journal of linguistic studies

(1) (B 9) INTERVIEWER: (interviewee introduction) After the victory of the
Orange coalition in last year’s general election in Ukraine, Yulia Timochenko has
become the country’s prime minister. Her first foreign visit was to Brussels,
where she has held a series of meetings with European leaders. (headline) In our
interview, Timochenko presents her view on the building of the Ukraine-EU
relationship, how it is progressing, and how it is seen on both sides. (initial
component) Prime minister, welcome to EuroNews. It’s your first overseas visit
as Ukrainian prime minister. Does it symbolise your country’s desire to integrate
in Europe?
TIMOCHENKO: Absolutely, because the road to European integration has been
one of our national priorities for a long time…
As can be seen, the journalist is introducing the interviewee in a very detailed
fashion, thus creating the context for the headline which follows. The introduction is
formal and factual, while the name and surname figure in the rheme position, achieving a
deferred presentation of the interviewee. After the headline, which is summed up in a
single sentence, an exchange of greetings ensues, accomplished through an adjacency pair
welcoming – thanking. The journalist did not allow the interviewee to complete the pair
with the second part of the pattern and moved instead to the first topic cycle of the
interview, accomplished through a separate sub-headline with the function of a
preparation, i.e. a preface for the first question. The introduction of the interviewed
politician defines her role as the representative of a political institution, whereas the
possessive adjective (in our interview) and the reference to the name of the broadcasting
company (which has been implicitly introduced in this way), position the journalist as the
representative of the news institution. After the context is provided, the grounds are set
for the main part of the interview.
The model is flexible in the sense that some of the moves can be omitted and that the
ordering of elements is not necessarily fixed, although in most cases it is. The move
interviewee introduction is the most frequent move and, directly or indirectly, it figures in
every interview opening in the British data. However, the same cannot be said for the
other two moves. Namely, the headline is found in half the examined openings, whereas
the initial component is present in 63.6% of the cases.
We shall now outline the form and the function of the obligatory moves identified in
the rhetorical pattern.
Interviewee introduction – In the British group of political interview openings, the
interviewee introduction is the most significant move, which can be confirmed by the fact
that the headline need not be announced after it. Most commonly it is accomplished
directly (54.5%), by simply stating the name or the name and the function of the
interviewee:
(2) (B 1) INTERVIEWER: Ali Miraj is with me now…
(3) (B 3) INTERVIEWER: … The Lib Dem’s acting leader, Vince Cable, joins
us live from Westminster…
If the interviewee is quite famous, then they are usually announced implicitly through
vocatives addressing the function (Mr Secretary, Prime Minister, Mr President etc.) or
their full name. What proves that we are dealing with implicit introductions is the fact
that such vocatives addressing full names and functions are not used during the rest of the
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