Online Archive of University of Virginia Scholarship
Discourse in the Wedding: Interjections and Verbal Art in Zapotec Ritual Speech Genres16 views
Author
Garcia Sanchez, Bania Sinai, Anthropology - Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Virginia
Advisors
Sicoli, Mark A., Anthropology, University of Virginia
Abstract
This dissertation explores interjections and verbal art within Zapotec wedding rituals, focusing
on the role of iconicity and modality in ritual speech practices. Through the analysis of
multimodal elements, including gestures, rhythm, repetition, and prosody, it shows how
meaning, emotion, and authority are constructed during ceremonial performances. Drawing on
frameworks from linguistic anthropology, discourse analysis, and the ethnography of
communication, this study centers on ritual speech genres that include the brideprice speech, the
request-of-the-hand speech, and the wedding toast, as performed in Zapotec communities of the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Degree
PHD (Doctor of Philosophy)
Language
English
Rights
All rights reserved by the author (no additional license for public reuse)
Garcia Sanchez, Bania Sinai. Discourse in the Wedding: Interjections and Verbal Art in Zapotec Ritual Speech Genres. University of Virginia, Anthropology - Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, PHD (Doctor of Philosophy), 2025-11-30, https://doi.org/10.18130/aaph-g756.
