scholarly journals Sarcastic Expressions and the Influence of Social Distance and Relative Power in The TV Series Friends

Lexicon ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaula Noorhayu Shelldyriani ◽  
Aris Munandar

This research aims to identify and classify the sarcastic expressions found in the TV Series Friends. It applies the theory proposed by Camp (2011) which categorized sarcasm into four classes: Propositional, Lexical, Like-Prefixed, and Illocutionary Sarcasm. Considering sarcasm as a Face Threatening Act (FTA), it also analyzes the influence of relative power and social distance to see how these two social variables influence the delivery of sarcastic expressions. The findings show that Illocutionary Sarcasm is the most frequently used class of sarcasm with 30 utterances (45%) followed by Propositional Sarcasm which consists of 25 utterances (37%), Lexical Sarcasm with 10 utterances (15%) and lastly Like-Prefixed Sarcasm that have 2 utterances (3%). With Illocutionary and Propositional Sarcasm are known to be the most straightforward class of sarcasm, the results also show that these two classes of sarcasm are mainly used when the social distance (D) is negative where the interlocutors does not have the obligation to be polite due to their close intimacy. In cases where the social distance has positive value, the value of power (P) helps to determine which class of sarcasm is used. Furthermore, a clear context and common ground is essential to help identify sarcastic expressions and the intention underlying it.

Lexicon ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yemima Febriani ◽  
Sharifah Hanidar

This research aims to analyze the request strategies used in an American TV Series entitled Full House season 7 episodes 1-12. The main characters are family members from three different age groups (adult, teenager, and children). This research attempts to see if there is any difference on the choice of request strategies used by the three age groups. Blum-Kulka and Olshtain’s (1984) theory on request directness level is used to classify the requests. Relative power and social distance are also studied to see how they influence the characters in making their requests. The results show that mood derivable is the most frequent strategy used by all age groups. Specifically, direct request is highly used by the adult age groups. On the other hand, indirect request is mostly used by the younger age groups. The results also show that all age groups tend to use direct strategy when the social distance is negative. However, when the social distance is positive, the choice of strategy depends on the authority of the speaker.


Author(s):  
Jung-ran Park

This chapter examines the way online language users enhance social interaction and group collaboration through the computer mediated communication (CMC) channel. For this, discourse analysis based on the linguistic politeness theoretical framework is applied to the transcripts of a real time online chat. Analysis of the data shows that online participants employ a variety of creative devices to signal nonverbal communication cues that serve to build interpersonal solidarity and rapport, as well as by seeking common ground and by expressing agreement online participants increase mutual understanding and harmonious social interaction. This sets the tone of positive interpersonal relationships and decreases the social distance among participants. In turn, this engenders solidarity and proximity, which enhances social interaction through the CMC channel.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-73
Author(s):  
María C. Sampedro Mella

In this article we present the results of a contrastive analysis about the politeness strategies used in the expression of petitions in Castilian Spanish and European Portuguese. By using the DCT methodology, we have designed a questionnaire with petitions of different cost-benefit for the conversational partner and with variations relative to power and the social distance that exists between the participants. Once the data was gathered, we did a triple study about the differences in the expression of petitions: 1) between Spanish and Portuguese, 2) from the rank of imposition of the object and the petition, and 3) according to the social distance and the relative power of the participants. The results show that, although using different linguistic and politeness strategies, the expression of petitions is similar between Spanish and Portuguese speakers, although the latter take the social distance and the relative power of the hearer more into account than the Spanish speakers at the moment of choosing politeness forms.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hessah Al-Ageel

<p>This study aims to investigate Saudi Pidgin Arabic (SPA) as one of the linguistic varieties that has emerged as a result of the interaction between Saudis and Asian workers. Linguistic and sociolinguistic analysis has been conducted for requestive expressions made by two generations of Saudi female speakers to female Asian workers in the cafeteria of a governmental institute in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The study shows that the use of SPA is largely limited to the simplest forms of verb and noun phrases that are used in Najdi Arabic (the variety that is used in the middle region of Arabian Peninsula), the lexifier language of SPA. The impact of English on the younger generation is shown by the tendency of younger participants to employ English expressions. A sociolinguistic analysis also shows the impact of the social variables of power, status, social distance and the age of the requester.    </p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 212
Author(s):  
. Meliyawati ◽  
Fahrus Zaman Fadhly

This study aims to investigate the realizations of requestive strategies used by Indonesian EFL learners. The respondents are 25 of junior students of the Department of English Education in the University of Kuningan. The data were collected through Discourse Completion Test (DCT) and interview. The collected data were analyzed by using the requestive strategies theory by Blum-Kulka, House, and Kasper (1989). The query preparatory is the most term of requestive strategy type used by Indonesian EFL learners in Department of English Education in some different situations on DCT (64.8%). Second is mild hints with 13.6%, third is mood derivable with 10.4%, forth is obligation statement with 7.5%, fifth is want statement with 2.4%, sixth is suggestory formulae with 1.1%, seventh is hedge performative with 0.3% and the last are performative and strong hints with nothings. The respondents incline used requestive strategies which is avoid conflict or threatening to the hearer. The study reveals that the social variables such as power, social distance and ranking of imposition really affect toward the realization of requestive strategies used by Indonesian EFL learners.Keywords: Requestive strategy, Indonesian EFL learners, Discourse Completion Test.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Gotzner ◽  
Diana Mazzarella

