A Study of Speech Acts in Chinese Series “都挺好 (All is well)” DOI:

Abstract

Background and Aim: The purposes of this research were to analyze direct and indirect speech acts in the dialogues of the character “Su Mingyu” from the Chinese series “都挺好 (All is Well)” within Chinese sociocultural contexts, applying Searle's (1969, 1979) conceptual framework. The study aims to understand how speech acts function within Chinese cultural contexts and highlight the importance of pragmatic competence in Chinese language teaching. This study fills in a big gap in the current literature by focusing on the practical problems and teaching methods that Thai students face. Thai students often have trouble because their culture has different rules about how to be direct and polite in communication.

Materials and Methods: This qualitative study collected data from dialogues in episodes 37-46 of the Chinese series “都挺好 (All is Well)”, which were identified as the most popular episodes according to www.baidu.com rankings in 2019. The research employed content analysis methodology to examine the speech acts in Su Mingyu's dialogues. The data were analyzed and categorized based on Searle's speech act theory and presented using frequency and percentage calculations to identify patterns in speech act usage.

Results: The findings revealed that Su Mingyu predominantly employed direct speech acts in 321 instances (67.15%), while indirect speech acts appeared in 157 instances (32.84%). Among direct speech acts, Representatives were the most common type, followed by Directives and Expressives. In general, emotionally delicate situations or those requiring face-saving techniques call for the use of indirect speech acts. Chinese cultural values, such as a significant value on harmony and interpersonal relationships in communication, show up in these speech act patterns.

Conclusion: The research shows the significance it is to teaching Chinese in a way that assists learners in developing pragmatic competence so they can communicate correctly in different cultural settings and avoid misunderstandings when talking to people from other cultures. A study of Su Mingyu's speech patterns shows how Chinese speakers use cultural norms to decide when to be direct and when to be indirect, especially when they need to protect their faces or are feeling sensitive. By including cultural pragmatics in their teaching methods, teachers can greatly improve their Chinese language lessons by understanding these complex patterns. The paper provides teacher and curriculum designers with practical examples of how to implement these concepts in the classroom.