Speaking sincerely: public reactions to the death of Diana

Abstract

This article explores some aspects of public speaking in the mediated public sphere by examining the verbal tributes offered by the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, by the Queen and by Earl Spencer in the aftermath of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. It considers some of the linguistic properties of these three public utterances, but focuses mainly on the ways in which they were assessed by members of ‘the public’, in order to explore possible changes to the discursive character of the public sphere.¹

Keywords

appropriateness Habermas mediated communication participation framework pausing public sphere sincerity speech acts validity claims verbal tributes

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Austen, J.L. (1962) How to Do Things with Words. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Bühler, K. (1934) Sprachtheorie. Jena: Fischer.

Giddens, A. (1991) Modernity and Self Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Goffman, E. (1981) Forms of Talk. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Habermas, J. (1979) ‘Universal Pragmatics’, in J. Habermas (ed.) Communication and the Evolution of Society, pp. 1-68. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

Halliday, M.A.K. (1985) An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Edward Arnold.

Horton, D. and Wohl, R.R. (1956) ‘Mass Communication and Para-social Interaction: Observations on Intimacy at a Distance’, Psychiatry, 19: 215-229.

Jakobson, R. (1960) ‘Closing Statement: Linguistics and Poetics’, in T. Sebeok (ed.) Style in Language, pp. 350-377. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Scannell, P. (1996) Radio Television and Modern Life. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

10.

Scannell, P. and Cardiff, D. (1991) A Social History of British Broadcasting. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

11.

Schegloff, E. (1972) ‘Notes on a Conversational Practice: Formulating Place’, in D. Sudnow (ed.) Studies in Social Interaction, pp. 75-119. New York: Free Press.

12.

Searle, J. (1969) Speech Acts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

13.

Thomas, J. (1995) Meaning in Interaction. London: Longman

14.

Thompson, J.B. (1995) The Media and Modernity. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

15.

Tolson, A. (1996) Mediations. London: Edward Arnold.

16.

Trilling, L. (1971) Sincerity and Authenticity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.