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What did Putin really say? Speech presentation in a news
story on the BBC News website.
The structure of the talk
• Data • Framework• Analysis
The Data
• Vladimir Putin interview with Russian state television (24/02/2015)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31596634
The Data
• Web news story consists of:– Short video clip of interview with translation– Summary of the interview with some background– Analysis by Sarah Rainsford
Data
• Also drawing on translations / transcriptions of interview provided by:
• Kremlin - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/47730
• Kristina Russ - http://fortruss.blogspot.co.uk/
• Fort Russ is a team blog of dedicated volunteer translators and analysts, who bring you Russian, as well as Polish, German, French, Greek and Italian translations of the best news, analysis, bloggers and social media pertaining to Russia, Ukraine, former USSR and geopolitical balance in the world today.
Focus
• Interested in how the news article presents what Putin said in the interview.
• Speech presentation• Discourse presentation
What is discourse presentation?
• Prototypically, discourse presentation refers to the presentation of speech, writing or thought from an anterior discourse in a posterior discourse.
What is discourse presentation?
I love Stylistics!
Brian said “I love Stylistics!”
Anterior discourse
Posterior discourse
Coming before in time; earlier
Coming after in time; later
What is discourse presentation?
Brian thought “I love Stylistics!”
Anterior discourse
Posterior discourse
Coming before in time; earlier
Coming after in time; later
I love Stylistics!
What is discourse presentation?
Brian wrote “I love Stylistics!”
Anterior discourse
Posterior discourse
Coming before in time; earlier
Coming after in time; later
Dear diary, I
love Stylistics
!
What is discourse presentation?
• A person can present the speech and/or writing and/or thoughts of a third party or themselves.
• However, there is not necessarily always an anterior discourse.
What is discourse presentation?
I love Stylistics!
Brian said that he loves
Stylistics!”
At any moment, Brian is going to say that he
loves Stylistics.
I love Stylistics!
What is discourse presentation?
• A speaker might project a future hypothetical discourse. – “If she keeps asking for a lift to work I’m going to
say ‘OK, but how about chipping in for the petrol’”.• In this instance the speech presentation is
hypothetical – there is no anterior discourse.
What is discourse presentation?
• Fiction– Prototypical narration tells of events that
supposedly happened at some time in the past– These past events usually involve characters
talking to one another– So, a narrator tells the narratee / reader not only
about the event but also what was said, thought or written by the characters
What is discourse presentation?
• But – there is no anterior discourse• It’s all made up!
• But this is news report – and there is an anterior discourse situation.
What is discourse presentation?
• A person can present the (hypothetical and fictional) speech and/or writing and/or thoughts of a third party or themselves
• They can use a variety of different forms.• Create different (interesting) effects
Discourse presentation model• The development of a model of speech and thought
presentation first developed in relation to literary fiction (see Leech and Short 1981).
• Some other text types have now also been investigated (e.g. newspaper report)
• The model has been developed with a view to making as complete a model as possible of how we quote others in English texts.
Discourse presentation
• What are the different forms of discourse presentation?
• (focus on speech)
Discourse presentation model
• “I love corpus linguistics!”– expresses the exact words of the original utterance– first person pronouns, present tense verbs and proximal deictics.
• “I love corpus linguistics!” he said.– includes the exact words plus a reporting clause indicating the
presence of a narrator,– first person pronouns, present tense verbs and proximal deictics.
Discourse presentation model
• He said that he loved corpus linguistics.– presents the original utterance in an indirect form, with the original
speaker’s words contained within a subordinate clause, – includes a reporting clause (he said)– present tense verbs changed to past, – first person pronouns change to third person – and proximal deictics changed to distal ones
Discourse presentation model
• He loved corpus linguistics!– is a free indirect rendering that blends aspects of a narratorial report
with a flavour of the original speaker’s utterance (in this case, the exclamation mark)
– tense, pronouns and deixis similar to IS
Discourse presentation model
• He exclaimed his feelings.– reports only the speech act of the original speaker (apologise,
deny, etc.)– none of the propositional content of the original utterance can
be reconstructed– possibly followed by some indication of the subject-matter
of the speech act.
