Pennesi WE

7/25/2019 Pennesi WE

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ArizonaAnthropologist18:127.2007ArizonaAnthropologist

2003DozierAwardWinner

Be Saying Quotations as Demonstrations of Stance:

A Linguistic Approach to Environmental Conflict

Karen Pennesi, University of Arizona

Abstract: Clark and Gerrig (1990) maintain that quotations ineveryday speech are not necessarily attempts to reproduce thewords of the quotations source, but instead are a type ofdemonstration, selectively depicting aspects of the referents. Inthis article, I use demonstration theory to define the particular

properties

and

functions

of

quotes

introduced

by

be

saying

and

show how they work inboth direct and indirect structures. Idescribethesyntacticdistributionofbesayingquotationsandshowthattheirprimaryfunctionisevaluative. Usingdatafromrecordedmeetings at Walpole Island First Nation, in Ontario, Canada, Ishowhowspeakersusebesayingquotationstoconstructidentitiesforthequotedsourcesbydepictingthestancesattributedtothem.ThebesayingquotesareusedbyWalpoleNativesandnonNativestodemonstrateopposingpositionsontheissueofwaterqualityin

the

local

river,

either

in

favor

of

scientific

knowledge

or

in

favor

of

indigenousknowledge.

Keywords:directspeech;quotations;demonstration;identity;

stance;FirstNations

INTRODUCTION

Over the last thirty years, the use of quotations in discourse has

gainedrecognitionasacommunicativecomponentoflanguageand

there have been a number of studies on direct speech, indirect

speechandquotativeverbs(Labov1972;Banfield1973;Larson1978;

Coulmas 1986; Philips 1986; Mayes 1990; Clark and Gerrig 1990;

GoodellandSachs1992). Thenewesttheoriesargueagainsttheidea

that direct quotations are verbatim reports of words previously

spoken and focus on various linguistic functions unrelated to

reporting. For example, Wade and Clark (1993) conducted

experiments which showed that even when speakers had

memorized stretches of videotaped dialogue verbatim and were


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2 ARIZONAANTHROPOLOGIST18

capableofrepeatingtheexactwordswith99%accuracy,theychose

touseotherwordswhen instructed tobe amusingwhile telling a

partner about the scene, lowering accuracy to 62%. Furthermore,

theirresultsshowedthatspeakerswerenomoreaccurateindirect

thanin

indirect

quotation

(Wade

and

Clark

1993:

805),

which

contradictspopularbelief thatdirectquotationsaremoreaccurate,

credible and reliable than indirect quotes (Philips 1986). If

quotationsinspokendiscoursearenotusedprimarilytoparaphrase

or report the speech of others, thenwhat is theirpurpose? Some

functionsdescribedintheliteratureinclude:makingcomplaintsand

telling amusing stories (Holt 2000),highlighting information in an

argument,showingstrongemotionormarkingtheparticipationofa

dominantcharacterinanarrative(Glock1986),markingchangesin

footing (Goffman 1981), engrossing listeners through roleplaying

anddramatizationatimportantpointsinanarrative(Labov1972;Li

1986; Tannen 1986), establishing interpersonal relationships in the

classroom (Baynham 1996), and sounding authoritative (Mayes

1990).

In thispaper, Iuse the theorydevelopedbyClarkandGerrig

(1990)inwhichquotationsareseenasatypeofdemonstrationthatselectivelydepictsaspectsof the referentsand it isrecognized that

speakers are not necessarily committed to trying to reproduce a

source utterance verbatim (Clark and Gerrig 1990: 802).

Specifically, I analyze quotes introduced primarilyby forms of be

sayingandshowthattheseareparticularkindsofquotationsusedto

demonstrate attitudes,beliefs and characteristics attributedby the

speakerto

the

source.

The

following

is

an

example

of

abe

saying

+

quotation structure used by a Walpole Islander arguing that

scientificdataisnotnecessarytovalidateindigenousknowledge.

(1) Sowhatwetriedtodoisweresaying,ourelderwassaying,Noits

notalwaysthatway,youknow,therestimes,whenwerelookingatthe

waterwherewedontneednodatatoshowusthatthatwaterspolluted.

Rather than treating these quotations as speech that reports anoriginalutterance,Iarguethattheyarebestanalyzedascomponents

of stance. Stancetaking is a pragmatic function whereby the

speakers type and degree of commitment, or stance... is reflected

throughlinguisticmeansMendozaDenton(1999:273). Myanalysis

of be saying + quotation shows how stances reflect and construct


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PennesiBeSayingQuotations 3

aspects of social identity as speakers take up positions associated

with particular social categories and groups (1999:273). The be

sayingquotationsareconciseformulationsofapositionorbeliefthat

functionasevaluative components in the speakers constructionof

theidentity

of

those

being

quoted,

as

well

as

for

the

speakers

own

group. This is accomplished through the choice of words in the

quotation and in the surrounding talk framing thequotation. For

example,thestanceofanopposinggroupispresentedinabesaying

quotationsothat itcanbearguedagainst. Iarguethatthisstance

taking throughquotations reinforcesdivisionsamonggroupswith

respect toaparticular conflict, suchas contrasting indigenousand

scientificassessmentsofwaterquality. While typically, adivision

hasbeenmadebetweendirectandindirectquotes,Iwillshowthat

be saying quotations can be used in both structures because the

functionof thequotationasawhole is the samewhether theyare

directorindirect.

DATA

Thecorpusofdatausedinthisanalysisconsistsof150tokensofbe

saying,asdefinedbelow, found in transcriptsof taperecordingsof

publicmeetingsandinterviews. Thefieldworkwasdonein1998at

WalpoleIslandFirstNation insouthwesternOntario,Canada. The

meetingsand interviewsfocusedonthetopicofpollution intheSt.

ClairRiver. Theeffectsofwaterpollutionareparticularlyfeltbythe

Walpolecommunitybecausetheirterritorycomprisessix islands in

thedeltaat themouthof theSt.ClairRiver,downstream from 23

industrial plants which line the riverbanks. At the time of myfieldwork,onecompanywasbeingsingledoutasaproblembecause

oftheproposedreleaseofalargevolumeoftreatedwastewaterinto

the river. The meetings I recorded were held to discuss several

scientificstudies. Somewerebeingdoneonbehalfofthecompany

in order to meet government requirements for approval of the

discharge,otherstudiesweredonebygovernmentagenciesaspart

of

the

regulatory

process,

and

still

others

were

done

at

Walpole

Island to show the harmful effects of pollutants on the local

ecosystem. Meetingparticipantsincludedarepresentativefromthe

government agency, the scientist working on behalf of Walpole

Island,manymembersoftheWalpolecommunity,membersofother


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FirstNationsandseveralmembersof thegeneralpublic, including

environmentalactivists,whohadaninterestintheissue.

