article

Greek adults' verbal play, or, how to train for caution

Journal of modern Greek studies10 (1)Published In 1992 • Pages: 35-56

By: Hirschon, Renee.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this study, Hirschon examines word play between adults and children. She argues that the false stories and promises, lies and threats used by adults in adult-child discourse teach children to suspend belief in verbal utterances. Children learn that there is a disjuncture between words and actions. According to Hirschon, this disjuncture provides a degree of freedom for self-expression and a sense of personal autonomy. It also shows a reluctance to incur obligations. Furthermore such verbal play reinforces 'an existential consciousness of the imperfect nature of phenomenal reality,' which is a central tenet of the Orthodox Christian world-view.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Personality development
Sociolinguistics
Family relationships
Child care
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Greeks
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2003
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Europe
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Southeastern Europe
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Ian Skoggard ; 2002
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1970s
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1970
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Kokkinia, Greece
NotesAdditional notes
Renée Hirschon
Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-56)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
84642094
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Greece