ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the frameworks and theories for the study on which the book is based. The concept of heteroglossia or multivoicedness is used in this study to refer to the voices of the ad in terms of different genres (discourses of authority and discourses of everyday interaction) as well as in terms of accent, dialect and markers of intimate discourse within these genres. The division of the ad in terms of the Action and Comment components, based on the genre of the discourse, is described. The Action component is comprised generally of dialogic interaction in specific contexts, allowing the listener to identify with the characters in the scenarios, while the Comment component (which names and provides general information on the product), on the other hand, can be equated to the slogan of the ad or ‘voice of authority’. The function of a particular language (sub) variety can be apparent in its location in these components and can thereby demonstrate the prevalence of particular language ideologies. The strategy of juxtaposing ‘prestige’ and ‘local’ or vernacular varieties in the Comment and Action components of the ad, respectively, and the exploitation of contrasting varieties within the ad, can shed light on how particular varieties can ‘index’ social meaning. This concept of the ‘indexical value’ or social meaning of particular ways of speaking is related to Piller’s (2001) research on characteristics of the ‘implied receiver’ of the ad. In this way it links with the concept of audience and referee design; as talk in media communication is necessarily based only on a stereotype of the audience, referee design has a role in the construction of the identity of the implied or stereotyped receivers of the ads through attributing particular characteristics to them. The way in which the stereotypical models on which the audience and the referee are based in Irish radio advertising are informed by the prevailing language ideologies.