Most of the individual interviews were conductedby me, a

Canadian from a city 30 kilometers upriver. I also recorded

interviewsdone

by

an

American

woman

producing

avideo

on

indigenousenvironmentalknowledge. Inadditiontopeople living

onWalpole Island, I interviewed twopeoplewhoworked for the

aforementioned company, the government scientist, and an

environmentalactivistwhoworked fora company sellingpurified

water.

Thedatashowseveralopposingpositionsontheissueofwater

quality. Mostprominentwasanongoingdebateabouttheauthority

and credibility of different types of knowledge: scientific versus

indigenous. Many people disputed the results and the

methodologies of the scientific studies and complained about the

lack of authority given to indigenous knowledge in legal and

bureaucraticprocesses. Despiteassurancesgivenbythegovernment

andindustriesthatthewaterwassafe,peoplelivingintheareadid

notbelieve itwas fit todrinkor swim inandbroughtup casesof

human illness and other negative effects on plant and wildlifeattributed to the pollution in the river. The be saying quotations

discussedhereillustratethisconflictand,asIwillshow,contribute

to the construction of opposing stances by evaluating particular

attitudes,values,processesandbehaviorsthroughdemonstration.

DEFINITION AND PROPERTIES OF BE SAYING

First,itisimportanttodistinguishbesayingfromthecommonverbtosay. Ingeneralusage,tosaymeanstostateortodeclare. Itis

theunmarkedformforintroducingreportedspeechordirectquotes,

asin(2).

(2) Janetsaid,Theresnomoremilk.

In contrast,be saying is used in specific cases to depictwhat an

individualorgroupbelieves,feels,valuesorthinks.1 Thequotesit

introduces,eitherdirectorindirect,aretypicallyconcisestatements

of a larger, complex set of ideas and attitudes that serve certain

powerrelated interests. For example, saying that the water is

1ApreliminarydiscussionofbesayingappearsinPennesi(1999).


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either safe or polluted evokes the unequal power relationships

between scientists,governmentandFirstNationsexperts inwhich

what science says is upheld as truth by government. Compare

examples(3)through(7)with(2). Unlike(2)wherethecomplement

ofsay

is

an

instance

of

reported

speech,

in

the

following

examples,

thecomplementsofbesayingarebeliefsorvalues.

(3) E: OK,soyouthinkthepollutersshouldpay.

V: Well,isntthatwhatweresayinghere?

(twononNativesdiscussingtheresponsibilityofindustrytopay

forimprovingwaterquality)

(4) K: Indianshavebeensayingthatallalong.(WalpoleIslander,inreferencetoscientificstudiesconfirming

pollutionintheriver)

(5) G: AllImsayingis,somethingswronghere.

(activistforcleanwater,inrelationtoincreasinglydiseasedfishin

theriver)

(6)

E:

OK,so

now

youre

saying

now

you

believe

the

water

that

comesoutofthereisgoodandfine.

(activist,questioningindustryscientistaboutwatertreatment)

(7) W: Andwerenotsayingstop,weresayingletsslowdown.

(WalpoleIslander,referringtoamoratoriumonpollutionofthe

river)

Inthese

examples,

the

be

saying

quotation

is

part

of

the

negotiation

ofmeaningasspeakersattempttobestexpressandinterpretbeliefs

andattitudeswhicharenotalwayseasytoputintowords.Oncean

interpretationismadeofwhatanotherpersonorgroupissaying,the

new information is connected toother stancesorbehaviors,which

maybereferred to in laterconversation. In thisway,stancescan

build up into larger identity categories as speakers position

themselves and others in relation to the talk (Bucholtz and Hall

2005:595). Thus, the quotations introduced by be saying are

depictions of the sources stance, rather than simple reports or

declarationsabouttheworld. Fortheremainderofthisarticle,Iwill

refer to thesetofbeliefs,attitudes,valuesand thoughtsrelating to

onespositionregardingaparticularissueasstance.


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I contend that there are two meanings of say: one as a

declarative for reported speech, as seen in (2), and one which

functionsasdoesbesaying,depictingastanceas in(9a), (10a)and

(11a). Inthese instances,thequotedstance isnot introducedbybe

sayingin

that

it

does

not

take

the ing

form,

but

instead

occurs

as

say, says or said. Despite the surface similarity to the simple

declarative say, these forms are more properly understood as

functioning like be saying. This can be tested by substitution.

Returningto(2),ifwesubstitutebesaying,themeaningchanges.

(8) Janetwassaying,Theresnomoremilk.

The only possible interpretation for this unlikely sentence is that

somethingwas occurring during the few seconds it tookJanet to

utterthewords,Theresnomoremilk. Thisisbecausethereferent

for the quoted material is not representative of a stance as is

expectedwhenbesayingisused. Whetherornotthereisanymilk

doesnotsayanythingaboutJanetorherinterests,sothesentencein

(8)onlymakessenseasarecapofwhatJanethadbeensayingwhen

interrupted. While(2)reportsJanetssentence,(8)describesJanetsactofspeakingwithinalargercontext.

In comparison, in (9a)below,we could easily substitute abe

sayingformandretainthesamemeaningin(9b).

(9a) S: AndseethatswhereIfoundinthatprojectisthat,its

onlyoverthatmuchitsOK,thatsoneitemthere. And

wehaveanotheritemthatsonlyoverthatmuch.Butsee

whatitdoes,everyitem,everychemicalthatsallowed,

itsalwaysgoingoverthepercentageandgovernmentsays,

Ok,itsonlyoverthismuchbutthatsOKbecauseitsalittle

amount.

(9b) ...andgovernmentissaying,OK,itsonlyoverthismuchbutthatsOK

becauseitsalittleamount.

The difference in this example is that the quote is constructed to

demonstrate the governments attitude toward chemical pollution.

Usingissaying insteadofsaysdoesnotalterthemeaning,nor

doesitimplyachangeincontext.

A stancerepresentative quotation can alsobe introducedby

tryingtosay,asinsentenceslike(10a)and(11a).


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(10a) L: WhatImtryingtosayisthat,theMinistryofEnvironment

viewsthesecorporationsasclients.

(10b) L: WhatImsayingisthat,theMinistryofEnvironmentviews

thesecorporationsasclients.

(11a) D: DoyouunderstandwhatImtryingtosay?

(11b) D: DoyouunderstandwhatImsaying?

Inthesesentences,thespeaker isattemptingtoexpressaparticular

idea,but is having difficulty. By removing trying to in the (b)

versions,wehavenotalteredwhatLandDareconveying,wehave

onlyeliminated

the

speakers

signal

that

her

words

may

not

be

well

chosen. As thesesubstitution tests illustrate,some instancesofsay

ortryingtosayhavethesamefunctionasbesaying. Forthisreason,

when coding thedata forquotationsof stance, Ihave includedall

formsofbesayingastokensaswellasthoseformsofsayortrying

to say where substitutions of be saying could be made without

alteringthemeaningofthequote.

