I didn't say that! Uses of SAY in mediation discourse. (December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Janier, Mathilde; Reed, Chris
• Is Part Of: Discourse studies. Volume 19:Number 6(2017)
• Page Start: 619
• Page End: 647
• Publication Date: 2017-12
• Subjects: Argumentative discourse -- discourse analysis -- dispute mediation -- Inference Anchoring Theory -- meta-discourse; Discourse analysis -- Periodicals; 401.405
• DOI: 10.1177/1461445617715180
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1461-4456

Abstract

While several taxonomies of meta-discourse exist, none clearly explains speakers' strategies in mediation. Mediators, however, seem to rely a lot on meta-discourse to manage the argument while preserving their neutrality. This article proposes corpus analyses to detect mediation participants' discourse strategies and highlight the role and function of a meta-discourse element – the verb 'to say'. This article is a first step towards the elaboration of a taxonomy for the analysis of argumentative meta-discourse and brings new insights into meta-discourse in argumentative dialogues and mediation discourse in general.