Faculty of Social Sciences
Language and Communication
63 013 18
Dr. Dana Riesenfeld
BA Seminar Year: 2016 Semester: 2 nd One Credit
Class day and hours: Tuesday 16:00-18:00
Office Hours: By email
Email: danari@zahav.net.il
Course description: The course "Language and Communication" deals with the interface between language and the media. Research of the linguistic aspects of the media is an interdisciplinary field that draws upon theories from sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, pragmatics, conversation analysis and other areas. Our course will present the basic terminology and research topics which are concerned with the relationship between natural language and its various uses and manifestations in the media.
Course Requirements :
1.
Attendance to class, reading the assigned material and active participation
2.
Short mid-term paper (1-2 pages) to be handed in by week 7 of the course
3.
Final exam
Grade:
20%- mid-term paper
80% - final exam
Lessons and reading material:
Topic
1.
2.
Introduction: the intersection between language and the media
Language and languages: dialects
3.
4.
5.
Language and power
Language and gender
Grice and Searle: speech acts theory, IBS
6.
7.
Grice and Searle: speech acts theory, IBS
Language and thought: linguistic determinism vs. mentalism
8.
9.
Media and metaphor
Conversation analysis
10.
11.
Natural language vs. media language
The television interview
12.
13.
Adversary vs. deferential interviews
Summary
1

Course Reading:
(Items marked * are recommended further reading)
1. Introduction: The intersection between language and the media
Talbot, M. 2007 . Media discourse: Representation and interaction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press. Introduction: pp. 3-12.
N/A
Silverstone, R. 1999.
Why study the media . London: Sage. Chapter 4. Rhetoric. pp. 31-39.
302.23 SIL w (447359)
2. Language and languages: Dialects
Wardhaugh, R. 1992.Chapter 1: Introduction. From: An Introduction to Sociolinguistics . Oxford:
Blackwell Publications.
306.4 WAR i2 (226027)
Wardhaugh, R. 1992.Chapter 2: “Language, dialects and varieties”. From: An Introduction to
Sociolinguistics . Oxford: Blackwell Publications.
306.4 WAR i2 (226027)
Katriel, T. 1986. Talking straight: 'Dugri' speech in Israeli sabra culture . Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. Chapter 2. The cultural meaning of dugri talk, pp. 9-33.
492.479 KAT t (58548) – in the English & Translation libraries
Katriel, T. 1990. ‘Griping’ as a verbal ritual in some Israeli discourse. In D. Carbaugh (ed.),
Cultural communication and intercultural contact (pp. 99-114) Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence
N/A
Erlbaum.
3.
Language and power
Wardhaugh, R. 1992.Chapter 14: “Language and disadvantage”. From:
An Introduction to
Sociolinguistics . Oxford: Blackwell Publications.
306.4 WAR i2 (226027)
*Bernstein , B. 1994. Social class , language and socialization. In J. Corner, J. & J. Hawthorn (eds.)
Communication Studies : An Introductory Reader (pp.47-55) London, New York: Edward
Arnold.
001.5 COM 1985 (55852)
4.
Language and gender
Wardhaugh, R. 1992.Chapter 13: Language and Sex. From: An Introduction to Sociolinguistics .
Oxford: Blackwell Publications.
306.4 WAR i2 (226027)
Tannen, D. 2003. “The relativity of linguistic strategies” in Paulston, C. B. and Tucker, G. R. (eds)
2003. Sociolinguistics: The Essential Readings . Oxford: Blackwell.
306.44 SOC 2003 (549014) – in the English library
*Tannen, D. 1990. You just don't understand.
New York: HarperCollins. Chapter 1, Different words, different worlds; Ch. 2, Asymmetries: men and women talking at cross purposes. pp.
23-72.
302 TAN y (180073)
2

