TALKING SHIT. THE RITUAL ASPECTS OF INVOLVEMENT DISPLAY IN CONVERSATION: AN EXAMPLE FROM RADIO.

Abstract

In phone-ins on morning radio programs one can observe the presence of different ritual means which enable the host and the caller to build a rapport. These conversations are created for an overhearing audience, i.e. listeners at home who expect that the host will address the callers in a friendly and informal way. However, all radio talks are dependent on the institutional context of broadcasting and necessarily include specific features typical of formal talk. The author of the article claims that the 'friendly on-air chat' has, in spite of many demonstrations of intimacy between the hosts and the callers, a clearly professional character and shows how the hosts use the elements of high-involvement style to create the effect of bonding with the audience