Directives in the movie green book

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING QUY NHON UNIVERSITY ĐỖ VŨ HOÀNG TÂM DIRECTIVES IN THE MOVIE “GREEN BOOK” MASTER THESIS IN ENGLISH LINGUISTICS BINH DINH, 2020 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING QUY NHON UNIVERSITY ĐỖ VŨ HOÀNG TÂM DIRECTIVES IN THE MOVIE “GREEN BOOK” Field: English Linguistics Code: 8.22.02.01 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr NGUYỄN QUANG NGOẠN BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUY NHƠN ĐỖ VŨ HOÀNG TÂM HÀNH VI CẦU KHIẾN TRONG BỘ PHIM “GREEN BOOK” Ngành: Ngôn ngữ Anh Mã số: 8.22.02.01 Người hướng dẫn: PGS.TS NGUYỄN QUANG NGOẠN i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP The thesis is accomplished by my own work and due acknowledgement is produced whenever information is derived from other sources No part of this thesis has or is being simultaneously submitted for any other qualification at any university Quy Nhon, 2020 DO VU HOANG TAM ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to Assoc Prof Nguyen Quang Ngoan, my supervisor, who kindly provides me with appropriate direction, useful suggestions and critical comments so that I can accomplish this thesis in time Secondly, I would like to owe the completion of this thesis to all the lecturers of the Department of Foreign Languages in specific and to Quy Nhon University in general who have provided precious materials and support for me not only in English major but also in other fields of knowledge Last but not least, my big thank is credited to my family, my friends and my colleagues who have provided me a host of favorable conditions and materials during this period so that I can successfully finish the thesis iii ABSTRACT This thesis demonstrates the results of a research into structural and functional features of directives produced by the two main characters in the movie “Green Book” on the basis of prominent characteristics on each type A combination of analytic, synthetic, descriptive, and contrastive methods is employed for data analysis The theoretical framework is adapted from the those from three leading linguistics For structural features of directives, the researcher has her thesis based on theoretical framework of Ervin – Tripp (1976) Similarly, for functional features of directives, Bach and Harnish’s (1979) framework is considered as the most fundamental basis for data analysis In terms of the direct/ indirect analysis, the researcher mainly focuses on the George Yule’s (1996) basis The data source of this study is the transcript of the movie “Green Book” with 398 samples of directives selected in the conversations of the two main characters The results unfold typical structural and functional features of directives and level of frequency they are used in the movie “Green Book”, which could provide a profound insight into structures and functions of directives The results of the study are expected to contribute to the teaching and learning of speech acts in English in particular and the success of communication in English conversations in general iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF TABLES vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Research Aim and Objectives 1.2.1 Research Aim 1.2.2 Research Objectives 1.3 Research Questions 1.4 Scope of the Study 1.5 Significance of the Study 1.6 The Organization of the thesis CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 An Overview of the Speech Act theory 2.1.1 Definition of Speech Act 2.1.2 Levels of Speech Act 2.1.3 Classification of speech acts 2.2 An Overview of English directives 12 2.2.1 Structural features of English directives 12 2.2.2 Functional features of English directives 18 2.3 Indirect Speech Acts 20 2.3.1 Definition of indirect speech acts 20 75 manner, in comparison with Dr Shirley, who is apparently exerted to garner a more smooth-and-subtle way to disclose his desires, just like what a nobleoriginated artist is expected to be 4.3.2 Distribution of indirect directives uttered by Tony Lip and Dr Shirley Table 4.8 illustrates the information about the degree of indirectness showcased via the number of indirect directives uttered by Tony Lip and Dr Shirley It is easily recognizable that the single most paramountly impressive element witnessing from the data is the gigantic outnumbering quantity of indirect directives made by Dr Shirley over those produced by Tony Lip It is irrefutable that the majority of indirect directives uttered by Dr Shirley accounts for in the vicinity of 66.84% with 123 out of 184 utterances in comparison with 92 out of 214 utterances made by Tony Lip Table 4.8: Distribution of indirect directives uttered by Tony Lip and Dr Shirley STRUCTURES Declar ative Interrog ative Imper ative Exclam - Tony Lip Dr Donald Shirley Number 00 % 00 Number 02 % 1.08% for a command/ request 39 18.22% 68 36.95% for an exclamation 00 00 02 1.08% for a statement 17 7.94% 10 5.43% for a command/ request 28 13.08% 18 9.78% for an exclamation 01 0.46% 00 00 for a statement 00 00 00 00 for a question 00 00 00 00 for an exclamation 00 00 00 00 for a statement 00 00 00 00 for a question 00 00 00 00 for a question 76 ative Others for a command/request 00 00 00 00 two functions 06 2.80% 22 11.95% Intended meaning # Literal meaning 01 0.46% 01 0.54% 