5+6. Grice and Searle: speech acts theory, IBS
Grice, H.P. 1957. “Meaning”.Reprinted in
Studies in the Way of Words. Cambridge, MA:
HarvardUniversity Press, 1989.
121.68 GRI s (162963) – in the English library
Grice, H.P. 1967. “Logic and conversation”. Reprinted in Studies in the Way of Words.
Cambridge,
MA: HarvardUniversity Press, 1989.
121.68 GRI s (162963) – in the English library
Searle, J. R. 1965. “What is a speech act?”, in Max Black (ed.),
Philosophy in America , Ithaca,
N.Y.: Cornell University Press,1965; London: Allen and Unwin, 1965.
191 PHI 1965 (69495) – in the Philosophy library
Kampf, Z. 2009. The age of apology: Evidence from Israeli public discourse. Social Semiotics , 19
(3), 257-273.
Ejournal (1226345)
*Austin, J.L. 1962. How To Do Things With Words.
Oxford: Oxford University Press. (excerpts).
149.94 AUS h (192806) – in the English & Philosophy libraries
7. Language and thought: Linguistic determinism vs. mentalism
Whorf, Benjamin Lee. 1956 [1940]. Science and Linguistics. In J.B. Carroll (Ed.), Language,
Thought, and Reality , (pp.207-219). Cambridge: MIT Press.
401 WHO l (108154) – in the Education, English & Psychology libraries
Hutchby, I. & Wooffitt, R. 1998. Conversation analysis . Cambridge: Polity Press. Chapter 3. Data
N/A and transcription techniques. 73-93.
8. Media and metaphor
Lakoff, G. and Johnson, M. 1980. Metaphors We Live by. Chicago: University of Chicago press.
(excerpts).
401 LAK m (290694)
Kimmel, M. 2010. “Why we mix metaphors (and mix them well): Discourse coherence, conceptual metaphor, and beyond”. Journal of Pragmatics, 42(1), 97-115.
Ejournal (118980)
9. Conversation analysis
Sidnell, J. and Stivers, T. 2013. Handbook of Conversation Analysis. Boston: Wiley-Blackwell.
N/A
(excerpts).
Hutchby, I. 2006. Media talk: Conversation analysis and the study of broadcasting . Berkshire, UK:
Open University Press. (excerpts).
Ebook (2417103)
10. Natural language vs. the media language
Tolson, A. 2006. Introducing media talk. In Media talk: Spoken discourse on TV and radio (pp. 3-
23). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
302.23014 TOL m (1145813)
3

O’Keefe, A. 2006.
Investigating media discourse London: Routledge. Chapter 1, Introduction, 1.0,
1.1, pp. 1-10.
302.23014 O’KEE i (1116582)
Clayman, S. & Heritage, J. 2002. The news interview: Journalists and public figures on the air.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. News interview turn-taking: basic preliminaries. pp.
97-113; 119-131.
070.43 CLA n (1096124)
11. The interview
Weizman, E. 2006. Roles and identities in news interviews: The Israeli context. Journal of
Pragmatics , 38(2), 154-179.
Ejournal (118980)
Weizman, E. 2000. News interviews on Israeli television: Normative expectations and discourse norms. In S. Stati & M. Bondi (Eds.), Dialogue Analysis (pp.383-394).
Tübingen: Niemeyer,
N/A
12. Adversary interviews
Liebes, T., Kampf, Z. & Blum-Kulka, S. 2008. Saddam on CBS and Arafat on IBA: Addressing the
Enemy on Television, Political Communication , 25 (3): 311-329.
Ejournal (131624)
Clayman, S. and Heritage, J. 2002. Questioning presidents: Journalistic deference and adversarialness in the press conferences of U.S. Presidents Eisenhower and Reagan. Journal of
Communication , 52: 749-775.
Ejournal (155002)
Kampf, Z. and Dascal, E. 2013. Too hostile, too deferential: Processes of media answerability following political interviews. Journalism , 14(4): 522-540.
Ejournal (1106357)
13. Summary
Liebes, T. 2002. American dreams, Hebrew subtitles: Globalization from the receiving end.
Cresskill, N.J.: Hampton Press. (excerpts).
E302.23 LIE a (1099055)
4