Abstract

This study aims to analyze the types of responses to impolite speech and to show how the hearer’s response determines the subsequent direction of the discourse. It raises the question as to why the hearer’s role has been regarded as fixed by existing research focusing on the behavior of the speaker. Modern Family, an American sitcom is used as the discourse analysis data. The show features people of different races and age groups and focuses on diverse family relationships such as multicultural families, same-sex couples, families with adopted children, and blended families. For this study, we attempted to analyze impolite discourse using the H-Intentions mechanism presented by Bach & Harnish (1979). Hearer’s responses to impolite speech were classified into four types for active responses: confrontation, request for an apology, request for correction, and retort. Six groups were identified for passive responses: showing-off, avoidance of the situation, explanation, de-escalation, euphemism, and silence. This study contributes to break away from the framework of speaker-oriented discourse analysis of impolite speech by examining the response type of the hearer.

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