Abstract:

In this article we will analyze how institutional and public discourse may be
naturalized (Thompson, 1990) through the recycling of elements from daily local
discourse. The process of discourse naturalization is one of transformation, making
what is local, universal, what is partisan, neutral, and what is arbitrary, natural.
S p e c i fi c a l ly, we will examine, as strategies for the naturalization of institutional
discourse: the mobilization of traditional vo c a t ives; the use of local codes or of
Galizan/Spanish code-switching; and the reference to local ‘discourse domains. Our
data comes from a corpus of over twenty-five hours of audio recordings from public
and institutional events that come from the area which encompasses the periurban of
A Coruña city and the towns belonging to Bergantiños (Galicia). Methodologically,
our focus is multidisciplinary. We selective ly make use of analytical tools from
interactional sociolinguistics, conversational analysis, ethnogr a p hy of communication,
m i c r o s o c i o l og y, and critical discourse analy s i s .

Author: Gabriela Prego Vázquez