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Persuasive Discourse Strategies Used by Mothers at Dinner Time to Persuade Children to Eat

Received: 29 November 2013    Accepted:     Published: 10 January 2014
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Abstract

This study examines the persuasive strategies used by Mothers in persuading children to eat during dinner time in Zimbabwe. Family interaction during dinner time both reflects and recreates the interaction of the larger society and as such, examining family persuasive discourse can yield informative results of the language practices people use to accomplish persuasive acts in other contexts. To collect data for the study the researcher observed ten Mothers of Grade One students at Avondale Primary School persuading their children to eat during dinner time and interviewed the Mothers after the observations. The results showed that the Mothers use different persuasive strategies to make their children eat dinner hence the need for them to strategically shape their communicative actions to achieve their overall discourse of persuading children to eat.

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 1, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijll.20130104.24
Page(s) 191-198
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Discourse Analysis, Persuasive Strategies, Dinner Time

References
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[4] Burgoon, M.1995.Language expectancy theory. In C, R Berger and M.Burgoon (Eds).Communication and social influence processes. (pp.29-51).East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.
[5] Cacioppo, J.T, Harkins, S.G and Petty, R.E.1981.The nature of attitudes and cognitive responses and their relationship to behavior. In R.E Petty, T.M Ostrom and T.C Brock (Eds).Cognitive Responses in Persuasion. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.34-54.
[6] Campbell, K and Crawford, D.2001.Family Food Environments as Determinants of Preschool-Aged Children’s Eating Behaviors: Implications for Obesity Prevention Policy –A Review. Australian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetrics, 58, 1:77-94.
[7] Charles, N and Kerr, M.1988.Women, Food and Families.Manchester: Manchester University Press.
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[9] De Vault, M.L.1991.Feeding the family: The social organization of caring as gendered work. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
[10] Fairclough, N.2001.The discourse of new Labour: Critical discourse analysis. In M, Wetherell, S.Taylor and S.J Yates (Eds.), Discourse as data. (pp 229-266)London: Sage.
[11] Gass R and Seiter J.1999.Persuasion, social influence and compliance gaining.Needham Height, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
[12] Gleason, J.B.1987.Sex differences in parent-child interaction. In S.Philips, S.Steel and C.Tanz (Eds).Language, gender and sex in comparative perspective. (pp 189-199) .Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[13] Gordon, C.2002.I is Mommy and you’re Natalie: Role-reversal and embedded frames in mother-child discourse. Language in Society.21.679-720.
[14] Holmes, J.1997.Women.language and identity, Journal of Sociolinguistics, 1,195-223
[15] Koivisto, U.K, Fellenius J, Sjoden P.O.1994.Relations between parental mealtime practices and children’s food intake.Appetite.22.245-247.
[16] Lakoff, R.1975.Language and Women’s Place. New York: Harper and Row.
[17] Lakoff.R.1982.Persuasive discourse and ordinary conversation, with examples from advertising. In Deborah Tannen, (Eds).Analyzing discourse: Text and Talk.Georgetown.Georgetown University Press
[18] Marchi, M and Cohen, P.1990.Early Childhood eating behaviours and adolescent eating disorders. Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.29.112-117.
[19] Marinova, D.2007.Finding the right balance between connection and control: A father’s identity construction in conversations with his college-age daughter. In D.Tannen, Kendall and C Gordon (Eds), Family talk: Discourse and identity in four American families. (pp 103-120), Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
[20] Moes, D.R and Frea, W.D.2000.Using family context to inform intervention planning for the treatment of a child with autism. Journal of Positive Behaviour, 2, 40-46.
[21] Petty R.E, Cacioppo J.T and Heesacker .M.1981.The use of rhetorical questions in persuasion: A cognitive response analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4,432-440.
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  • APA Style

    Leslei Kahari. (2014). Persuasive Discourse Strategies Used by Mothers at Dinner Time to Persuade Children to Eat. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 1(4), 191-198. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20130104.24

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    ACS Style

    Leslei Kahari. Persuasive Discourse Strategies Used by Mothers at Dinner Time to Persuade Children to Eat. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2014, 1(4), 191-198. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20130104.24

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    AMA Style

    Leslei Kahari. Persuasive Discourse Strategies Used by Mothers at Dinner Time to Persuade Children to Eat. Int J Lang Linguist. 2014;1(4):191-198. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20130104.24

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijll.20130104.24,
      author = {Leslei Kahari},
      title = {Persuasive Discourse Strategies Used by Mothers at Dinner Time to Persuade Children to Eat},
      journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
      volume = {1},
      number = {4},
      pages = {191-198},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20130104.24},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20130104.24},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20130104.24},
      abstract = {This study examines the persuasive strategies used by Mothers in persuading children to eat during dinner time in Zimbabwe. Family interaction during dinner time both reflects and recreates the interaction of the larger society and as such, examining family persuasive discourse can yield informative results of the language practices people use to accomplish persuasive acts in other contexts. To collect data for the study the researcher observed ten Mothers of Grade One students at Avondale Primary School persuading their children to eat during dinner time and interviewed the Mothers after the observations. The results showed that the Mothers use different persuasive strategies to make their children eat dinner hence the need for them to strategically shape their communicative actions to achieve their overall discourse of persuading children to eat.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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    AB  - This study examines the persuasive strategies used by Mothers in persuading children to eat during dinner time in Zimbabwe. Family interaction during dinner time both reflects and recreates the interaction of the larger society and as such, examining family persuasive discourse can yield informative results of the language practices people use to accomplish persuasive acts in other contexts. To collect data for the study the researcher observed ten Mothers of Grade One students at Avondale Primary School persuading their children to eat during dinner time and interviewed the Mothers after the observations. The results showed that the Mothers use different persuasive strategies to make their children eat dinner hence the need for them to strategically shape their communicative actions to achieve their overall discourse of persuading children to eat.
    VL  - 1
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Linguistics, University of Zimbabwe, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe

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