REPORTED SPEECH VERSUS CONSTRUCTED STANCE

Manyof thebe sayingquotations inmydatahaveas the sourcea

groupor collectiveentity, suchasgovernment, industry, they,we,

Indians,ratherthananindividual. Inthisway,theyconstitutewhat

Tannenhas termed constructeddialoguebecause thequotes are

notmeant torepresent theexactwordsofaparticularspeaker,but

areillustrationsofthegeneraltypeofthingspeopleinthosegroups

might say (Tannen 1986: 313). Other evidence that be sayingquotationsarebestcharacterizedasconstructeddialogueisthatthey

canbeusedtodemonstrateconversationswherethecurrentspeaker

wasnotoriginallypresentand they candepict thoughts,or things

otherwise unspoken. These types of quotation fall into Tannens

categories of impossible or highly improbable quotes which

describe instances where the words either are attributed to more

thanone

person,

were

never

spoken,

refer

to

thoughts,

contain

variable expressions like bla bla bla or suchandsuch, or were

spokenwithoutthecurrentspeakerbeingpresent(Mayes1990:331

336). In fact,impossibleorhighly improbablewordingoccurs

quite frequently in stancedepicting quotations introduced by be


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sayingandIsuggest that this isoneofthedefiningfeaturesof this

linguisticstructure. Thefollowingexamplesillustrate.

(12) W: Wesaid,putsomebudgetinthere,letsmakesure

thatthese

studies

are

allowed

to

happen.

(13) D: Imnotsayingwerelivinglongerhere.

(14) W: Theleftbrainissaying,hey,waitaminutehere,you

haveajobtodohere.

(15) D: Theyresaying,itsadifferentsunupthere,ozone

stuffandblablabla.

Thus,asMayesnotes,itmakeslittledifferencewhetherthequotes

arerealorinvented,aslongastheyareeffective(Mayes1990:338).

Clark andGerrig also argue against theverbatim assumption

that direct quotes represent the actual words a specified person

uttered in the past. They observe that you know is used most

frequently tomake appropriateness repairs as speakers search forthebestwaytoexpresssomething,whereasImeanisusedtomake

errorrepairswhenspeakersareattemptingtobeaccurate.2 Intheir

experiments, you know occurred within direct quotes far more

frequentlythanImeandid. Basedontheseresults,ClarkandGerrig

conclude that speakers are not really trying to be accurate and

instead are concerned with making their point most effectively

(Clarkand

Gerrig

1990:

797).

Analysis

of

my

data

shows

the

same

tendency. I foundno instancesof Imean to repair errors and an

abundanceofyouknowforappropriatenessrepairsasin(16). This

isevidencethatthequotesareinventedratherthanreported.

(16) S: Sowhatwetriedtodoisweresaying,ourelderwassaying,

Noitsnotalwaysthatway,youknow,therestimes,when

werelookingatthewaterwherewedontneednodatatoshow

usthat

that

waters

polluted.You

knowandwehavethe,the

professorsayingYesyouneedtohave,youneedtoknowthe

2Theconceptofrepairreferstoattemptsbyspeakerstorephrasewhatisbeingsaid

tobetterconformtoexpectationsorpreferences. Inthiscase,ImeanandIknow

aredistinguishedbasedonthetypeofproblemtheyareusedtofix: inaccuracyin

reportingoraninappropriate/inadequateexpression.


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countsofthis,thecountsofthat.Soinworkandjustthat

alone,thatexamplewereabletosayOK,youknow,wecan

useourownjudgementtoa,toalimit,youknow,toseeisthis

um,doweneeddataforthis,youknoworisitjustcommon

sense,thattheressomethingwrong?

Finally,theresponsesofinterlocutorsindicatethattheydonot

interpret the quotations as reported speech meant to accurately

represent thewordsof theoriginalspeaker. It isaccepted that the

quoted material is the spontaneous construction of the current

speakerused forhisorherownpurpose. In theexchangebelow,

notethattheimprobablewordingofthequotesisnotquestionedor

corrected,asthespeakersaddressonlythecontent,orstances,beingconveyed. Vs last sentence summarizes the information just

presentedbyEandusescompletelydifferentwording,eventhough

it isframedasaquote. Esimplyconfirms itscorrectnessbasedon

thecontent,nottheformofthequote.

(17) V: Thatsright,thatswhatIwasjustgoingtosay. So cause

Idontknowthatforsure. Ifyouresayingthereseight

pondsbeing

untouched?

E: CausethoseweretheABCponds,theyhavenothingto

dowithRTA.

V: OK,thenthatswhythen.

E: CauseRTAsaid,Wedontwantallyouroldpondsfullof

crappywater.

V: Thatsright,andABCssayingandwedontwantnonew

stuff.

E: Right.V: Somakeyourownpond.

E: Yeah.

V: Oh,Iseewhathappened.Soyouresayingtheytreatedthe

waterinthetwoponds,anddivertittoanother theymade

otherponds.

E: Yeah.

Now that I have shown that be saying quotes are not reportedspeech in the traditional sense of attempts at verbatim

reproductions, Iwillprovideevidence that theyare indeedquotes

beforemovingontodemonstrationtheory.


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FORMS OF QUOTATION

Ihaveshownthatthequotesdepictingstancesdonotrepresentreal

utterances;however,theyaresyntacticallyconstructedasiftheydid.

Iwillnowdiscuss the characteristics this typeofquotationhas in

commonwithdirectandindirectquotes. Directandindirectquotescan be differentiated by examining certain properties. First, the

mainclauseofadirectquotecontainsfewsyntacticrestrictionsand

has the samedeictic center3as theoriginalutterance (Mayes1990:

338). Aswithdirect speech, the quotes introducedbybe saying

showchangesinpronouns,verbtensesanddemonstrativeelements

whichreflectadifferentcontextfromthepresentinteraction. Inthis

manner,the

quoted

sections

are

distinguished

from

the

surrounding

talk.

Another distinguishing property is that exclamations,

interrogatives,vocativesanddiscourseparticles suchaswell,

OK,oh,look,geez,hey,etceteracanbeusedindirectquotesbut

not in indirect quotes. These devicesmake the quote seem

moreauthenticbyreflectingnaturalspeechasifsomeonehad

actually said the words (Mayes 1990: 342). In my data,speakersusetheseregularly.

(18) G: IthinkwhattheRAPstryingtodoisbeproactive,and

justsay,well

geez,thatstuffsbeensittingonthebottomoftheriverforforty

years,itmustnotbegoinganywhere.

(19) S: Andtheycomeback,andtheyhavezeropointthreeparts,

perwhatever,andtheyresaying,OKitsonlyoverpointone

percent,right?Thatsnotnoproblem.