Negated gradable adjectives often convey an interpretation that is stronger than their literal meaning, which is referred to as ‘negative strengthening.’ For example, a sentence like ‘John is not kind’ may give rise to the inference that John is rather mean. Crucially, negation is more likely to be pragmatically strengthened in the case of positive adjectives (‘not kind’ to mean rather mean) than negative adjectives (‘not mean’ to mean rather kind). A classical explanation of this polarity asymmetry is based on politeness, specifically on the potential face threat of bare negative adjectives (Horn, 1989; Brown and Levinson, 1987). This paper presents the results of two experiments investigating the role of face management in negative strengthening. We show that negative strengthening of positive and negative adjectives interacts differently with the social variables of power, social distance, and gender.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Gotzner ◽  
Diana Mazzarella

Negated gradable adjectives often convey an interpretation that is stronger than their literal meaning, which is referred to as ‘negative strengthening’. For example, a sentence like ‘John is not kind’ may give rise to the inference that John is rather mean. Crucially, negation is more likely to be pragmatically strengthened in the case of positive adjectives (‘not kind’ to mean rather mean) than negative adjectives (‘not mean’ to mean rather kind). A classical explanation of this polarity asymmetry is based on politeness, specifically on the potential face threat of bare negative adjectives (Horn, 1989, Brown &amp; Levinson, 1987). This paper presents the results of two experiments investigating the role of face management in negative strengthening. We show that negative strengthening of positive and negative adjectives interacts differently with the social variables of power, social distance, and gender.


2020 ◽  
pp. 13-40
Author(s):  
Lina Laith Younus

     Language has a valuable role in shaping the type of relationships between arguers. The use of language is like double-edged sword in the hand of fathers to shape their type of relationship with their sons. Father-son argumentation could be the real source of increasing a social distance and building barriers between them. The current paper aims at answering the questions whether the social distance between fathers and sons have changed between the past and present? And have old fathers been changed to share their sons’ common ground and wants?      The great difference between the old and present fathers is examined in the two novels characterized by a father-son relationship theme namely; “East of Eden” 1952 by John Stainbeck and “The Road” 2006 by Corman McCarthy. The researcher aims at shedding light on the type of relationship between old and present fathers with their sons reflected on their argumentation, how they care about each other face and how much they achieve the audience demand in their argumentation by applying Penelope Brown and Stephen C. Levinson (1978) theory of politeness.     It is founded that present fathers have more positive choices in their argumentative politeness strategies whereas old fathers go bald on record by their use of continuous orders, criticism and sometimes insult. Finally, it is concluded that the more audience demand is fulfilled, the less father-son social distance will take place.


2002 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Sanchez Roura

This paper treats the rhetorical strategy of securing the addressee’s goodwill, also known as captatio benevolentiae. Following the postulation in Brown and Levinson (1987), I examine its possible pragmatic properties and effect, and its politeness value in the face wants of the addressees, taking into consideration the social distance and relative power of the correspondents. Captatio benevolentiae passages have been selected from the Cely Letters on the basis of their rhetorical properties, their intended use and also their position in the letter; captatio benevolentiae occurs not only at the beginning of the letter, as was traditionally dictated in the original ars dictaminis manuals, but also throughout the body of the text.


JURNAL BASIS ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Anda Damayanti ◽  
Zia Hisni Mubarak

Politeness can be said to be very sensitive interpersonal act carried out by someone in the form of a threat of the acting politely or not. Positive politeness influence greatly influence the attitudes and behaviors carried out by someone. Attitudes and behaviors in positive politeness are reflection of a person’s character to be good or not to others. The aimed of this research is to give an example in order to prioritize using positive politeness when speaking in any situation, including talk shows. The data were taken from the utterances in every conversation that Oprah Winfrey said with her guests. Conversation data is transcribed into written data. And analyzed qualitatively based on conversations between Oprah Winfrey and her guests Michelle Obama in Oprah’s 2020 Vision Tour Talk Show. The positive politeness strategy aims to minimize the distance between Oprah Winfrey and her guests which is expected to create a sense of comfort when talking on the talk show. There are 8 strategies found in this data that categorized as positive politeness, they are: Exaggerate (interest, approval, sympathy with hearer), intensify interest to the hearer, seek agreement (to find and try to approval by the opponent said), avoid disagreement, presuppose/rise/assert common ground, joke (make a joke), be optimistic, include both the speaker and the hearer in the activity, and give (or ask for) reason. This research also founds that payoff and circumstances become factor on why the speaker use certain positive politeness strategy. Circumstances which are found in this research are relative power and social distance.


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