Through the flower: theory and practice of indirect communication

Project manager: Katharina Felka

Duration: 05.10.2023 - 04.10.2026

Funded by: FWF (Austrian Science Fund)

Third-party funded project (§§ 26-28 UG) (ongoing)

 

Project description

We often say straight out what we think and want. But sometimes we only communicate indirectly, we talk around it, obfuscate or speak through the flower. The reasons for this can be very diverse, sometimes we simply want to be polite or not hurtful and therefore do not say directly what we think and want, but merely indicate this through certain questions or hints (e.g. "Sometimes it can be difficult to balance work and private life" vs. "You don't work enough"). Sometimes, on the other hand, we only communicate indirectly because we want to make ourselves unassailable. We are very often confronted with such cases of indirect communication in political discussions, because in such discussions one often wants to serve a certain constituency, but at the same time make oneself unassailable for the problematic communicated content (cf. Trump's statement "If Mexico sends their people over, they're not sending their best. [...] And some of them, I assume, are good people." with "Most, if not all, Mexican immigrants are highly problematic"). The research project examines indirect communication in more detail. It examines which forms of indirect communication exist, what the function of indirect communication is (especially in political discourse) and whether there are expressions whose function is to convey certain content only indirectly.