This paper deals with the term precarity as a dynamic concept that emerges through linguistic interactions. Applying linguistic conversation analysis to everyday talk, I will show which verbal methods unemployed men use to construct their... more
This paper deals with the term precarity as a dynamic concept that emerges through linguistic interactions. Applying linguistic conversation analysis to everyday talk, I will show which verbal methods unemployed men use to construct their (stigmatised) identity in relation to a specific public place. They construct themselves 1. as communication objects without inter-pretive power and agency, 2. as restricted and involuntarily addressable in communication with the city administration and the police, with regard to the public place where they meet, and 3. as subjects equipped with agency in a (fictional) communication that is uncertain for others. Precarity here is a synonym for social uncertainty and the experience of status turbulences resulting from criteria relevant to the individual or respective social group.
