An ethnographic investigation into gender and language in the Northern Ireland Assembly

Shaw, S. 2013. An ethnographic investigation into gender and language in the Northern Ireland Assembly. in: Poggi, I., D'Errico, F., Vincze, L. and Vinciarelli, A. (ed.) Multimodal Communication in Political Speech. Shaping Minds and Social Action: International Workshop, Political Speech 2010, Rome, Italy, November 10-12, 2010, revised selected papers Springer. pp. 39-53

Chapter titleAn ethnographic investigation into gender and language in the Northern Ireland Assembly
AuthorsShaw, S.
EditorsPoggi, I.
D'Errico, F.
Vincze, L.
Vinciarelli, A.
Abstract

This paper investigates the extent to which the negative evaluation of one of the women Ministers in the Northern Ireland Assembly can be attributed to gender. Interviews with politicians as well as the Minister herself illuminate this discussion by identifying the ‘gendered discourses’ that are drawn upon when describing the Minister’s communicative style in debates. Close analyses of transcripts of debates offer a description of some elements of this style, and find that while the Minister is confrontational in debates and ‘stands her ground’, she does not take part in illegal interventions that disrupt the debate floor and are characteristic of the Assembly as a whole. Although the construction of the Minister’s unpopularity can be attributed to a complex interplay of factors, it can be concluded that it is partly the way she draws on gendered linguistic resources that leads her to be negatively judged by her peers.

Book titleMultimodal Communication in Political Speech. Shaping Minds and Social Action: International Workshop, Political Speech 2010, Rome, Italy, November 10-12, 2010, revised selected papers
Page range39-53
Year2013
PublisherSpringer
Publication dates
Published2013
ISBN9783642415449
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-41545-6_4

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