The emergence and the construction of identity in doctor-patient interaction in multicultural settings

Journal title SALUTE E SOCIETÀ
Author/s Franca Orletti
Publishing Year 2013 Issue 2013/1EN
Language English Pages 15 P. 67-81 File size 247 KB
DOI 10.3280/SES2013-001006EN
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With few exceptions conversational studies have mostly focused on interactions between doctors and native patients. This paper addresses the construction of nonnative identity in interactions between a gynecologist and immigrant patients in a public hospital in Italy. Particularly, the paper addresses the question whether the specific structure of the medical interaction involving a non-native patient makes not only institutional identities (patient/doctor) but also language and cultural identities relevant for the members. Data include a corpus of 12 audio-recorded interactions between a gynecologist and a patient, each 6 of them involving, respectively, a native and a non-native patient. Analyses show that pragmatic, linguistic choices index the identity of the patient as an interactant "of a special kind", by making relevant certain aspects related to her ethnic identity.

Keywords: Social construction of identity, membership categorization device, Conversation Analysis, gynecologist-patient interaction, conversational asymmetry, formulations

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Franca Orletti, The emergence and the construction of identity in doctor-patient interaction in multicultural settings in "SALUTE E SOCIETÀ" 1EN/2013, pp 67-81, DOI: 10.3280/SES2013-001006EN