LA TÉLÉVISION, UN AUTRE CIRCUIT PRAGMATIQUE : LE CAS DU DÉBAT

Abstract

Television and, implicitly, televised debate imply specific communication: a link is
established, first, between the television and the viewer, i.e. a link with an audience that is
not physically present. Then, another link is established between the speakers inside the
television studio. This is another pragmatic circuit, since television provides us with an image
of the utterer (the television itself), an image of the addressee (the audience or the speakers
participating in the debate) and even an image of the relationship that is established in and
through the discourse. Television offers a specific vision of each debate, as it involves a
moment of confrontation between the interpretations proposed by each actor (participants
and moderator), building a dialogic and dialogical model that involves the existence of
several utterers and, at the same time, the existence of several speakers. A televised debate
is, consequently, a joint construction of the interlocutors and the conclusion of the debate
remains the responsibility of the final addressees.