(20) W: Insteadofsaying,Damnit,Larry!youknow,ifyouwanna

beonmyteam,youknow,thisisexactlywhatIneedyouto

do. Or,whatdoyoumeanyouwannagotoceremonies?!We

gotaproposaltofinishhere!Youknow,youcantbegoingto

ceremonies,this

is

serious

business

here. So,someone,some

hierarchicalsomeonetellingeveryonewhotheyneedto

3Thedeicticcenterlocatesthespeakerintime,spaceandperson. Itisthereference

fornow,hereandIandotherwordswhosemeaningdependsonthespeakers

position.


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beandwhattheyneedtodoinordertoaccomplishthis

goal.

Thebe saying function can alsobe accomplishedby indirect

quotes,

with

or

without

the

complementizer

that.

Indirect

quotes

introduced by be saying are used to correct errors or clarify

meaning, asMayes points out (Mayes 1990: 326). Sometimes,be

sayingoccurswithoutthequoteasacomplement,referringonlyto

thedemonstrativepronounsthisandthat. Thedeicticcenteristhat

of the present speaker so pronouns and verbs do not change.

Considertheexamplesbelow.

(21) D: Isitum,isthisaneitherorsituation? Eitherum,andIllguessIllkindofjustuseacrosstheriver,andIdonteven

wanttosayus,againstNative.Youknowwhat,isitthat,

ifwedontchangethenyouguysarentgoingtosurvive?

DoyouknowwhatImtryingtosay?Idontwanttosay

thatImseparatefromyoubecauseIdontfeellikeIam,but

buttheres,theresfromwhatImunderstandingisthat,

thatAmericans,Can youknownonNativeshavetochange

theirway,

for

you

guys

to

survive

in

your

way,

in

your

tradition. Isthatwhatyouresayingtome?

M: No.

D: DoyouunderstandwhatImtryingtosay?

M: YeahIthinkIdo.Um,noIdontwanttoah,Idontwant

tothinklikenonNatives.AndIdontwantnonNatives

tothinklikeNatives.

(22)

V:

Soyoure

saying

they

treated

the

water

in

the

two

ponds,

and

divertittoanother theymadeotherponds.

(23) V: Right,butwedoknowdowntheriver.ThatswhatImsaying.

Youknowtheonesattheotherend?Theyregonnaraise

hell.

(24) E: Likeyouresayingyouthinkthewaterscleansojustinyour

opinion,why

do

you

think

they

were

going

on

and

on

and

spendingallthesemillionsofdollarsthattheydontreally

have,todothis?Well,notmillions,butmillion.Interms

of,like,whatImtryingtosayis,theydonthavealotof

moneyasacommunity.


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Stancedepicting quotations introduced by be saying share

elements with both direct and indirect speech. Given that they

function the samewaywhether they are used in the structure of

directorindirectquotes,itseemsunnecessarytomakeadistinction

onthis

basis.

That

is,

the

defining

aspects

of

be

saying

quotations

as

acomponentoflanguagearethatthereferentisastancecomprised

ofvalues,attitudesand thoughtprocesses,and the functionof the

quotationstructureistomakethisperspectiveexplicit.

BE SAYINGQUOTATIONS AS DEMONSTRATIONS

ClarkandGerrigbegintheirdiscussionofdemonstrationtheoryby

establishing

that

direct

quotes

are

demonstrations.

The

fundamental

featuresofdemonstrationsare that they (1)arenonseriousactions;

(2)selectivelydepictrather thandescribe; (3)canberecursive;and

(4)arecomponentsorconcurrentpartsofseriousactions(Clarkand

Gerrig1990:7667). Eachof thesewillbediscussedas itrelates to

stancequotationsintroducedbybesaying.

First, Clark and Gerrig use Goffmans distinction between

serious and nonserious actions, where nonserious actions are

transformations of serious actions (Clark and Gerrig 1990: 766).

Nonseriousactionsincludeimitationsoruntruestatementsmadein

jest, for example. Quotations as demonstrations are nonserious

actionsbecause thewords in the quote are invented andmaybe

characterizedasimpossibleorimprobable. However,inasmuchas

the quotes are embedded in the talk, these demonstrations are

componentsofalargerseriousaction. Forexample,intheexchange

below,VandEarediscussingwhetherthedischargeofwastewaterby the company where V worked for 25 years is the cause of

particularproblemsatWalpole Island. E isan activist supporting

the Walpoles antipollution cause. The be saying quotations

demonstrate how the argument is made for scientific studies as

proof. (Underliningindicatesspeakersemphasis.)

(25) V: Youhavetoknowwhatistheproblem,addressthe

problem,whatsitcausedby,anditcantbeatheory,it

hastobeproven.Togetridofit.Togetridofthe

problem.Youcantjustsay,wethinkitsthis,notwethink.

Itslikeweknowthiswatersgood,wedontthinkitsgood.

E: Yeah,welltheysay,maybetherespeopleouttheresaying,

weknowthiswatersbad.


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V: Proveit.Weproveditsgood,proveitsbad.See,thats

whattookfiveyearsofallthis,lotsofmoney,toproveits

good.Accordingtoourstandardsoftoday,andthereitis.

Thatsallyoucando.Nowyouregonnahavetoget

somebodyanddosomestudiesandsay,noitsnot,see,this

iswhats

wrong.

Oh,

OK,andthenwellfixit.Untilthen,

itsgood.

Allof thesequotesare impossibleutterances. In the first token,V

quoteswhatcannotbesaid. Esaysmaybe therearepeoplewho

say that, so the existence of a source is questionable. InVs last

token, the quote takes place in the future. Therefore, these

demonstrationsare

nonserious

actions,

but

they

are

integral

components of a serious ideological debate between the two, in

whichthinkingorhavinganopinionhasalessertruthvaluethan

knowingbasedonstudiesandacceptableproof.Establishing the

legitimacy of the proof is essential to claiming knowledge rather

than mere opinion, and that is precisely the heart of the conflict

betweenWalpoleIslandsindigenousknowledgeandtheindustrys

science.

Clark andGerrig outline four aspectsofdemonstration. The

depictive aspects comprise the demonstration proper, allowing

speakerstodistinguishthereferentfromotherpossiblereferentsby

focusing on selected features of it. This is called the selectivity

principle and is a fundamental concept in demonstration theory.

The supportive aspects are those which are necessary to the

demonstrationbut do not depict. The annotative aspects include

commentariesabout thedemonstration. Finally, incidentalaspectsare thosethathaveno intentionalmeaningbutwhichoccurduring

thedemonstration(ClarkandGerrig1990:768). Iwillillustratethe

fouraspectsofdemonstrationsinexample(26).

