Paper short abstract:

This paper shows how linguistic acts modulate the affective rhythms shared by social groups by eliciting sensorial awareness of and relationships to otherness, both human and more-than-human forms.

Paper long abstract:

This paper shows how linguistic instances modulate the affective rhythms shared by social groups by comparing the focal speech acts in the services of two Anglican churches in London - an Anglican Evangelical church and a traditional parish church. By focusing on two focal moments - the Evangelical sermon and after-sermon song, on the one hand, and the parish church Holy Communion and Communion anthem, on the other - I illustrate how worshippers articulate speech with singing/listening instances and elicit distinct modes of community-making. I argue that in each church practitioners cultivate a different role for speech acts and shape distinct sonic relationships between worshippers and between worshippers and God. In turn, these configurations of speaking, praying, singing, listening engender distinct affective and sensorial relationships to otherness - to the more-than-human divine Other and the human Other. As such, these articulations of speech and singing/listening acts materialise specific ideals about what constitutes a 'good' individual and collective (Christian) life.

Drawing on this comparative sensorial ethnography, I focus attention on speech as a sonic form that emerges interrelated with other sonic forms such as praying, singing, listening, thus highlighting the sensual and affective dimensions of speech acts. In this, the paper suggests avenues for exploring how linguistic acts shape social actions and relationships not only through linguistic content but through particular sensorial qualities and configurations of linguistic acts.