Discourse presentation model
• He spoke loudly.– reports only the fact that speech occurred.– possibly followed by a prepositional phrase or noun phrase
giving the subject-matter of the verbiage.
Discourse presentation
Table 1. Discourse presentation Model – after Short (2007)
Discourse presentation
Speech presentation Writing presentation Thought presentation
FDS Free Direct Speech FDW Free Direct Writing FDT Free Direct Thought
DS Direct Speech DW Direct Writing DT Direct Thought
FIS Free Indirect Speech FIW Free Indirect Writing FIT Free Indirect Thought
IS Indirect Speech IW Indirect Writing IT Indirect Thought
NRSA Narrator’s (Re)presentation of a Speech Act
NRWA Narrator’s (Re)presentation of a Writing Act
NRTA Narrator’s (Re)presentation of a Thought Act
NV Narrator’s Presentation of Voice
NW Narrator’s Presentation of Writing
NT Narrator’s Presentation of Thought
NI Internal Narration
NRS Narrator’s Reporting of Speech
NRW Narrator’s Reporting of Writing
NRT Narrator’s Reporting of Thought
N Narration N Narration N Narration
Cline of narrator interference
• ‘You should shut up!’ [FDS]• ‘You should shut up!’, she said. [DS]• He should shut up! [FIS]• She said that he should shut up. [IS]• She commanded him. [NRSA]• She shouted at him. [NV]
Original speaker’s
words
Narrator’s words
Cline of narrator interference
• ‘You should shut up!’ [FDS]• ‘You should shut up!’, she said. [DS]• He should shut up! [FIS]• She said that he should shut up. [IS]• She commanded him. [NRSA]• She shouted at him. [NV]
Most faithful to original
Least faithful to original
Cline of narrator interference
• ‘You should shut up!’ [FDS]• ‘You should shut up!’, she said. [DS]• He should shut up! [FIS]• She said that he should shut up. [IS]• She commanded him. [NRSA]• She shouted at him. [NV]
Greatest claim to faithfulness
Least claim to faithfulness
Consequences for ideology
• Opportunity for narrator to interpret the actual speech – allowing for misrepresentation
• Readers/listeners are aware of the intervention of a narrator and will find direct speech and writing more believable than other modes.
• (probably not the case with thought – indirect forms more believable)
Analysis
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said war with neighbouring Ukraine is "unlikely", in an interview for Russian television.Mr Putin also stressed his support for the recent Minsk ceasefire deal as the best way to stabilise eastern Ukraine.Ukraine says Russian troops have been fighting in Ukraine. Mr Putin repeated denials that this was the case.[...]In his interview - his first extended comments since the ceasefire deal was agreed on 12 February - Mr Putin was asked if there was a real threat of war, given the situation in eastern Ukraine."I think that such an apocalyptic scenario is unlikely and I hope this will never happen," he said.Mr Putin said that if the Minsk agreement was implemented, eastern Ukraine would "gradually stabilise"."Europe is just as interested in that as Russia. No one wants conflict on the edge of Europe, especially armed conflict," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said war with neighbouring Ukraine is "unlikely", in an interview for Russian television.Mr Putin also stressed his support for the recent Minsk ceasefire deal as the best way to stabilise eastern Ukraine.Ukraine says Russian troops have been fighting in Ukraine. Mr Putin repeated denials that this was the case.[...]In his interview - his first extended comments since the ceasefire deal was agreed on 12 February - Mr Putin was asked if there was a real threat of war, given the situation in eastern Ukraine."I think that such an apocalyptic scenario is unlikely and I hope this will never happen," he said.Mr Putin said that if the Minsk agreement was implemented, eastern Ukraine would "gradually stabilise"."Europe is just as interested in that as Russia. No one wants conflict on the edge of Europe, especially armed conflict," he said.
Analysis
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said war with neighbouring Ukraine is "unlikely", in an interview for Russian television.
"I think that such an apocalyptic scenario is unlikely and I hope this will never happen," he said.
• Indirect speech with apparent direct speech and an apparent claim to faithfulness.