(26) S: Anditsaroot,itgrowsunderneath,soitalwayshas

totakeupthatwater,andthepeopleweresaying,

well

this

medicine,you

know,

it

used

to

be

able

to

cure

usforanything.Nowifwe,ifwehavethatcold,instead

oftakingthismuch,wehavetotakethismuch[indicates

smallandlargeramountswithhands],justbecause

themedicinebeingsomuchpolluted,youknow,its

notbeingaseffectiveasitwas.


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The be saying quotations as demonstrations selectively depict

aspectsoftheirreferents.Thereferentbeingdepictedisthewaythe

peoplefromWalpoleIslanddeterminethatthewaterispollutedand

causingharmful

effects.

Sselects

the

increase

in

the

amount

of

medicineneededastheaspecttodemonstratethis. Moremedicine

requiredmeansitislesseffectiveandthisisattributedtopollution.

Thewholequoteinitalicsisademonstrationoftheempiricalnature

ofthepeoplesknowledge. Traditionalmedicineisacommontopic

in discussions of indigenous knowledge and the dependence of

people on the land and water, soby selecting this aspect of the

referent to depict, S is choosing something both familiar and

symbolic. The supportive elements in this demonstration are the

wordsthismuch,whichaccompanythehandgestures,indicatinga

largeramountisneedednowcomparedtobefore. Themovementof

thehands from close together to far apart showed adifference in

amountofmedicine required,but thesamewords thismuchwere

usedforboththesmallerandlargeramounts. Therefore,thewords

thismucharesupportive inthedemonstration,notdepictiveofthe

change in amount. The annotative aspect consists of the finalcomment about the medicine being polluted and less effective.

Here, S is rephrasing what he demonstrated in the quote. An

incidental aspect is you know,which occurs in themiddle of the

quote. It is incidental because it does not contribute to the

demonstrationinanyway,nordoesitrequireanyinterpretation.

Thedecouplingprinciplereferstothefactthatthefouraspects

ofthe

demonstration

can

be

separated.

The

demonstrator

has

ways

ofindicatingtothelistenerwhichfeaturesofthedemonstrationare

depictive, supportive, annotative and incidental (Clark andGerrig

1990: 768). For instance, in (27) the propositional content of the

quoteissupportive. Thisissignaledbyuseofindefinitetermssuch

as this, this point, and anywhere which do not convey any

information. Thereferentbeingdepictedisthecooperativeprocess

so

the

details

of

each

stage

are

not

important.

(27) S: AndsoIguessreallywhatweretryingtoworktowards

ishowcanwecometoacommongroundwherewecould

sitdownatthetableandsay:OK,thisiswherewearetothis

point,youknowandthisiswherewehavetogoandthisis

howwehavetoworktogetherinordertogetanywhere,you


15/27


know,tomoveaheadandgetoutofthiswaterpollutioncrisis

thatwerein.

One way to emphasize the depictive aspect of the

demonstration

is

to

rephrase

the

gist

of

it

in

a

following

sentence,

or

to preview it in the preceding sentence. Looking at (20) again,

repeated below as (28), the sentence immediately following the

quote is a rephrasing. The speaker is demonstrating his value of

individualscontributingwhattheycantoaprojectbydepictingthe

opposite: a situationwhere a leader is dictatingwhat individuals

mustcontribute.

(28) W: Insteadofsaying,Damnit,

Larry!,

youknow,ifyou

wanna

beonmyteam,youknow,thisisexactlywhatIneedyouto

do. Or,whatdoyoumeanyouwannagotoceremonies?!We

gotaproposaltofinishhere!Youknow,youcantbegoingto

ceremonies,thisisseriousbusinesshere. So,someone,some

hierarchicalsomeonetellingeveryonewhotheyneedto

beandwhattheyneedtodoinordertoaccomplishthis

goal. Insteadofitthatway,everyonedecideswhatthey

bringtothegroup.

Themarkednessprinciplereferstothewaysomeaspectsofthe

quote are marked to indicate to the listener that they are not

incidental (Clark and Gerrig 1990: 774). For instance, the use of

variableexpressionslikesuchandsuchorblablablaareunmarked

andare thereforesupportiveaspectsof thedemonstration. On the

otherhand,bychoosinganexpression likewaterpollutioncrisis

in(27),Sismarkingitasdepictiveinrelationtotherestofthequote

inwhich he usesmore general expressions. Annotations provide

explicitinformationaboutwhatisbeingdepicted. In(29),Sclearly

statesintheunderlinedsectionthatheisdemonstratingaparticular

pointofview.

(29) S: Youhavetowantthatrespect,youhaveto,youhaveto

sayOK,youknow,

maybe

its

time

that,

youknowIm

speakingfromagovernmentorindustrysah,pointof

view.Maybeitstimethatwehavetositdownandthink,

WhyarethepeoplefromWalpoleIslandFirstNationalways

opposingthereleaseofthestuffinthewater?Whyarethey

alwaystryingtofightback?Youknow,Whycanttheyjustlet

usspill?


16/27


ClarkandGerrig(1990:782)maintainthatspeakerscanquote

anything they can recognizably demonstrate, including dialect,

intonation,emotions,gesturesandwords. Thus, ifone chooses to

demonstratean

intonation

pattern,

the

words

chosen

are

supportive,

whereas changes in pitch are depictive. Inbe saying quotes, the

exactwording isoftensupportive, inkeepingwiththeir impossible

orhighly improbablenature. What isbeingdepictedareattitudes,

beliefs,thoughtprocessesandvaluesthatcompriseastancetoward

an issue. Thebe saying quotations enable a speaker to convey

information implicitly that it mightbe more awkward to express

explicitly (ClarkandGerrig1990:792). Rather than inadequately

describing something like an emotion or a sense of urgency, a

speaker can demonstrate such things quite well through quotes

(Clark andGerrig 1990: 793). The following are examples of the

referentsbeing depicted in thebe saying quotations found inmy

data: the governments dismissive attitude toward nonscientific

knowledge (30), the certainty of theWalpole Islandmembers that

industrial pollution is harming their community (31), a desire for

immediate action (32), thebelief among FirstNations people thatscientificstudiesare insufficientevidenceofwaterquality (33)and

the legitimacy of the decisionmaking process used for releasing

industrialwastewater(34).

(30) B: Veryrecenthearings,backinninetyfour,alltheway

through,whereIwas,privilegedtositandlistento

scientists.Beingpraisedfortheinformationonbehalfof,

ofah,thechemicalcompanies,andourpeoplebeing

degradedfortheirownbiomonitoring,technology.

Sayingyeah,yougotagreatargument,Walpole,butyoulack

thescientificevidence.

(31) K: When,whenthetruthofitis,isthat,whileyoureover

there,yourpeopleareoverthere,andtheyrecovering

themselvesinpaper,andgettingtotallylost,completely,

wereoverheresayingthisis

totally

wrong.Andeverybody

knowsit.Sowhat,Idont this,thispaperbusinessis,is,is

abunchofbull.

(32) M: Youneedtohaveusfightingfortheshorttermorthelong

termoryouneedtohaveussaying,Letsgettothecause.


