Abstract
This paper explores how attention to the talk of television viewers might provide a methodological addition to tools used for exploring language ideologies and the nexus between action, structure, and meaning. My empirical focus is the talk of a group of Indonesians who, while watching an Indonesian soap opera, engage in discussions about the meanings of an unfamiliar word. In addition to adding further support to discussions about the multiple, situated, and active construction of meaning, I show how the social domain of one meaning widens over interactional time while also showing how contestations over the meanings of this word provide insights into these participants' ideologies about sign usage and users.
© 2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/New York
