Howard John Manns

Misunderstanding and Repair in Tactile Auslan.

This article discusses ways in which misunderstandings arise in Tactile Australian Sign Language (Tactile Auslan) and how they are resolved. Of particular interest are the similarities to and differences from the same processes in visually signed and spoken conversation. This article draws on detailed conversation analysis (CA) and demonstrates the power of this methodology for uncovering the subtleties of misunderstanding and repair in deaf-blind communication. In doing so, it aids our understanding of the challenges deaf-blind people encounter in adapting a visual sign language for tactile delivery. Above all, this article demonstrates that experienced tactile signers have a range of strategies at their disposal to resolve interactional trouble and deploy them quickly and effectively when misunderstandings arise.

Style and Intersubjectivity in Youth Interaction

© 2018 Walter de Gruyter Inc., Boston/Berlin. All Rights Reserved. This book examines how style and intersubjective meanings emerge through language use. It is innovative in theoretical scope and empirical focus. It brings together insights from discourse-functional linguistics, stylistics, and conversation analysis to understand how language resources are used to enact stances in intersubjective space. While there are numerous studies devoted to youth language, the focus has been mainly on face-to-face interaction. Other types of youth interaction, particularly in mediated forms, have received little attention. This book draws on data from four different text types - conversation, e-forums, comics, and teen fiction - to highlight the multidirectional nature of style construction. Indonesia provides a rich context for the study of style and intersubjectivity among youth. In constructing style, Indonesian urban youth have been moving away from conventions which emphasized hierarchy and uniformity toward new ways of connecting in intersubjective space. This book analyzes how these new ways are realized in different text types. This book makes a valuable addition to sociolinguistic literature on youth and language and an essential reading for those interested in Austronesian sociolinguistics.

First-Person Pronominal Variation, Stance and Identity in Indonesia

Unlike Indo-European languages, many Asian languages provide their speakers with a strategic choice of first-person pronouns. This article explores how Indonesian speakers vary their selection of first-person pronouns to enact stances. It examines the selection of pronouns on the island of Java, where there is the simultaneous and somewhat contentious growth of a more dogmatic Islamic identity and a youth identity linked to Westernization. Variation is examined in casual conversations between young, intimate interlocutors and observations are supported by interviews with conversation participants. Results show speakers select pronominal forms prescribed by Indonesian grammars as well as forms drawn from Arabic and colloquial Indonesian associated with speakers from the capital Jakarta. Pronouns are shown to be selected to enact stances related to, among other things, solidarity, epistemic authority, playfulness and the mitigation of fact-threatening acts. A concluding discussion outlines how young Indonesian speakers use these stances to construct heterogeneous selves, concerned with youth, nation and religion.