how texts can give the floor to pov that represent elements of other narratives, to endorse or reject them. The most overtly polyphonic phenomenon is reported speech. Through this mechanism, the voices that are introduced are often attributed a double role, as both characters and ‘substitute narrators’ that enter into a virtual dialogue with the main narrative of the text. More subtle markers of polyphony, such as negation (not) and concession (but, however, notwithstanding, etc.) can serve to refute or concede to elements of other narratives.

References

Adam, J.-M. 1992. Les textes – types et prototypes. Paris : Nathan

Birkelund, M. & Nølke, H. Ironistik. 2013. Ny Forskning i Grammatik 20. http://ojs.statsbiblioteket.dk/index.php/nfg/issue/archive

Fløttum, K. 2010. A linguistic and discursive view on climate change discourse. Asp 58. https://doi.org/10.4000/asp.1793

Gjerstad, Ø. 2019. Le dialogue des récits climatiques : une analyse narrative et polyphonique. Cahiers de praxématique 73 (2). https://doi.org/10.4000/praxematique.5774

Nølke, H. 2017. Linguistic Polyphony. The Scandinavian Approach: ScaPoLine. Amsterdam: Brill.

Nølke, H. 2006. Pour une théorie linguistique de la polyphonie : problèmes, avantages,

perspectives. In Perrin, L. (éd.). Le sens et ses voix. Dialogisme et polyphonie en

langue et en discours. Metz : Université Paul Verlaine. 243-269.

Nølke, H. Fløttum, K. & Norén, C. 2004. ScaPoLine: La théorie scandinave de polyphonie linguistique. Paris : Kimé.

                                                                                                Arrangør : Merete Birkelund

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