17/27


Letsletsnottalkaboutallthesesymptoms.But,letstackle

thesebigissues.

(33) S: Weretalkingaboutum,mercuryforexample,iftheysay

theresalimit.OK,thelimitis,pointzerotwopartsperbillion,

that,of

mercury

thats

allowed,right?Andtheycomeback,

andtheyhavezeropointthreeparts,perwhatever,and

theyresaying,OKitsonlyoverpointonepercent,right?

Thatsnotnoproblem....Butseewhatitdoes,everyitem,

everychemicalthatsallowed,itsalwaysgoingoverthe

percentageandgovernmentsaysOK,itsonlyoverthis

muchbutthatsOKbecauseitsalittleamount.Butwhenyou

thinkaboutallthedifferenttypesofindustriesthatareup

river,allthedifferenttypesofpollutantsthatpresentlyexistinthewater,youknow,whenthecombinationofall

ofthosethingscometogether,whoknowswhattheeffects

willbe?Scientists?Theydonthaveanunderstandingof

whattheeffectswillbe...

(34) V: Thepond,wasalreadycontaminatedandthegovernment

knewthat.Andyoucannotreleasethatuntilitsbeen

approvedthatitsOK.Right?Allright,sotheysay,Well,

um,whatdowehavetodotomakeitOK?Andtheyllsay,

Well,wedontwantanythingintherethatllharmanything.

Beforeyouputittotheriver....Andmaybetheyllsay,you

havetobringitdowntothislevel,notabsolutelyahundred

percentfree,youjusthavetogetitdowntoapointwherewe

canenteritin,bleeditintheriver,andit,anditdoesnthurt

nothing anything.

Quotations are effective inmaking things explicitbecause as

demonstrations,theyallowlistenerstomakeinterpretationsthrough

directexperience(ClarkandGerrig1990:767). Whileitisimpossible

todemonstratethoughts,certainaspectsofthethoughtprocesscan

bedepicted inquotes,ascanmanifestationsofattitudesorvalues.

In the example below, B demonstrates the need to educate the

general

public

by

first

pointing

to

public

ignorance

and

then

depictinghowpoliticiansareonlyconcernedaboutcompliancewith

regulations inregard toeffectsofpollutiononhumansanddonot

recognizetheeffectsonfishandanimals. Thecontradictionbetween

what people on Walpole Island claim to be truethat there are

problems with the fish and animalsand what the politicians are

claimingandthepublicevidentlybelievesthatthelevelofpollution


18/27


isacceptableisexperienceddirectlyby the listeners,oneofwhom

respondstoBscomment.

(35) B: Thekeyissueheretodayisgoingtobethatwehaveto

educatethe

general

public

out

there,

because

if

you

go

out

there,ifyougotodowntownWallaceburg,downtown

Chatham,andyouaskthem,whatisthemajorproblemin

theriver?Theycouldnttellyou. Politicianshave saying

thatyeah,thiswasanacceptablelevel.Buttheyrenottelling

youwhatthelongtermhazardsare. Theyrenottelling

youwhattheproblemsarewiththefish,andtheanimals.

U: Imaneducator. AndIagreewithwhatyouresaying,that

wedohavetoeducatethegeneralpublic.

By demonstrating andmaking explicit the views and attitudes of

otherpeoplethroughbesayingquotation,listenershavesomething

specifictorespondto.

The third ofClark andGerrigs features ofdemonstrations is

recursion. Thatmeansaquotecancontainaquoteas in(36).Note

that the embedded quote is a thought and is placed in quotation

marks.

(36) S: Youhavetowantthatrespect,youhaveto,youhaveto

sayOK,youknow,maybeitstimethat,youknowIm

speakingfromagovernmentorindustrysah,pointof

view.Maybeitstimethatwehavetositdownandthink,

WhyarethepeoplefromWalpoleIslandFirstNationalways

opposingthereleaseofthestuffinthewater?Whyarethey

alwaystrying

to

fight

back?

You

know,

Why

cant

they

just

let

usspill?

Indemonstrationtheory,thereferentinthequotecanbeastate,

process, event or object. My main argument is that be saying

quotationsareaspecialkindofdemonstrationofstancesformedout

ofattitudes,values,beliefsandexperiences. Itisthisspecifictypeof

referent

that

defines

the

quotes

introduced

by

be

saying

and

sets

them apart from other types of quotation. This structure has

particularfunctionsthatwillbediscussedinthenextsection.

A unique feature of direct quotes is that the referent canbe

depictedfrommorethanonevantagepoint. Thisisquiteevidentin

mydata as (37) shows. In fact,given thatbe saying referents are

points of view or stances, quotations are ideally suited to


19/27


demonstrate them. Theunderlining shows threedifferentvantage

points in this example: a joint category of the industry/the

ministry/the public, a whole crowd of people over here, and

everybodyelseontheotherside.

(37) E: Atleastthatswhatitseemsliketomebecauseasyousay,

youvegottheindustry,theministry,eventhepublic

mightsayOK,wellweallbelievethatguy.Heprovedittome.

Andtheresawholecrowdofpeopleoverheresayingwell

hedidntprovenothingtome.Idontbelievethat.Idontgo

alongwithyourtesting.Why?Becausewestillhaveallthese

indicatorstoussayingitisntgood,itisntcleanbecauseweve

stillgot

these

problems,

you

know,

fish

with

tumors,

bla

bla

bla.

Soifitwassogood,howcomewehaveallthis?Sothentheyre

gonnasaythatwevegotthisandthisandthisindicatorthat

provetousthattheresaproblem,andeverybodyelseonthe

othersideseemstobesaying,Well,youdidnttellmethatmy

stuffinthewaterisdoingthat,oryoudidntprovetomethatit

wasthisthingthatcausedthatthing,sotheirmethodsof

proof,Iguessaredifferent.Isthatwhatitseemslike?

Causethats

what

it

seems

like

to

me.

Portrayingthestancesofmorethanonegroupisaneffectivewayfor

speakers to frame a controversy from their own perspective, in

essence, demonstrating the conflict. The be saying quotations

display the speakers interpretation of the stances of each of the

groupsmentionedandherconceptionoftherelationsbetweenthem.

The quoted statements are understood to be general, typical

paraphrases of what a member of each group might say. Thesources are all collective entities, which masks individual

differences, instead focusing on stereotyped group identities. The

groupsthemselvesaredividedaccordingtothespeakersperception

of shared stances. It is not necessary to portray more than one

vantagepointineveryturn,butitiscommonforaspeakertochange

vantagepointsseveraltimesoverthecourseofaconversation. My

analysisshows

that

these

particular

properties

acollective

source

and a stance as a referent distinguishbe saying quotations as a

specialkindofquotation.

