Filosofická Fakulta Masarykovy Univerzity
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Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Bc. et Bc. Veronika Válkyová Aspects of Conversation in a Talk Show Discourse Master’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Mgr., Jan Chovanec, Ph. D. 2015 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature I would like to express my gratitude to Mgr. Jan Chovanec Ph.D. for taking a chance on me. I would also like to thank Lenka for her never ending support and encouragement and Marika, my fellow traveler. Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 1. Description of the Methods .................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Corpora Description ...................................................................................................... 2 2. Media Discourse .................................................................................................................... 3 3. Talk Show .............................................................................................................................. 6 3.1 Talk Show vs. Television Talk ........................................................................................ 6 3.2 Historical development ................................................................................................. 7 3.3 Late Night Talk Show Format ........................................................................................ 9 3.4 Daytime Talk Show Format ......................................................................................... 10 4. Conversation Analysis and Talk Show Features .................................................................. 12 4.1 Institutional vs. Non-institutional Talk ........................................................................ 12 4.2 Spontaneous Talk ........................................................................................................ 14 4.3 Conversation vs. Talk Show Structure ......................................................................... 15 4.4 Interaction and Turn Taking ........................................................................................ 16 4.5 Expressing Intimacy and Politeness ............................................................................ 18 5. Aspects of Structural Arrangement ..................................................................................... 21 5.1 Studio Setting Description........................................................................................... 21 5.1.1 The Talk ............................................................................................................... 21 5.1.2 The Ellen DeGeneres Show ................................................................................. 22 5.1.3 Jimmy Kimmel Live! ............................................................................................. 22 5.1.4 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ............................................................ 23 5.2 Chronological Structure of the Episodes ..................................................................... 24 5.3 Content Units .............................................................................................................. 28 5.3.1 The Talk: Thomas Lennon, Elisabeth Hurley, Fall Out Boy .................................. 28 5.3.2 Ellen: cast of Glee, Ne-Yo .................................................................................... 30 5.3.3 Jimmy Kimmel Live: Barack Obama, Sean Penn .................................................. 30 5.3.4 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon:Hugh Jackman,Tiffani Thiesen,Hozier 32 5.4 Punctuation units ........................................................................................................ 33 5.4.1 Announcement .................................................................................................... 33 5.4.2 Opening Lines ...................................................................................................... 34 5.4.3 Closing ................................................................................................................. 35 5.4.4 Commercial Break ............................................................................................... 36 6. Aspects of Interaction ......................................................................................................... 38 6.1 Turn-taking (claiming, holding, yielding) ..................................................................... 38 6.2 Feedback and Interruptions ........................................................................................ 42 6.3 Scripted vs. Unscripted Questions .............................................................................. 47 6.3.1 The Talk ............................................................................................................... 47 6.3.2 Ellen Show ........................................................................................................... 48 6.3.3 Jimmy Kimmel Live! ............................................................................................. 49 6.3.4 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ............................................................ 50 7. Aspects of Intimacy and Politeness ..................................................................................... 51 7.1 Greetings ..................................................................................................................... 51 7.2 Addressing ................................................................................................................... 53 7.3 Subjective perceptions ................................................................................................ 55 7.4 Private Life Stories....................................................................................................... 55 8. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 59 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 63 Primary Sources ...................................................................................................................... 63 Secondary Sources .................................................................................................................. 64 Resumé in English ....................................................................................................................... 69 Resumé in Czech ......................................................................................................................... 70 Appendix 1: ................................................................................................................................. 71 Transcription signs (Tolson, 2006) .......................................................................................... 71 Appendix 2: ................................................................................................................................. 72 Ellen Show ............................................................................................................................... 72 Jimmy Kimmel Live! ................................................................................................................ 79 The Talk ................................................................................................................................... 91 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ................................................................................ 96 Introduction The advanced level of technological innovativeness and constant progression in the field of information technology has been the intermediary for an unstoppable advancement in the media communication possibilities. Language of the media has been developing hand in hand with the technology itself. Despite the fact that this broadcast evolution started with audio transmitting, video enhancement was not far behind. In all likelihood no one could have anticipated the enormous popularity and exploitation the video broadcast would have. Audio and video is no longer brought to audiences in their inceptive form. The worldwide usage of internet, television, radio, computer and mobile phone, all of these gadgets represent fast growing and developing industries which have set the ground for the creation of a variety of new genres within the discourse of broadcast media. One of them is the discourse of television talk show. Over the years the concept of talk show has not been invariant. Its structure and rules have acknowledged the society and changing environment. People not only grew more interested in this format but also more invested in its content. The thesis aspires to look through selection of contemporary talk shows in North America. The aim is to investigate the conversational aspects of talk show speech as well as examine the tendencies and preferences towards spontaneous and more intimate approach to talk show communication. Accordingly, the thesis concentrates on selected American talk shows currently broadcasted. 1 1. Description of the Methods