American Soap Operas Research Articles

Face Value in Conversational Closings: Insights from Desperate Housewives

This study investigates face value in conversational closings in American soap opera Desperate Housewives. Using qualitative method combined with quantitative method, we collected altogether 52 scripted conversation excerpts among the five leading characters and analyzed them within the thoeretical framework of face and politeness theory (Brown & Levinson, 1987). Analyses of the scripted conversations showed that conversational closings in Desperate Housewives consist of three main patterns, closing, pre-closing (+insertion) + closing (+after-close), and leave-taking. Most pre-closing and closing strategies involve face consideration, with the most frequently used ones being “giving reasons”, “mentioning a future relationship”, “discourse markers”, and “apology for leaving”. These strategies are deployed to save either the positive face or the negative face of the other party. Some conversations end with one party’s walking away due to anger or pique, consequently threatening the other’s face, but it occurs in irregular situations for dramatic effects. The findings suggest that closing a conversation can threaten both the positive face and negative face of the other party, and that in doing so, even familiar people or friends are concerned about interlocutors’ “face” or “face-saving” by deploying some strategies.This study contributes to both the conversational closings study and face and politeness study.

If that’s what she said, then that’s what she said: a usage-based, constructional analysis of pleonastic conditionals in English

This paper investigates so-called pleonastic conditionals (PCs) in Present Day English, e.g. If you have to, you have to or When duty calls, duty calls. PCs are rhetorical statements in which the antecedent and the consequent are formally and semantically identical. The construction is characterized by stylistic reduplication and semantic redundancy. It is exactly this tautological nature which has a considerable effect on the discourse-pragmatic functions of the construction. The paper analyzes the construction’s frequency, form and functions by looking at data from three BYU corpora: the Movie Corpus (Davies, 2019), the TV Corpus (Davies, 2019), the Corpus of American Soap Operas (Davies, 2011). 2151 examples of if- and when-PCs are analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. It is argued that PCs are functionally too different to be classified as default conditionals in the strict sense simply because they do not express a condition or inference. PCs are constructions used to express acceptance, indifference or certainty of the proposition. On top of that, they also code prototypicality which is a function completely overlooked in the literature so far. A Logistic Regression Model is fitted to predict the choice of the connector if or when. The statistical analysis confirms that the two types have different constructional profiles. With regards to theoretical modeling, the paper analyzes PCs from a usage-based, cognitive, construction grammar point of view and sketches the constructions’ form-meaning parings as well as their horizontal and vertical connections in the constructicon.

Reading O’Neill Creatively: Perspectives and Offerings

Reading O’Neill Creatively: Perspectives and Offerings

Soap opera viewing in a communal context

This paper presents some of the findings of an ethnographic audience study of the soapopera viewing patterns and interpretations of Zulu-speaking students living in residencesat a South African university (Natal University’s Durban campus) who watch The Boldand the Beautiful (an American soap opera) and Generations (a South African soapopera). Although the research undertaken covered various aspects of the soap operaviewing experience and the consumption of an international vs a local soap opera, thispaper will focus specifically on the nature of the viewing process and the ways in whichthe respondents relate to both soap operas, and it touches briefly on how the viewingpatterns of the students and their motivations for watching compare with audiencestudies conducted elsewhere in the world.

So Grown Stale? On Intensifying and Emphasizing Uses of Preverbal so in Present-Day American English

The present study addresses the question of whether preverbal so, also known as “GenX so,” which can be used as an intensifier and as an emphasizer, is going out of fashion as a means of emphasis in present-day American English as demonstrated in scripted soap operas. The results are based on 1,357 tokens of preverbal so extracted from Mark Davies’s Corpus of American Soap Operas (2011–). These tokens create both real- and apparent-time scenarios to detect potential differences in the use of preverbal so for younger and older, woman and man characters. The data suggest the following trend: between 2001 and 2012, so with emphatic do and perfects is on its way out, while all other uses of preverbal so (e.g., so with simple forms or progressives) are still associated with the speech of female characters in general or with younger woman characters in particular (so with future going to). If TV data reflects the intensifier’s use in natural speech, preverbal so can be taken to have grown stale in some contexts.