Be sayingquotations representboth typesand tokens. Types

refertokindsofutterancesatagenerallevel. Eachtypeconsistsofa

setofcharacteristicsthatmakeitidentifiablefromothertypes. Most


20/27


frequently, the quotes are types as noted above, demonstrating

generalitiesorhabitualsayingsofgroups. Theyrepresent the type

of thing aparticular group orpersonwould say. Tokens refer to

specificoccurrencesofatype,exemplifyingitssalientcharacteristics.

Besaying

quotations

also

occur

as

tokens

of

specific

examples

of

possibleutterances thatonegroupmemberwouldsayorhassaid.

Type quotes are attributed to collective sources, as most of the

examples so far have shown, while the token quotes tend tobe

attributedtoindividualsources,asin(38).

(38) S: Iheardoneoftheladiessayingyesterday,talkingabout

themuskratsandshewassaying,Yeahthemuskratsusedto

comeall

the

way

up

into

the

marsh

area,

but

now,

because

of

all

thecontaminantsthatexistwithinthemarsh...

Summingupthepropertiesofbesayingquotations:thequoted

materialisnotaverbatimreproduction,thereferentofthequoteisa

stance, the formofbesaying+quotation formsademonstration in

which selected aspects of the stance are depicted, and the

demonstrationsare

non

serious

actions

which

are

components

of

the

seriousactionsinwhichtheyareembedded. Demonstrationtheory

isusefulbecause it allowsus to focuson the larger contextof the

interaction in which the demonstration itself is meaningful.

Moreover, it highlights the speakers creative role in determining

which aspects of the referent stance are to be depicted and in

choosingwords thatwillproduceaneffectivedemonstration. This

differsfromdiscussionsofreportedspeechasareflectionofasource

utteranceonwhich it ispresumed thespeaker isbasing thequote.

Because the quotes being discussed here are all understood as

inventionsofthecurrentspeaker,analyzingthemasdemonstrations

points directly to the communicative function of the quotation

device.

FOOTING AND THE FUNCTIONS OF BE SAYING

After observing that direct quotes are not actually authenticverbatimreproductions,Mayesconcludesthattheremustbesome

advantagetophrasinganutterancewhichisnotadirectquoteasifit

were (Mayes1990:338). Thereareseveral functionsofbe saying

quotations,which Iwilloutlinehere. Goffmansnotionof footing

offerssomeinsights. Footingdescribesthestanceorprojectedself


21/27


(Goffman1981:128)ofparticipantsintalk. Changesinfootingmark

changes in alignment of the self and the others present. These

changes range from subtle to grossly obvious and are happening

constantlyasanaturalpartoftalk. Linguisticmarkersofchangesin

footinginclude

code

switching,

alterations

of

pitch,

volume,

rhythm,

stress, tone and register. Some theories of quotation describe the

speakersas takingondifferent roles, likeanactor inaplay,when

theyusedirectspeech. Theymaychange theirvoice ineveryway

mentionedabove inorder todramatize theirperformance (Li1986;

Tannen1986).

Thebe saying quotations found in my data do not involve

changesofvoicequalityinmostcases. Speakersmaychoosecertain

expressions theydo not normallyuse themselves to represent the

speech of the source,but they commonlyused their ownwaysof

speaking with little marked change in the quoted speech style

compared to thesurrounding talk. This factwasofferedearlieras

evidence that thequotesarenotverbatimreports,since it ishighly

improbable that the sourcewould have used the samewords the

speakerhas chosen. Bymaintaining theirownvoice inbe saying

quotes,speakersaresignaling thatsuch thingsaspitch, intonation,rateofspeechandevenmostwordchoicesaresupportiveaspectsof

the demonstration, not depictive (Clark and Gerrig 1990: 782).

Nonetheless, footing can still be marked explicitly in the

identificationofthesource,aswesawin(29).

Goffman differentiates aspects of the production format in

his discussion of the structure of footing. The production format

refersto

the

notion

of

speaker.

There

are

three

kinds

of

speaker:

the

animator, the person who is active in the production of the

utterance; the author, someone who has selected the sentiments

thatarebeingexpressedandthewordsinwhichtheyareencoded;

and the principal, someonewhose position is establishedby the

words that are spoken, someone whose beliefs have been told,

someonewhoiscommittedtowhatthewordssay(Goffman1981:

144).

In

be

saying

quotations,

the

animator

and

the

author

are

the

same person, whereas the principal is the source of the quoted

materialand is thepersonorentityonwhich thedemonstration is

based. Goffman explains that the principal is active in some

particularsocialidentityorrole...somesociallybasedsourceofself

identification (Goffman 1981: 145). The animator uses we or

plural pronouns, rather than singular, when giving voice to the


22/27


principal. Thissupportsmyanalysis that thesourcesofbesaying

quotesare typicallycollectiveentities. Furthermore, Ihaveargued

that the referents ofbe saying quotes are stances,whichmatches

Goffmansdescription ofprincipals. Sometimes it is the case that

animator,author

and

principal

are

one

in

the

same,

such

as

when

a

speakerconstructsabesayingquoteforhimself;however,thereare

onlyafewinstancesofthisinmydata. Forexample,Ireturnto(16),

repeatedbelowas (39),asagood illustrationofchanges in footing

andoftheconceptsofprincipal,animatorandauthor.

(39) S: Sowhatwetriedtodoisweresaying,ourelderwassaying,

Noitsnotalwaysthatway,youknow,therestimes,when

werelooking

at

the

water

where

we

dont

need

no

data

to

show

usthatthatwaterspolluted.Youknowandwehavethe,the

professorsayingYesyouneedtohave,youneedtoknowthe

countsofthis,thecountsofthat.Soinworkandjustthat

alone,thatexamplewereabletosayOK,youknow,wecan

useourownjudgmenttoa,toalimit,youknow,toseeisthis

um,doweneeddataforthis,youknoworisitjustcommon

sense,thattheressomethingwrong?

In the middle of the quotes, the animator is evident in the

interjectionsofyouknow. Aswasmentionedearlier,theseareused

tosignaltheanimatorsconcernwithappropriateness. Theauthoris

thesameas theanimator,S,ashe is inventingwords forallof the

quotes in thishypothetical interactionand ismakingnoattempt to

accurately reproduce a past utterance. The principals in this

exampleare

our

elder,

representing

the

Native

point

of

view,

the

professor,representingaWesternscientificpointofviewandwe,

whichfrompreviousutterancesisunderstoodasthestudentsinSs

program at the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources.

Thesebesayingdemonstrations functionasadevicewithwhichS

can evaluate the methods for doing environmental impact

assessments. Eachoftheprincipalsrepresentsadifferentstanceor

positionregardingthevalidityofdifferenttypesofknowledge. Sis

able to express his and the other students perspective as a

combination of the elders and professors stances by depicting

selectiveaspectsofeachone.

