Paper short abstract:

This paper focuses on the discourse-pragmatic uses of kiss-teeth in Afro-Surinamese communities. By applying an ethnographically informed social semiotics perspective, the paper aims to better understand communicative strategies in interaction through a multimodal analysis.

Paper long abstract:

It is generally agreed that interaction is multimodal, involving an interplay of multiple semiotic systems, channels and modalities (Norris 2004: 1). Attaining meaning in daily interaction is thereby often established “through the partnership between gesture and speech” (Kendon 2000: 50). The fact that gestures carry certain culture-specific meanings, are affected by context, and can serve different pragmatic functions in spoken discourse has significant implications for meaning-making and interpretation (Kendon 2000).

This paper presents a case study that examines the multifunctionality of the kiss-teeth sound gesture in Suriname. The 'tyuri' as kiss-teeth is known locally in Sranantongo is widely used among Afro-Surinamese individuals. Particular attention will be paid to the emblem’s forms and functions, on the one hand, and its contextual and situated uses, on the other.

The data originate from a three-month ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2022 in Paramaribo, Suriname. The methods of data collection include participant observation and video recordings made of interviews and naturally occurring conversations.

The findings indicate that kiss-teeth fulfils a range of functions, including the expression of a negative emotional stance, the emphasis of illocutionary force in the context of a generic insult or a face-threatening act, the display of intragroup solidarity and engagement in flirtatious teasing.

References

Kendon, A. (2000). Language and gesture: Unity or duality? In D. McNeill (Ed.), Language and Gesture (1st ed., pp. 47–63). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511620850.004

Norris, S. (2020). Multimodal Interaction Analysis. In C. A. Chapelle (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (1st ed., pp. 1–6). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0814.pub2