Features of orality in the language of fiction: A corpus-based investigation

This paper explores the pervasiveness of features of orality in the language of performed fiction. Features of orality are typical of spontaneous spoken conversations where they are the result of the ongoing planning process and the interaction between the interlocutors, but they also occur in the context of performed fiction (movies and plays) and in narrative fiction (e.g. novels). In these contexts, they are not the result of the spontaneous planning process but are generally produced to imitate such processes. In this paper, I explore a small range of such features (contractions, interjections, discourse markers, response forms and hesitators) in four corpora of performed fiction that have recently become available ( Corpus of American Soap Operas, TV Corpus, Movies Corpus and Sydney Corpus of Television Dialogue) and compare their frequency patterns with spontaneous face-to-face conversations in the Santa Barbara Corpus of Spoken American English and with narrative fiction and academic writing in the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). The results confirm that the selected features of orality are used regularly in performed fiction but less frequently than in spontaneous face-to-face interactions while they are rare in narrative fiction and almost entirely absent in academic writing. The results also show that the status of the transcriptions contained in these corpora needs to be assessed very carefully if they are to be used for a study of pragmatic features.

On nonce echo constructions expressing disapproval and annoyance

Abstract The aim of this paper is to explore and contrast the morphosyntactic and semantic features of two equivalent nonce echo constructions (NECs) expressing disapproval and annoyance (i.e. don’t (you) X me and ni X ni Y) in colloquial English and Spanish. A NEC is defined as a reactive clause containing duplicated words of the initiative, showing the property of nonceness, and having a communicative goal. Two types of NECs are found in both languages: an attitudinal echo construction and a referential one, the former being more idiomatic than the latter. Based on the premise that texts are necessarily dialogic, two sets of examples are obtained from English corpora (The Movie Corpus, The TV Corpus, and the Corpus of American Soap Operas); and from two Spanish corpora and a dataset (CREA, CORPES XXI, and the Dataset of Spanish Dialogic Texts Online). Findings suggest that both languages show negative and restricted syntactic templates. Variables are coinages that originate from the processes of conversion in English (e.g. don’t you John me) and gender polarity in Spanish (e.g. ni luna ni *luno). Hence, although both types of variables are morphologically novel and contextually meaningful, Spanish variables are generally ungrammatical and unlikely to exist outside the discursive frame under study.

“He should so be in jail”: An Empirical Study on Preverbal So in American English

This paper explores the use of so-called GenX so as a modifier of verb phrases, as exemplified in “He should so be in jail” (SOAP, DAYS, 2005). Drawing on over 1350 relevant tokens retrieved from the Corpus of American Soap Operas (SOAP) (Davies 2011-, 100 million words from 2001-2012), the main purpose of the present study is to provide robust empirical evidence for various findings yielded by small-scale studies and by introspection. The results corroborate some of the previous findings, while others, particularly those based on introspection, are challenged in light of empirical (counter)evidence. The data show that preverbal so is very flexible in that it can occur in various syntactic slots and with a large number of different verbs (wide collocational range) and with different kinds of verbs (full, modal, auxiliary). In a large data set (such as that from SOAP), GenX so is even attested in questions, before auxiliaries in affirmative uses, and after the negator not. Moreover, preverbal so is expanding its functional range from intensification to emphasis.

‘Don’t you ma’am me!’

The cognitive construction grammar (CCxG) approach can be used to examine the correlation between a constructional schema (CS) and an illocutionary force, in spoken discourse. This study aims to explore the construction [D(Y)[X]viM]j as in “Don’t you ma’am me” in the expression of disapproval or reprimand through the CxG-based examination of data obtained from three corpora: The Movie Corpus (TMC), The TV Corpus (TTVC) and the Corpus of American Soap Operas (CASO). Five constructional schemas (CS-0 to CS-4) have been identified, and they pertain to a network of constructions in which low-level CSs are more unambiguous and productive than high-level ones. Although constant elements of such constructions contribute to a more solid correlation of form and meaning, the variable (verb) undergoes a process of functional shift to guarantee the formulaic constituency of these constructions and the expression of disapproval in a given communicative situation. A distinctive feature of the converted verb is its connection (or anchoring) to the preceding move, which can be either semantic or morphological (or echoic), the latter being, on some occasions, detached from the original meaning of the verb.

