TV Series (Sep 2020)
Espaces fictionnels, espaces interactionnels : approches linguistiques des séries
Abstract
Do characters in TV shows use language and interact the way people do? And is that why we like watching TV shows? This article proposes an overview of linguistic approaches to TV series, based on the central notion of space. Linguistic analyses of TV series have mostly been proposed by corpus linguistics and interactional linguistics, with a focus on three main issues: the relationship between real life and fictional discourse, the definition of characters, and the relationship between represented and interactive participants. Corpus linguistics relies on semi-automated analyses of scripts to characterize the linguistic genre of TV series dialogue. Interactional linguistics proposes theories of the interaction between the viewer and the series, which is constructed via the fictional interaction between characters.As shown by Quaglio and Bednarek, the discursive genre of TV series is more informal, more emotional, less vague, and less narrative than spontaneous conversation. The stability of a character’s language use across seasons is crucial in maintaining the stability of the fictional world. Characters’ use of language and signs mobilize the spectator’s socio-cultural expectations and interpretation frameworks so as to construct types.Several theories of the real interaction space involving the viewer and the series have been proposed. The most comprehensive one is Bubel’s model of screen-to-face interaction. It includes the notions of participation framework proposed by Goffman and Clark, Sacks and colleagues’ recipient design and Duranti’s anthropological work on the spectator’s active role. Toolan shows how the success of The Wire is paradoxically explained by its linguistic opacity, which plays with screen-to-face interaction by positioning the viewer alongside the characters who are having a hard time understanding others while spying on them.
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