This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by BUTTNY, R. Articles by WILLIAMS, P. L. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Demanding Respect: The Uses of Reported Speech in Discursive Constructions of Interracial Contact

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY, NY

PRINCESS L. WILLIAMS

SUFFOLK COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE, NY

This investigation examines discursive uses of respect in talking about interracial contact. In discussing the documentary, Racism 101, the most frequently quoted portion by African-American and Latino participants was a segment on demanding respect from Whites. Our first study analyzes such discourse-reported speech-for what is made relevant from the original documentary segment. The participants' reported speech conveys little of the exact wording of the original, but does capture its spirit through using similar structural features: the repetition of `respect', a contrast between respect and liking, and addressing this to Whites. These uses of reported speech are participants' way of performing the power of another's words, in the sense of being able to articulate a compelling discursive position on an interracial problematic. Our second study employs focus-group interviews to further explore the meanings of respect for African-Americans. We examine narratives of disrespect during interracial contact in public places, such as during service encounters in stores. Participants' narratives told of being disrespected by being overly monitored, not receiving service, or being treated in a derogatory fashion, in short, the perception of being treated differently than Whites. Reported speech was used in these narratives to construct the White service worker's actions, how the narrator responded, what could have happened, or what in-group members say as an aggregate. Reported speech allows narrators to articulate the subtext to what is being said. Also, the evaluation of these incidents told of the emotional costs of being the recipient of disrespect.

Key Words: discursive constructions • interracial contact • reported speech • respect • talking race

Discourse & Society, Vol. 11, No. 1, 109-133 (2000)
DOI: 10.1177/0957926500011001005


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Lamerichs and H. F.M. Te Molder `And then I'm really like . . .': `preliminary' self-quotations in adolescent talk Discourse Studies, August 1, 2009; 11(4): 401 - 419. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. Hodges The politics of recontextualization: discursive competition over claims of Iranian involvement in Iraq Discourse Society, July 1, 2008; 19(4): 483 - 505. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. Wooffitt and S. Allistone Participation, procedure and accountability: `you said' speech markers in negotiating reports of ambiguous phenomena Discourse Studies, June 1, 2008; 10(3): 407 - 427. [Abstract] [PDF]

				K. Murakami Positioning in Accounting for Redemption and Reconciliation Culture Psychology, December 1, 2007; 13(4): 431 - 452. [Abstract] [PDF]

				E. Stokoe and D. Edwards `Black this, black that': racial insults and reported speech in neighbour complaints and police interrogations Discourse Society, May 1, 2007; 18(3): 337 - 372. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. WOOFFITT Raising the Dead: Reported Speech in Medium--Sitter Interaction Discourse Studies, August 1, 2001; 3(3): 351 - 374. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S.-H. KUO Reported Speech in Chinese Political Discourse Discourse Studies, May 1, 2001; 3(2): 181 - 202. [Abstract] [PDF]