English

Noun

hearership ‎(uncountable)

1. The state of being a hearer; hearers collectively; audience; listenership.
   • 1907, Nyanatiloka (Bhikkhu.), The Word of the Buddha:

     Hence also it is said : — "More than any earthly power, "More than all the joys of heaven, "More than rule o'er all the worlds," Is the fruit of 'Hearership.' [...]"

   • 1912, Hugh Sinclair, Voices of to-day:

     And, wedged in between sinner and heretic, critic and doubter, and all the motley elements of the casual hearership, are the citizens of this Zion — young people joining in the service with palpable zest; [...]

   • 1989, Derek Roger, Peter Bull, Conversation: an interdisciplinary perspective:

     Gaze is central to these processes and Goodwin (1981) has shown both that the addressee's gaze towards the speaker is central in establishing hearership and that in the normal course of a speaking turn the addressee should bring his/her [...]

   • 2003, A. Javier Treviño, Goffman's Legacy:

     Zimmerman draws attention to the other side of Goffman's concept of footing, "participation framework," which Goffman divides into addressed or unaddressed hearership and a ratified or unratified hearership.

Hyponyms

• listenership