Definition:
A type of communication in which words or other vocal utterances are used primarily to strengthen social ties rather than persuade listeners or convey information.
The term solidarity talk was introduced by linguist Jean Aitchison in her 1996 BBC Reith lectures, which were published the following year in The Language Web: The Power and Problem of Words. (See Examples and Observations, below.)
See also:
Examples and Observations:
- "They sat in silence for a few moments, then Mary said, 'Nice weather we've been having. Spring came early this year, don't you think?'
"'It did indeed,' Grace said. 'You have a beautiful garden. Do you also grow roses?'
"'Well, indeed I do, Grace. You're Grace, am I right? I'm sorry. My memory for names isn't what it used to be. Time was, I could remember everyone's name at a party.'
"Grace nodded. 'Same for me. Faces I recall, but I can't put the name to the face sometimes.'"
(Joan Medlicott, Promises of Change. Pocket Books, 2009) - Jean Aitchison on Turn-Taking and Solidarity Talk
"Turn taking is often a kind of ritual: you can frequently guess what the participants are planning to say. If you make an offer: 'Would you like a cup of tea?', you expect that offer to be accepted: 'Thanks, I'd love one.' If you apologize: 'Oh I’m terribly sorry, I spilt some coffee on your carpet,' you expect the problem to be minimized. 'Oh please don’t worry, it really doesn’t matter.' Similar patterns are found all over the world.
"And solidarity speak--that is vocalizing to strengthen social ties--may extend even further, perhaps including chants before sport matches. The New Zealand rugby team has a joint team-chant known as the haka. This may be matched by chimpanzee pant-hoots, which, according to some recent research, are male solidarity calls."
(Jean Aitchison, The Language Web: The Power and Problem of Words. Cambridge University Press, 1997)
- Solidarity Talk in the Media
"All human beings engage in 'solidarity talk,' that is, vocalizing or communicating to strengthen social ties, as British linguist Jean Aitchison (1997) puts it. Often our conversations are not so much to exchange information as to strengthen social bonds. Instances of what could be characterized as 'solidarity talk' are also present in media venues. The banter that news anchors exchange on the evening news is a classic case (although it is more stylized and conventionalized than the banter we exchange in everyday situations, as are lighter feature stories in print venues (known as 'brites' or 'readers'--something that goes down easily but has something to say about another dimension of the community's face))."
(Colleen Cotter, "Language and the News Media: Five Facts About the Fourth Estate." The Workings of Language: From Prescriptions to Perspectives, ed. by Rebecca S. Wheeler. Greenwood, 1999) - Solidarity Talk and Rhetoric
"Just now my son is approaching a set of examinations, . . . and on occasion I ask him how the work is going. Sometimes this is just solidarity talk, but occasionally--as when he is going out of the door into town when I suppose he should be studying--the question takes on rhetorical energy: it is meant to 'make a movement,' i.e. remind him of the situation, and 'lead to a performance,' make him come back soon and work."
(Michael Carrithers, Introduction to Culture, Rhetoric and the Vicissitudes of Life. Berghahn Books, 2009) - Solidarity Talk and Language Acquisition
"Human infants from soon after birth engage in turn-taking pseudo-conversations with adult caretakers; these interactions have the same finely modulated rhythmic back-and-forth flow of turns as high-solidity talk. Infants also engage in affect attunement, matching and building up emotions."
(Randall Collins, Interaction Ritual Chains. Princeton University Press, 2004) - The Lighter Side of Solidarity Talk
"It is worth repeating at this point the theories that Ford had come up with, on his first encounter with human beings, to account for their peculiar habit of continually stating and restating the very very obvious, as in 'It's a nice day,' or 'You're very tall,' or 'So this is it, we're going to die.'
"His first theory was that if human beings didn't keep exercising their lips, their mouths probably shriveled up.
"After a few months of observation he had come up with a second theory, which was this--'If human beings don't keep exercising their lips, their brains start working.'"
(Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Pan Books, 1980)
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