Interpersonal procedures of alignment and attitude in a debate

Abstract

In this article we aim at studying how speakers mark alignment in discourse. We define alignment as the speaker’s point of view or footing in relation to an object (for instance, a topic or issue in conversation or a debate) but also and mainly in relation to the other participants in the interaction. The aim of the study is to identify the linguistic procedures used by speakers to mark alignment, and also to show how in face-to-face interaction the creation of alignment and therefore the (inter)subjective construction of discourse is the result of a process of interpersonal negotiation. With this purpose in mind, we have attempted to identify the procedures used by speakers to mark alignment such as partial repetition, recycling of linguistic material, or personal pronouns and stance markers like pronouns, verbs of cognition and communication and adverbs.