Joint speech as an object of empirical inquiry

Any time multiple people utter the same words at the same time, we have an instance of “joint speech.” With this simple definition, we bring into being a rather odd and challenging object of empirical study. There is no shortage of readily available primary data that satisfies the criterion. We find examples in churches and temples, of course, but also in the secular auditoriums where oaths are sworn and allegiance is pledged. The definition also picks out the repetitive chanting of protest in which collective aspirations and passions are made manifest. To these, we have to add those tribal practices in which group identities are enacted among sports supporters (some sports more than others), and a motley variety of educational and informal practices including such trivial rituals as the singing of Happy Birthday. There is plenty of joint speech to study, and participation in such activities in some form or another appears to be ubiquitous through millennia and across the globe.