Abriendo closings in bilingual radio speech: Discourse strategies, code-switching, and the interactive construction of broadcast structures and institutional identity

Abstract

Abstract Radio highlights the linguistic construction of institutional identity: it privileges presenter speech, as DJs use language to represent not only the self but also the show, and ultimately the station’s identity to the listening audience for commercial purposes. The relationship between show structure and stylistic practice in interaction offers insights into identity construction and audience relationships in institutional settings. This qualitative study investigates the linguistic construction of closing sequences in bilingual radio discourse, examining the relationship between DJ speech and the interactional construction of closing structures in 18 report- and chat-genre closings from 95.1 Latino Vibe. Findings indicate that closing structures are genre-specific, with the less-formal chat genre integrating elements of media and conversational closings. Code-switching is genre-sensitive and plays a multifaceted functional, relational, and representational role, ranging from constructing show structures to audience affiliation and a formulaic type of “verbal branding.” Ultimately, closing sequences and code-switching relate to broader institutional goals of station representation and audience engagement. The article sheds light on the relationship between interaction-level discourse moves, institutionalized identity construction, and the development of interactional structures through talk; and highlights the added dimensions that bilingual speech strategies contribute to these practices.