journal of linguistic studies

(15) (A 5) INTERVIEWER: Now we go to Philadelphia. Senator John
Edwards, the former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination,
former U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was also John Kerry’s running mate
in 2004. You have not endorsed, senator. Some might say as a major figure in the
party at this point, don’t you have a responsibility to endorse?
3.3 MONTENEGRIN DATA
Our analysis of the political interview openings in the Montenegrin data pointed to
the finding that these are pretty uniform compared to the British and American openings.
Namely, the moves identified in the pattern are usually all present and are always ordered
in the same way, whereas the range of optional moves is very limited. The pattern is as
follows:
Move 1: Greeting the audience,
Move 2: Show / broadcasting company introduction,
Move 3: Interviewee introduction,
Move 4: Initial component.
The pattern will be illustrated by example 16:
(16) (C 1) INTERVJUISTA: (greeting the audience) Poštovani gledaoci, dobro
veče. (show / broadcasting company + the interviewee introduction) Gost
Televizije Crne Gore je predsjednik Socijalističke narodne partije, gospodin
Srđan Milić. (initial component) Gospodine Miliću, dobro veče i dobro došli.
MILIĆ: Dobro veče vama, dobro veče gledaocima TVCG.
The introduction is opened with a standard phrase Poštovani gledaoci, dobro veče
(Honourable spectators, good evening). This opening is typical of Montenegrin shows in
general and only rarely are they introduced in other ways. The broadcasting company is
implicitly presented, which is also the norm in Montenegrin media (the show is not
introduced because the interview in question was a freestanding interview). The
interviewee is directly introduced by stating his full name and function. This is followed
by the phrase Gospodine Miliću (Mr Milić), which serves as a boundary marker and
which, as we have seen in the previous two groups of openings, has the function of an
implicit introduction. The exchange of greetings is also realised in a very conventional
manner. The general headline is omitted, and what follows after the opening is the first
topic cycle introduced by its own headline.
Greeting the audience – This move is mandatory in the interview openings (88.8%).
In Montenegrin media, namely, there are no shows which feature several interviews, and
so the opening of the interview is basically the introduction for the whole show.
This move is found in two forms only: Dobro veče, poštovani gledaoci and Dobro
veče (dobro veče – good evening serves as a boundary marker in this case). The phrase
poštovani gledaoci (honourable spectators) is typical of the Montenegrin corpus only (it
never occurs in the British and the American data, in which the audience is not directly
addressed).
Show / broadcasting company introduction – This move is found quite frequently
(88.8%) and it is realised either directly or indirectly. In the Montenegrin corpus, the
75