Holt (2000) elaborates on the evaluative function, which I

believe tobe ofprimary importance inbe saying quotations. She

remarks thatanalyzingreportedspeech in thecontextof thewhole


23/27


interaction,asopposed to isolatingjust thequotes, has started to

shed lighton the subtle and intricateways inwhich speakers can

comment on the utterances they report while simultaneously

appearing to simply reproduce them (Holt 2000: 426). Speakers

giveclues

to

their

own

evaluation

before,

during

and

after

the

quotation and the tellers preferred response already has been

madeclearbeforethe listenerreacts(Holt2000:427). Inthisway,

besayingquotationsallowthespeakertocommentontheattitudes

andbeliefsof the constructed sourceaswellasonhisorherown

attitudesandbeliefs.

Ofteninmydata,thesestancesconflicted. Speakersattempted

topersuadelistenersthattheirownpointofviewwascorrectwhile

the other sidewasunjust or uninformed. In order to elicit the

desiredreactionsfromotherparticipants,theopposingstanceswere

demonstratedinacarefullyselectedway. Schiffrin(1985:658)talks

aboutcreatingthefictionoforiginalitywhileperformingadirect

quote. This isespeciallyuseful insituationswhereallparticipants

share the same stanceandarediscussing theopposition they face.

When those representing the conflicting values and beliefs are

absent,itisnecessarytoconstructtheirsideofthedebateinordertodevelop the topicofdiscussion. In thissituation,besayingquotes

functionverywell. Moreover,usingbesayingquotationsprovidesa

safe way to talk about potentially unpopular attitudes or beliefs

becausethespeakercandetachresponsibilityfortheutterancefrom

the selfandattribute it to the source (ClarkandGerrig1990:792).

Related to this isHolts analysis of howdirect reported speech is

usedto

make

complaints.

Holtnotesthatreportedspeechissimultaneouslyareportofa

previousthoughtorlocutionandpartofanewsequenceusedfora

different purpose (Holt 2000: 433). In the case of be saying

quotations,Ihavealreadydiscussedthefactthattheyarenotreally

tokensofreportedspeech in that theydonotattempt toreproduce

previous utterances. Nonetheless,Holts notion that the quote is

simultaneously

part

of

a

past

and

a

present

context

holds

true.

Speakers canusebe sayingquotations to refer topastexperiences

and make complaints about them in the present context. She

observes that direct quotes are highly appropriate for use in

constructingcomplaintsbecausethecomplaintitselfisoftenabout

whatsomeonehassaid(Holt2000:435). Again,thisfitsinverywell

withmyanalysisofbesayingbecausepeopleusebesayingquotes


24/27


to complain,not about thewords someone spoke,but aboutwhat

someone is saying in the sense of the stance that leads them to

unacceptablebehaviors. Returning to the pointmade earlier that

quotationsallow listeners todirectlyexperiencesomethingthrough

demonstration,complaining

by

way

of

quotation

gives

listeners

a

kind of access to the original negative experience so they can

judgeitsreprehensibilityforthemselves(Holt2000:436).

Syntactically,besayingquotationsareembeddedinthetalkas

partofwhatthespeakeriscommunicatingonhisorherownbehalf.

They are components of language that accomplish the

communicative work of demonstration. Because they refer to

sources aboutwhich some informationmustbe known,be saying

quotations aremore likely to occur once a conversation hasbeen

underwayforsometimeorinrelationtoatopicthathaspreviously

beendiscussed. ClarkandGerrigmention thatusingdirectquotes

with littleexplanation tacitlyassumes that thehearerwill interpret

them inthesamewayasthespeakerintends(1990:793). Indeed,I

foundthatwhentheparticipantswerewellknowntoeachother,the

frequency of be saying quotations and quotation in general was

greatercomparedtogatheringswheremanyoftheparticipantswereunknown to each other. Be saying quotations tended to occur in

clusters, especially where speakers were presenting several

interpretationsofaparticulareventorbehavior. Furtheranalysison

thedistributioncouldbedonetoconsiderhowthequotationsfitinto

the larger interactionandhow theiruse isaffectedby therelations

amongparticipants.

Finally,be

saying

+quotation

can

be

used

to

verify

interpretations and information. Often this takes the form of an

indirect quote. Consider (40), an exchange, in which V seeks to

verifyhisinterpretationofEsclaimthateightpondsofwastewater

havenotbeendischargedintotheriver.

(40) V: Thatsright,thatswhatIwasjustgoingtosay. So cause

Idontknowthatforsure. Ifyouresayingthereseight

pondsbeing

untouched?

E: CausethoseweretheABCponds,theyhavenothingto

dowithRTA.

V: OK,thenthatswhythen.


25/27


E: CauseRTAsaidWedontwantallyouroldpondsfullof

crappywater.

V: Thatsright,andABCssayingandwedontwantnonew

stuff.

E: Right.

V: Somake

your

own

pond.

E: Yeah.

V: Oh,Iseewhathappened.Soyouresayingtheytreatedthe

waterinthetwoponds,anddivertittoanother theymade

otherponds.

ThekeytotheclarificationisEsquoteintroducedbysaid,markedly

in thepast tense, inwhich sheprovidesRTAsjustification,as the

company which bought the ABC operations, for denying

responsibility for getting rid of ABCs waste water. The quoted

sections embody the negotiation of meaning and provide a

statementofthesituationthatbothcometoagreeon.

CONCLUSION

Thisanalysishasshownthatbesayingquotationsareaspecialkind

of quotation whose primary function is to evaluate the attitudes,beliefsandvalueslinkedtothestanceofthesourceorprincipal. Be

saying+quotationisacomponentoflanguagethatrevealsthesocial

constructionofidentitiesasspeakersdemonstrateandevaluatewhat

they perceive others and themselves to believe and to be. By

selecting certain aspects of the sources stance on an issue, the

speakerconstructsthatstanceforthelisteners,whilesimultaneously

indicatinghis

or

her

own

position

in

relation

to

it.

This

evaluation

is

discernableinthesometimeshighlyimprobableorimpossiblewords

thatarechosenforthequote,whichhighlightthespeakerspositive

ornegativeorientationtothesource.

In termsof linguisticstructure,besayingquotescanbeeither

director indirect. Thequotesarenotverbatimreports,but instead

are demonstrations of internal processes, which are not often or

easilyexpressedverbally. Thequotationprovidesa framearound

the importantwords, theessenceof the stancebeingexpressed,at

the same time marking those bits of talk as separate from the

speakersownstance. Whenmultiplestancesarebeingtaken,thebe

saying quotations allow a single speaker to change footing and

demonstratetheseeffectively. Ananalysisofbesayingquotationsis

useful in contextswheremultiple stances or value systems are in


26/27


conflict. Examiningwhoquoteswhomandwhataspectsarebeing

depictedinthequotationscanshedlightonpointsofsimilarityand

difference.

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