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32 TM: [WHAT DID WE GO as 33 34 DB: God knows (I was 35 LM: [I was a Punk Rocker. hhh This re-invocation of a shared past or specific event is characteristic of positive alignment in English sociable episodes. Of course, this type of alignment does rely on some common past and for that reason may well be specific to in-group sociability. As with salient selves routinely mobilised for negative alignment, so they have been demonstrated in the above analysis to be routinely mobilised for positive alignment. Their expressive nature has been shown to clearly reflect the overall English sociable style identified in previous chapters. Now I want to identify and provide evidence of their German positive counterparts, ones routinely mobilised for positive alignment, but expressively and performatively manifesting themselves somewhat differently. 7.4.2 The Germans Contrary to much of the literature addressing German conversational style, there appeared in my own gatherings to be obvious phases in German conversational episodes where participants expressively put differences aside and closed ranks under some common banner of solidarity. Similar to English sociable conversation, this commonly focused on some external and non- present topical resource which was collectively framed in some negatively evaluative way. However, the emphasis in such German positive alignment seemed not to be on the affective orientation participants could display towards some absent others or thing, but rather on the threat they or it qua alien pose to us qua native. This appeared to be fundamentally different from the English gossiping self which adopting not an angst-ridden but more a cynical stance. Frequently based around national identity (in the case of my specific data West German 2), the agonised self uses for its mobilisation some common 224
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 is 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 threat to all, indexing solidarity by subsuming the individual self under a collective notion (a 'we' mentality). A prime conversational focus and symbolic other for the mobilisation of agonised selves is 'Auslaenders' [foreigners] and the threat they pose (in terms of for example unemployment; crime; or urban decay). In mobilising such 'foreign selves' in the true sense of the word, German sociabilists in situ displayed a marked positive alignment vis-6-vis each other contrasted with a marked negative alignment vis-6-vis such foreign selves. The following episode provides a typical example of the mobilisation of German agonised selves. Excerpt 7.15'Ganz Schlimm' GB: Das sieht da auch ganz schlimm aus ([ HB: [ACH so da hinten das Einkaufs[zentr [um GB: [Ja=ja PB: [Ja=ja: (1) GB: Das ist der andere Stadtteil (0.5) PB: Klein=Chica:: go= GB: =Hm:: (3) PB: JA=und wenn man Westhagen sagt dann (0.5) vergleich man das immer (1) mit diesem (1) diesem Stadtteil ne (1.5) GB: Ja:: =und dieser Stadtteil der vere: lendet richtig da hinten= blich daß die das erst [machen ne= SH: =>Finde ich unmö GB: [Ja GB: =JA (1) GB: Die Geschäftsleute wandern ab [weil sich die Russen da immer mehr SH: [JA::: Breitmachen=die [haben da ihre [Geschäfte (1) ich [weiß nicht wieviele HB: [HM:: [Ja:: [Ja=a Geschäfte die da [schon übernommen [haben= HB: [Weißt du [ein HB: =Ein Russen[Iaden GB: [Und wir gehen da gar nicht mehr hin weil das ist für mich fremd da hinten=also die sprechen alle möglichen Sprachen=nur nicht Deutsch (0.5) ne=>Was soll ich da< Excerpt 7.15 Translation 'Really Bad' I GB: It is really bad there ([ 2 HB: [OH up there the shop[ping cen[tre 3 GIB: [yeah yeah 4 PB: [yeah yeah: 225
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threat to all, indexing solidarity by subsuming the individual self under a<br />
collective notion (a 'we' mentality). A prime conversational focus and symbolic<br />
other for the mobilisation <strong>of</strong> agonised selves is 'Auslaenders' [foreigners] and<br />
the threat they pose (in terms <strong>of</strong> for example unemployment; crime; or urban<br />
decay). In mobilising such 'foreign selves' in the true sense <strong>of</strong> the word,<br />
German sociabilists in situ displayed a marked positive alignment vis-6-vis each<br />
other contrasted with a marked negative alignment vis-6-vis such foreign<br />
selves. The following episode provides a typical example <strong>of</strong> the mobilisation <strong>of</strong><br />
German agonised selves.<br />
Excerpt 7.15'Ganz Schlimm'<br />
GB: Das sieht da auch ganz schlimm aus ([<br />
HB: [ACH so da hinten das<br />
Einkaufs[zentr [um<br />
GB: [Ja=ja<br />
PB: [Ja=ja:<br />
(1)<br />
GB: Das ist der andere Stadtteil<br />
(0.5)<br />
PB: Klein=Chica::<br />
go=<br />
GB: =Hm:: (3)<br />
PB: JA=und wenn man Westhagen sagt dann (0.5) vergleich man das immer<br />
(1) mit diesem (1) diesem Stadtteil ne<br />
(1.5)<br />
GB: Ja:: =und dieser Stadtteil der vere: lendet richtig da hinten=<br />
blich daß die das erst [machen ne=<br />
SH: =>Finde ich unmö<br />
GB: [Ja<br />
GB: =JA<br />
(1)<br />
GB: Die Geschäftsleute wandern ab [weil sich die Russen da immer mehr<br />
SH: [JA:::<br />
Breitmachen=die [haben da ihre [Geschäfte (1) ich [weiß nicht wieviele<br />
HB: [HM:: [Ja:: [Ja=a<br />
Geschäfte die da [schon übernommen [haben=<br />
HB: [Weißt du [ein<br />
HB: =Ein Russen[Iaden<br />
GB: [Und wir gehen da gar nicht mehr hin weil das ist für mich<br />
fremd da hinten=also die sprechen alle möglichen Sprachen=nur nicht<br />
Deutsch (0.5) ne=>Was soll ich da<<br />
Excerpt 7.15 Translation 'Really Bad'<br />
I GB: It is really bad there ([<br />
2 HB: [OH up there the shop[ping cen[tre<br />
3 GIB: [yeah yeah<br />
4 PB: [yeah yeah: 225