“Holding Grudges Is So Last Century”: The Use of GenXSoas a Modifier of Noun Phrases

This article focuses on the X is so NP-construction in American English, as exemplified by “Holding grudges is so last century” (SOAP, As the World Turns, 2002). Drawing on the Corpus of American Soap Operas (Davies 2011-), the aim of this study is to provide an account of the distributional pattern of noun phrase modification with so, including preferences in modified noun phrase (NP) types and concomitant differences in the meaning of so. The analyses reveal that, in line with subjectification theory on intensification (Athanasiadou 2007), so is expanding its functional range from intensification to emphasis. The findings suggest a near-complementary distribution of these meanings, with intensifying so (‘very’) dominating in affirmative sentences (especially with object pronouns and names; “It’s so Star Trek”; SOAP, Days of Our Lives, 2004), and emphatic so (‘definitely’) in negated utterances (especially with pre-modified NPs, such as “It is so not a date”; SOAP, One Life to Live, 2007). Furthermore, intensifying uses of so are restricted to NPs that exhibit adjective-like characteristics and invite metonymic referencing (Gonzálvez-García 2014). So is attested almost exclusively with the copula be, which might hint at restrictions at work in this construction. With respect to the distribution of GenX so across the character groups, the scriptwriters attributed most utterances to (younger) women, in terms of both token frequency and dispersion within the group. This paper shows that the observations pertaining to language variation and change made for adjective intensification (“ so good”) also apply to NP intensification (“ so 2020”).

FEATURES AND LANGUAGE REPRESENTATION OF THE LINGUOCULTURAL TYPE «MODERN AMERICAN WOMAN»

The article is dedicated to the analysis of the American as a new realia in the conceptual sphere of modern Ukrainian society. This is actively formed in the linguistic world image of all nations with the help of the media; therefore, the study of the characteristics of its creation and the stereotypes underlying this process is an important task for linguists.The authors analyze the phenomenon of linguocultural type and look at the approaches to it’s definition, the classification of types and lay emphasis at the modelling of types. On the basis of the algorithm of modelling introduced by O. Dmitrieva, the authors analyze the perceptual-imaginative and value characteristics of the “modern American woman”, which are formed in the perception of Ukrainians. As the mass media is one of the most powerful means of forming our conceptual reality, the research is made with the help of the investigation of modern American media materials as well as the opinion poll of the Ukrainians. The results show that the perceptive-imaginative and value characteristics of the linguistic-cultural concept of American are quite similar in both respondents' answers and media materials, but they also have some slight differences. The results have been proven with the help of the corpus analysis based on the Corpus of American Soap Operas. Summarizing the of modern American, we can say that she is a very attractive middle-aged woman who wants to succeed in her career and hobbies, and in her personal life. She is an independent strong woman who knows what she wants and is ready to achieve it. Her career and self-realization is often more important than other spheres of her life.

Revisiting you know and I mean: some notes on the functions of the two pragmatic markers in contemporary spoken American English

This article presents a corpus-based study of the pragmatic markers you know and I mean in contemporary spoken American English. Previous research indicates that you know and I mean are polysemous in their discourse roles, serving various functions in speech. By drawing on tokens extracted from the Corpus of Contemporary American English, the Corpus of American Soap Operas and the Corpus of Spoken, Professional American English, which include data from text types differing on the scales of formality and spontaneity, the main aims are 1) to compare the use of these two pragmatic markers and 2) to explore whether and how their behavior differs in three text types: TV and radio programs, soap operas, and White House press conferences and faculty/committee meetings. The results demonstrate that, despite overlapping in some of their functions, you know and I mean cannot be used interchangeably in discourse. Additionally, the functions of the two pragmatic markers vary significantly depending on the corpora, which is due to the particular characteristics of the speech situations in which they are used.

Gender Roles, Family Models and Community-Building Processes in Poblenou A Comparative Analysis of American, British and Catalan Soap Operas

This article explores connections between construction of gender roles, family models and community-building processes in soap opera narratives. The underlying research hypothesis maintains that construction of gender roles and family models in soap operas influences values around which a sense of community is constructed. Using textual analysis as methodology and an intercultural approach, this study compares and contrasts British and American soap operas. This approach allows to set out two contrasting models and investigate whether and to what extent Catalan soap operas adhere to one of them by proposing an original analysis of selected characters and storylines from a corpus of Catalan drama serials. This article also queries in which ways Catalonia’s situation as a stateless nation influences a sense of community construction in Catalan soap operas.