• Direct speech
I believe that such an apocalyptic scenario is hardly possible and I hope that it will never come to this. As regards the return of some territories these are things of a revanchist nature and it is not about returning territories to someone. The point is that in my view the leadership of such a large European country as Ukraine should first of all bring the country back to normal life and restore the economy and the social sphere, get the relations with the south east of the country on the right track in a civilised way, and ensure the lawful rights and the interests of the people who live say in Donbass. If the Minsk agreements are implemented then I am sure that this is what will be done.
BBC
I think that this apocalyptic scenario is highly unlikely, and I hope it never comes to that. As for returning any territories, that is revanchist talk and it’s not about returning territories anywhere. In my opinion – and I do not want to give any advice, but still – the current leadership of a large European nation such as Ukraine should first return the country to normal life: fix the economy, the social sector, its relations with the southeast region of the country in a civilised manner, and ensure the lawful rights and interests of the people living in Donbass. If the Minsk agreements are implemented, I am certain that this will be done.
Kremlin
I think that such apocalyptic scenario is hardly possible, I hope that it will never get to that point. As far as returning of some territories, such things are of a revanchist character, and this is not about returning some territories somewhere. The thing is, in my view, and I don’t want to give any advice, but the leadership of such a big European country, as Ukraine, should first of all return the country to a normal life, fix the economy, the social sphere, fix their relationship with South-Eastern Ukraine in a civilized manner, provide legal rights and interests of the people, who reside in Donbass. If Minsk agreements will be realized, I am convinced that it will be done.
Kristina Russ
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said war with neighbouring Ukraine is "unlikely", in an interview for Russian television.Mr Putin also stressed his support for the recent Minsk ceasefire deal as the best way to stabilise eastern Ukraine.Ukraine says Russian troops have been fighting in Ukraine. Mr Putin repeated denials that this was the case.[...]In his interview - his first extended comments since the ceasefire deal was agreed on 12 February - Mr Putin was asked if there was a real threat of war, given the situation in eastern Ukraine."I think that such an apocalyptic scenario is unlikely and I hope this will never happen," he said.Mr Putin said that if the Minsk agreement was implemented, eastern Ukraine would "gradually stabilise"."Europe is just as interested in that as Russia. No one wants conflict on the edge of Europe, especially armed conflict," he said.
Analysis
Mr Putin also stressed his support for the recent Minsk ceasefire deal as the best way to stabilise eastern Ukraine.
• NRSA – with topic• Allows BBC reporter to choose speech act verb
‘stressed’.
I believe that such an apocalyptic scenario is hardly possible and I hope that it will never come to this. As regards the return of some territories these are things of a revanchist nature and it is not about returning territories to someone. The point is that in my view the leadership of such a large European country as Ukraine should first of all bring the country back to normal life and restore the economy and the social sphere, get the relations with the south east of the country on the right track in a civilised way, and ensure the lawful rights and the interests of the people who live say in Donbass. If the Minsk agreements are implemented then I am sure that this is what will be done.
BBC
Analysis
• Does this amount to ‘stressing’?• Looking at the transcriptions from the Kremlin
and fortruss .....
If the Minsk agreements are implemented, I am certain that this will be done. [...]If – again, I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat it – if the Minsk agreements are implemented, I am confident that the situation will gradually return to normal.
(Kremlin)
If Minsk agreements will be realized, I am convinced that it will be done.[...]I have said it before, and will say it again, if the Minsk agreements will be followed, I am convinced that the situation will gradually normalize.
(fortruss)
Analysis
Mr Putin said that if the Minsk agreement was implemented, eastern Ukraine would "gradually stabilise".
• IS – but with some DS.• Apparent claim to faithfulness.
