Shifting addressivity

Abstract

Abstract In dealing with recent migration-related phenomena, inclusion has become an increasingly common normative ethical imperative in socio-political discourse. Considering inclusion as a situated interactive accomplishment, this article reports findings from a study on medical visits, each one involving a physician, an unaccompanied foreign minor (UFM) and a professional educator. Adopting a Conversation Analysis-informed approach to a corpus of video-recorded visits, we analyze (a) the physician’s shifts in addressivity, which either foster or hinder UFM’s inclusion during the history-taking phase, and b) when and how these shifts occur. We contend that, by shifting addressivity, the physician navigates the locally incompatible goals of gaining reliable information on UFM patients and fostering their active participation. We contend that the micro-practice of shifting addressivity is consistent with the management of cultural-linguistic diversity proposed by the intercultural dialogue perspective.