Description

In this excellent edited volume, the focus of all the chapters is on follow-ups in political discourse. In a follow-up, a prior communicative act may subsequently be accepted, challenged, or otherwise negotiated between the interactants. In a political election, for example, follow-ups may be needed to rebut negative campaigning by opposing politicians. In a broadcast interview, the interviewer may need to challenge a politician’s evasive responses through appropriate follow-ups. In computer-mediated discussions, a contributor has no way of knowing how well a message is received without appropriate follow-ups from other contributors. Even in the monologic context of a political speech, a speaker may use follow-ups, for example, by quoting either from their own speeches or from those of others. In this edited volume, the forms and functions of follow-ups are highlighted through sophisticated and detailed linguistic analyses, based on a wide range of both spoken and written genres of political communication. Thereby, these contributions serve to identify and establish a new, distinctive and exciting area of political discourse research.