Observation of Joint Speech
There is much to be learned by just looking. The principal domains in which joint speaking occurs are itemised below, together with the briefest of indications of the kind of observations that are ready-to-hand. These need to be fleshed out. If you can contribute in any fashion, structured or unstructured, anecdotally or by conducting experiments, in any of the domains listed below, please talk to me. I can be contacted at fred.cummins@ucd.ie. It would help if you put [Joint Speech] in the subject of your email.
Collective Prayer
Most religions, and all the large ones I am familiar with, have formalized practices of collective prayer. These have particular structural features, some of which resemble structural features of protest chants, some of which are idiosyncratic. Some of the kind of features I am interested in are:
- Repetition: Buddhist chanting, Hindu devotion, Catholic rosary, all make use of a great deal of repetition. Frequently physical devices such as beads or wheels are used to count repetitions. How do we better characterise this? In the Rosary, the Hail Mary is split into two parts: a call and a response. Is this common? Do repeated units always display stylised prosody? How synchronous are any given pair of individuals?
- Call and response: ritualised forms of collective prayer often make use of distinct roles of call and response. The caller is often a priest or other figure of domain-relative authority. How does this structure allow the expression of collective beliefs? Is there a difference in the belief supported by this structure, and that expressed by mere collective speech?
- Ritual and rite: The formalisation of collective speech in rituals and rites allows the collective expression of complex beliefs. How is this related to less formalized expressions, and can we identify a continuum between the spontaneous chanting of protesters and the ritualised chanting of devotees?
- Is there a taxonomy of prayer? Of prayer forms?
- What is the relation between the joint speech of praying and the space in which such activity is conducted? Is the reverberation frequently found in spaces of worship an effective way of inducing a sense of transcendence?
- Can we provide a phenomenology of prayer and praying that makes sense to one not part of the religious tradition in which it arises?
- Can anyone contribute archival recordings of practices of collective praying?
Protest
- Repetition, call-and-response, prosodic stylisation: all these features are found in both prayer and protest. What are the commonalities and what are the differences across the domains?
- How does the takbir (the collective cry of Allahu Akbar) work in different situations and for different populations? Are there Sunni-Shia differences in its application? Are prosodic features indicative of stress levels, group cohesion, collective intentions? Why is it so ubiquitous? Do individual shouts differ in intent and effect from collective shouts?
- If collective chanting breaks out in the midst of a large crowd, can one predict the likelihood of violence in that area, compared with others? Is it more or less likely to result in violence?
- How do specific prosodic forms spread and become adapted for diverse purposes? Can we track the dissemination, evolution, and variation of specific forms?
- How do protest chants differ by geographic region, language, and political system? Much can be done by YouTube diving here.
Secular Uses of Collective Speech
- Many secular uses of collective speech are similar to religious uses. Joint speech is used to swear oaths of allegiance and fidelity. Much like religious rituals, secular rituals associated with granting citizenship are often structured around collective speech.
- What are the similarities and differences we can identify here between the secular and religious uses of collective speech?
Sports Chants and Collective Identity
- In sports, chants play many roles. Some structural features, such as repetition and the inclusion of specific body movements, are common to protest and prayer. Call and repetition seem to be less common (counter examples?).
- What structural features are unique to sports chants?
- What roles do chants play in different sports, different venues, different forms of gathering?
- How is collective identity supported, maintained, or even created through chant?
Educational Applications
- Unison speaking is used for diverse educational purposes. What are they? They include memorisation (learning multiplication tables seems to be particularly common), pronunciation training in second languages, performances for parents or other figures of authority.
- Are there more uses?
- Are the uses that are common effective? This does not seem to have been studied in any systematic fashion.
Feel free to contact me to discuss any of the above, or any other form of joint speech found in the wild.