I am confident that the situation will gradually return to normal.I am convinced that the situation will gradually normalize.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said war with neighbouring Ukraine is "unlikely", in an interview for Russian television.Mr Putin also stressed his support for the recent Minsk ceasefire deal as the best way to stabilise eastern Ukraine.Ukraine says Russian troops have been fighting in Ukraine. Mr Putin repeated denials that this was the case.[...]In his interview - his first extended comments since the ceasefire deal was agreed on 12 February - Mr Putin was asked if there was a real threat of war, given the situation in eastern Ukraine."I think that such an apocalyptic scenario is unlikely and I hope this will never happen," he said.Mr Putin said that if the Minsk agreement was implemented, eastern Ukraine would "gradually stabilise"."Europe is just as interested in that as Russia. No one wants conflict on the edge of Europe, especially armed conflict," he said.
Analysis
Ukraine says Russian troops have been fighting in Ukraine. Mr Putin repeated denials that this was the case.
• DP category?• Form suggests IS
– Issues to do with propositional content– What would the original look like?
• NRSA + topic?
Solovyov: We say that a civil war is underway. Ukraine says, “No, this is a direct intervention by Russia.” Why doesn’t the world see the truth?
Putin: It doesn’t want to. First of all, the world is complex and diverse; some people see it, while others don’t want to see it and do not notice it. World media monopoly of our opponents allows them to behave as they do. Moreover, I suppose that my somewhat careless comment during my visit to Hungary had some effect, when I said that it is disappointing to lose to yesterday’s miners and tractor drivers. It is unpleasant to lose to Russia as well, but it’s less humiliating somehow. At the same time, we are aware of the statements made by Ukraine’s top officials, including high-ranking officials in the Ukrainian army. As the head of the General Staff said, “We are not fighting against the Russian army.” What else do you need? But in general, all this is very bad: the attempts to justify defeat and attempts to blame it on Russia. The bad thing is that this is fanning the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, or an attempt to fan that conflict. (Kremlin)
Analysis
• "Europe is just as interested in that as Russia. No one wants conflict on the edge of Europe, especially armed conflict," he said.
And I imagine that Europe is just as interested in implementing the Minsk agreements as Russia. Nobody needs a conflict on the periphery of Europe, especially an armed conflict.
And Europe is interested in the implementation of the Minsk agreements, no less then Russia, because no one needs a military conflict on the periphery of the EU.
Sarah Rainsford
This was a confident Vladimir Putin, fielding soft questions on the Ukraine conflict with ease, even smiles. Russia's president said that in his eyes, the way to peace in Ukraine is clear - the deal struck in Minsk has to be implemented.
• What category of DP?
Sarah Rainsford
As for Russia invading Ukraine, President Putin once again shrugged off evidence that he's deployed troops to help the rebels. He said Kiev was claiming that to hide its humiliation at being defeated by former miners and tractor drivers.
Moreover, I suppose that my somewhat careless comment during my visit to Hungary had some effect, when I said that it is disappointing to lose to yesterday’s miners and tractor drivers. It is unpleasant to lose to Russia as well, but it’s less humiliating somehow.
Sarah Rainsford
He was just as scathing on the issue of Crimea, which Russia annexed last year, advising Ukraine's president to concentrate on saving his country's collapsing economy, instead of vowing to take back that land.
• DP category?• NRSA with topic ?
I believe that such an apocalyptic scenario is hardly possible and I hope that it will never come to this. As regards the return of some territories these are things of a revanchist nature and it is not about returning territories to someone. The point is that in my view the leadership of such a large European country as Ukraine should first of all bring the country back to normal life and restore the economy and the social sphere, get the relations with the south east of the country on the right track in a civilised way, and ensure the lawful rights and the interests of the people who live say in Donbass. If the Minsk agreements are implemented then I am sure that this is what will be done.
BBC
Conclusions
Presenting speech
• Viewpoint of the participants who are discussed in texts
• Words and thoughts are mediated by the narrating voice of the text.– Supposedly ‘neutral’ voice of, say, the BBC.– Explicit and personal voice. – A bit of both.
Mediated speech and thought
• Always a gap between ‘original’ and reported form
• Even if trying to be faithful to original• Faithfulness not always clear cut
What did Putin say?
Further reading
• Leech and Short (1981 [2007]) - perhaps the most comprehensive model of discourse presentation.
• Developed over a number of years through research projects at Lancaster University (see Semino and Short 2004).