Silverstein’s Model of Indexical Orders and Its Application to the Analysis of Some Lori-Laki Conversations

Authors

University of Isfahan

Abstract

This study attempts to study some Lori-Laki conversations based on silverstein’s framework in terms of cultural concepts and indexical orders. To this end, we apply his model as a kind of analytical tool to describe and analyse a number of interactions occurred among Lori and Laki speakers. Silverstein’s framework asserts that cultural concepts are indexed in participants’ lexicons, gestures and behaviours and are attainable by tools proposed in semiotic pragmatism. Indexical orders are likely to be obtained, and conversational orders are discernable by means of the application of poetic rituals upon the conversational discourse. Analysing conversations, it is possible to discover important factors such as “kind” of a person, participants’ biography and cultural –onomics. In this paper, we try to discover cultural concepts indexed in conversations of Lori and Laki’s speakers conversed in banquet rituals during Norouz. Some concepts like bala, belenga (up) and har, hwar (down) have been determined. The concept of poetic rituals employed as a tool to show that conversation are harmonious. Last but not least, the importance of the relation between micro-context and Macro-context have been confirmed through a conversation in which participants try to keep information away from an intruder.

Keywords