Dialogicality

Dialogicality refers to the quality or condition of being dialogic in communication, where meaning and voice are shaped by ongoing interaction with others. The term is associated with the philosophy of Mikhail Bakhtin and his concept of dialogism, which posits that language is inherently social and that utterances are addressed to, and responsive to, other speakers and social contexts.

A dialogical utterance contains and acknowledges other voices; it is never self-contained but open to response. Core components include addressivity (the expectation that another will respond), answerability (the obligation to answer to others), and polyphony (the presence of multiple, independent consciousnesses or viewpoints within a single text). Dialogicality highlights that utterances borrow, contest, and reinterpret prior positions, making meaning a collaborative achievement rather than a solitary act.

In literature, dialogicality is illustrated by polyphonic novels in which characters speak with distinct languages, worldviews, and ideologies; Dostoevsky’s works are often cited. In education and discourse analysis, dialogicality investigates how learning or persuasion emerges from dialogue, disagreement, and negotiation, rather than from single-author statements. The concept also informs studies of talk, rhetoric, and social interaction, emphasizing responsiveness, turn-taking, and the co-construction of sense.

Critiques note that the term can be used loosely or variably across disciplines. Nonetheless, dialogicality remains a central idea for emphasizing intersubjectivity, responsiveness, and the social situatedness of meaning in linguistics, philosophy, literary studies, and anthropology.