Rituals of Speaking

In the article “The Problem of Speaking for Others”, Linda Alcoff defines the idea of “Ritauls of speaking” as “discursive practices of speaking or writing that involve not only the text or utterance but their position within a social space including the persons involved in, acting upon, and/or affected by the words” (Page 12).

Moreover, my understanding of this key term is that it is not necessarily about the information being expressed, but more about the position of the person speaking along with their audience.

For example, the President of the United States is someone who we should fully confide in. When he is giving a speech to the public he is in a position of power and authority where everyone surrounding him can trust what he is saying to be true. Of course everyone has their own opinions, however the president is someone who is treated with immense respect and honor and therefore, his words are meaningful and leave great impact on his followers.

In terms of technology, Barak Obama is all over the internet. His speeches are broadcasted through major news channels and he expresses his ideas and thoughts through major digital sites like facebook and twitter. Above is a tweet that came from Barak Obama’s twitter page expressing his ideas on Climate Change.

Another example where position and location impacts ones ability to get a point across is someone like Kylie Jenner. Kylie Jenner advertises her cosmetics through all kinds of social media like Instagram, Snap Chat and Twitter. Although she may not hold the same authority as the president of the united states, she has a huge impact on her fans and people who are interested in her products. Below is a youtube video of Kylie presenting her new Kyshadow pallette as she similarly advertises for and broadcasts through snap chat  as well.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKrJWqrCh-U

As you can see, “Rituals of Speaking” does not necessarily have to do with the content or material being presented as much as the location and position that the speaker holds. Both Barak Obama and Kylie Jenner hold positions of power in a way where an audience can be inspired by Kylie’s cosmetics and strive to look a certain way, or be and motivated stand politically with Obamas ideas. Either way there is a compelling argument or significant idea being expressed by a person of significance to their audience.