Greek Adults' Verbal Play, Or, How to Train for Caution

Abstract

This anthropological analysis treats from various viewpoints a common mode of discourse between Greek adults and children characterized as "verbal play" and constituting promues, threats, and fahe stories. A taxonomic refinement for Greek statements of intention is suggested since many utterances function as "statements of affect." The analysis deals with structure and also with social and cultural dimensions. In structural terms, verbal play is an expression of asymmetry of status and inequalities of power, a key explanatory notion being that of "obligation." The social and cultural dimensions of verbal play involve its role in the process of socialization where it inculcates into children a sense of caution and disbelief regarding verbal utterances. Since these verbal deceptions also take place within the family, it is this primary locus of trust and security that initiates children existentially into the world-view of Orthodox Christianity—into phenomenal reality's fallen condition and humanity's consciousness of imperfection.

Teasing in contact encounters: Frames, participant positions and responses

“…Concerning responses to teasing, the salience of playful responses to teasing (via playful retaliations or playing along) seemed to corroborate findings by previous studies on the centrality of humour, joking and verbal play in Greek culture and discourse (Antonopoulou and Sifianou 2003;Hirschon 1992;Georgakopoulou, 2000 to mention a few). Similar findings regarding the positive value attributed to one's ability to carry out jocular conversation have also emerged in studies on the Turkish language and culture (see Zeyrek 2001).…”

“…This finding is not surprising when seen in the context of research on Greek verbal play in general. More specifically, Hirschon (1992) argues that 'in the case of Greek the explicit setting up of a [play] frame is rarely done' and one does not often hear disclaimers, such as 'σου κάνω πλάκα' ('just kidding'). Instead, interactants need to decipher the relevant contextualisation cues in order to understand and interpret playfully what has been said (1992: 42).…”

“…Hirschon 1992;Mackridge 1992) and in Greek oral and written discourse in particular (e.g. Antonopoulou and Sifianou 2003;Archakis and Tsakona 2005;Canakis 199;Georgakopoulou 2000).…”

Philanthropy or solidarity? Ethical dilemmas about humanitarianism in crisis‐afflicted Greece

“…Simultaneously, a certain degree of conceptual imprecision is reproduced by the coexistence of the concepts 'solidarity' and 'humanitarianism' in the same conversations, often in the same arguments or sentences. Some situated local actors in Patras recognise this imprecision, and deliberately bring the two concepts closer together to underline their critical points, or highlight the view that in some 5 A number of anthropologists of Greece have discussed the suspicion and resistance of Greek actors towards the subtle hierarchies (and sense of obligation) introduced by gift-giving (see among many, Herzfeld 1992;Hirschon 1992Hirschon , 2000Gkintidis 2014); Rozakou has further developed this classic anthropological theme to interpret the cultural embeddedness of ideas about voluntarism and humanitarianism in Greece (2012, 2016, this volume). 6 Two particular uses have become common since the outset of austerity: 'humanitarian aid' (anthropistikí voíthia) and 'humanitarian crisis' (anthropistiki krisi).…”

Empathy, as Affective Ethical Technology and Transformative Political Praxis

“…Repeatedly, the asymmetrical implications of giving create a burden that local actors attempt to overcome. In Greece, the sociality of hospitality (see Herzfeld 1987Herzfeld , 1992Papataxiarchis 2006Papataxiarchis , 2014; Rosakou 2012; Cabot 2014) is often contrasted to the inequality of gift giving, which establishes hierarchies (Herzfeld 1992;Hirschon 1992Hirschon , 2000Gkintidis 2014). In the everyday sociality of humanitarian activity, such semiological distinctions matter: they carry political weight, and help define one's position regarding the ethics of giving (see Theodossopoulos 2016).…”