Gender Roles, Family Models and Community-Building Processes in Poblenou A Comparative Analysis of American, British and Catalan Soap Operas

This article explores connections between construction of gender roles, family models and community-building processes in soap opera narratives. The underlying research hypothesis maintains that construction of gender roles and family models in soap operas influences values around which a sense of community is constructed. Using textual analysis as methodology and an intercultural approach, this study compares and contrasts British and American soap operas. This approach allows to set out two contrasting models and investigate whether and to what extent Catalan soap operas adhere to one of them by proposing an original analysis of selected characters and storylines from a corpus of Catalan drama serials. This article also queries in which ways Catalonia’s situation as a stateless nation influences a sense of community construction in Catalan soap operas.

Last Word

Last Word

‘You’re absolutely welcome, thanks for the ear’: The use of <i>absolutely</i> in American soap operas

The aim of the paper is to discuss the syntax and uses of absolutely in recent American soap operas. It is shown that absolutely can be used both as an intensifier and with an emphasising meaning where it has scope over the entire clause. Absolutely was also found as a stand-alone marker with the function to respond to yes–no questions and to speech acts such as requests and thanking.

“Don't Cry because it's Over, Smile because it Was:” American Soap Operas and Convergence Culture

This essay focuses on the struggles of the soap opera, a foundational television genre, as emblematic of the American television industry's struggles to maintain its once dominant role in media culture in the wake of technological and social changes associated with convergence culture. The soap opera has played a central role in defining the television industry, yet the 2012 cancelations of long-running broadcast soaps All My Children and One Life to Live as well as the beleaguered attempt to transplant these soaps into an online-only platform seems to suggest the industry has labeled soaps as outdated casualties of convergence that must be sacrificed in order to align television with its “new” future. However, such a view ignores the role the soap opera has played throughout the social and technological transitions that have shaped television culture. By looking closely at industry discourses surrounding the American soap opera from its inception to the contemporary moment of crisis, this essay advocates for a historical approach to convergence. That is, rather than seeing convergence as a property of the contemporary digital age, a move evident in industry discourses on television culture, this essay explores the importance of understanding how “new” media forms collide with, rather than replace, the “old” within convergence culture.

Passive Voice in American Soap Opera Dialogue

This study makes use of a large amount of 21st-century corpus material in order to examine a number of differences between the be-passive and the get-passive in contemporary American English. Previous studies on 20th-century material have indicated a decline in the use of the more frequent and more formal be-passive and an increase in the frequency of the rarer get-passive, especially in written American English. The present study is based on the Corpus of American Soap Operas; this corpus may be seen as an attempt at representing spoken language, which makes it a new departure point for the study of passive voice in English. Frequencies for the two constructions are tracked across the first decade of the century, and the number of true passives is estimated based on manually examined subsets. The differences between central be- and get-passives are discussed in terms of semantic preferences, colloquialization, and stylistic prescriptivism. Since prescriptive influence is assumed to be a factor in the use of passive voice, other indicators of prescriptivism (relativizer which, pied-piping of wh-relativizers) are also examined.

Corpus-based Analysis of Swearwords in American Soap Operas

Swearwords are common in every language and the English language is not an exception. Although some swearwords still remain taboo in authentic materials such as movies and soap operas depending on viewer ratings, many of them are commonly used in everyday conversations. The present research aimed at examining how swearwords are used in the American soap operas and suggesting that EFL educators should teach their learners the pragmatic values of swearwords, degree and nuances of swearwords, and alternative words and phrases substituting swearwords. Twelve target swearwords- fuck, hell, ass, damn, bitch, shit, penis (vagina, and other genitals), crap, screw, suck, piss, and bloody-were investigated in the Corpus of American Soap Operas (SOAP) with 100 million words complied from ten popular American soap operas from 2001 to 2012. The corpus-based analysis revealed relatively strong swearwords-fuck, shit, and vagina-were not detected at all in the corpus and instead, out of the 12 target swearwords, hell topped the swearword list, followed by damn, bitch, screw, crap, ass, bloody, suck, piss, and penis. Compared with the spoken sections of both BNC and COCA, the target swearwords except fuck, shit, vagina, penis, crap, piss, and bloody occurred more frequently in SOAP than its counterparts.

The Moderating Role of Social Norms on the Effects of Product Placement in Television Fiction: A Field Study in Brazil

This research investigates the role played by normative influences that surround the consumption of TV series on the effect of product placements. In line with the Theory of Reasoned Action, we posit that perceptions of TV programs’ influence on others moderate the relationship between positive brand attitudes and consumers’ intentions to buy brands linked to the program through product placement. Data collected from Brazilian women show that social norms related to novelas, Latin American soap operas, indeed moderate the impact of a brand placed therein.