Frame Theory and Footing in Linguistic Anthropological Analysis
On November 14, 2018, Associate Professor Michael Hadzantonis led a compelling workshop on 'Frame Theory and Footing in Linguistic Anthropological Analysis'. This event was expertly arranged by the Language Research Center of King Khalid University. Hadzantonis offered a detailed exploration of 'Footing and Framing Theory', a conceptual framework that allows for the contextual deconstruction and anthropological examination of discourse.
In discussing the historical development of this theory, Hadzantonis spotlighted the work of Erving Goffman. As a trailblazer in the field of micro-sociology, Goffman's studies underlined the social constructions of the self and led to the inception of concepts around framing and frame analysis. Additionally, Hadzantonis cited the work of Volosinov (1929; 1973) to underline the limitations of purely structural language studies that neglect contextual consideration, thereby severing connections with social life. Hadzantonis proposed the incorporation of reported speech as a corrective measure, as its structures reveal the dynamic interplay between messages.
Hadzantonis underscored the practical applications of Footing and Framing Theory. He suggested that a proficient application of this theory could expose multi-party sequences of talk involving different participants, manifest actions of listeners, and illustrate the multi-party interactive organization of utterances. It also allows for the analysis of coexisting speaker types within speech. To conclude, he presented a diagrammatic model of a participation framework, further illuminating the concepts under discussion.
The first session of this workshop series proved to be not only informative but also engaging, stimulating thought and anticipation for the upcoming Part 2.
