A spectrum of speech codes: review of thirty years of empirical research for methodological insights

ABSTRACT

This qualitative methodological review documents and analyzes thirty years of published empirical research using Speech Codes Theory (SCT). Ninety-four publications were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Nearly half of the studies used participant observation/ethnography, but other data such as media and non-observational methods were also utilized. Over half of the studies culminated in a speech code. Speech codes occur with various levels of abstraction although most studies are quite localized and specific. Findings highlight the need to clarify the conditions of what counts as/distinguishes a speech code as well as making explicit the interpretive moves made by scholars. This review demonstrates the utility of SCT and also provides a list of possibilities to help newer scholars interested in using SCT.

KEYWORDS:

• Speech codes theory
• language and social interaction
• ethnography of communication

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Theses and dissertations were included for a number of reasons. Theses and dissertations have more space to present the often-unpublished, step-by-step processes of data analysis and interpretation. Theses and dissertations may also better represent all the empirical SCT work without the potential biases of reviewers only publishing certain canonical (or thought-to-be canonical) ways of doing SCT.