92/214 42.99% 123/184 66.84% (100%) (100%) TOTAL (100%) With regard to Dr Shirley, the most noticeably thought-provoking feature garnered from the data is the paramount popularity of declaratives for a command/request, coming in the first place with 36.95% (with 68 utterances) It is widely confined that indirect speech acts have multiple meanings, which are literal and implied meanings With an intellectual artist such as Dr Shirley, the exploitation of declaratives for a command/request is deemed as one of the most highly-appreciated methods for inquiring an order or a request in such a smooth but diversified pattern in noble-class at the time What is more, indirect speech acts are considered to be polite Indirectness is a widely used conversational strategy People are in tendency to apply indirect speech acts mainly in correlation with politeness because sometimes direct addressees may even appear impolite as in “Would you lend me some money?” and “Lend me some money!” Therefore, Dr Shirley is believed to be in great favor for indirect directives as an effectively politeness-evoking tool during his communicative process (4.37) Setting: QUICK SHOT OF THE CADDY WHIPPING DOWN A COUNTRY ROAD After Anderson (a white-old owner) rejects to let Dr Shirley use the restroom in the plantation where he comes to perform Dr Shirley has to go back to his motel and comes back for the show Dr Shirley stews in the back seat - LIP: Why don’t I just pull over you can piss in the woods? 77 - DR SHIRLEY: Animals go in the woods - LIP: But it’s twenty minutes if we go back to your motel In example (4.37), it is obviously perceived that Dr Shirley utters a declarative for a turn-down command/request when Tony suggests a measure to pull the car over by the woods for saving a lot of time In this case, Dr Shirley is claimed to showcase his highly-awared self-esteem by protecting his dignity from being treated like animals By uttering cleverly a hint “Animals go in the woods”, Dr Shirley strongly reinforces his determined request In addition, it is the politeness-maintaining purpose that Dr Shirley is expected to give massive emphasis on as well Ranking next in the second ranking is others for two functions with 11.95% (22 utterances) The third place is clearly made up by interrogatives for a command/request, equivalent to 9.78% (with 18 utterances) It is widely believed that indirect speech acts have multiple meanings, which are literal and implied meanings This leads to the variety of indirect meanings and functions involved in To shed light on the diversity of functions when exerting a single declarative for a host of implied functions accompanied with, let take example (4.38) as a representative (4.38) Setting: POLICE STATION – NIGHT Shirley trails Lip as they exit the police station and walk toward the parking lot No one speaks Then - DR SHIRLEY: They were wrong for the way they treated me, and you rewarded them - LIP: I was hired to make sure you get from one show to the next How I it shouldn’t matter to you In detail, it is apparently perceived that Dr Shirley’s intention when he produces the declarative “They were wrong for the way they treated me, and 78 you rewarded them.” is for a statement and a question On the first layer of meaning, Dr Shirley displays his opinions as a denial statement about the police’s illegal jailing On the second line, it is an question from Tony that emerges from the context “Why did you reward them for illegal imprisoning me?” Obviously, Dr Shirley requires Tony’s answer for his rewarding act without Shirley’s permission Therefore, in this situation, Dr Shirley is performing two indirect intentions through the utilization of a declarative With respect to Tony Lip, declaratives for a command/ request is asserted to account for the largest quantity (approximately 18.22% with 39 utterances), taking up the second ranking is interrogatives for a command/request with 13.08% The third most-favored place is taken by interrogatives for a statement with 7.94% (equivalent to 17 utterances) To be more specific, Tony Lip is evidently acclaimed to employ declaratives for a command/request and interrogatives for a command/request to their extremity on account of its indirectness and Tony’s disadvantageous position during communicative procedures Indeed, one of the most striking elements for the exploitation of indirect declaratives and interrogatives must be their diversified usefulness and reduction of level of avuncular tone with other listeners in real-life settings Furthermore, interrogatives for a statement is believed to exert as one of the most highly-supported indirect directives in the movie surveyed The act of uttering an interrogative for a statement is necessary for warning intentions also needs to be signified Indeed, interrogatives for a statement provides the speaker with a chance to give warnings/threats to the listeners, with the hope of last option before violence-involved resorting 79 In a nutshell, from the data investigated, it is widely garnered that the total number of indirect directives produced by Dr Shirley is astoundingly surpassed those uttered by Tony Lip It could be concluded that Dr Shirley is expected to convey his personal thoughts and feelings in such an indirect and politeness-preserving manner, in stark contrast with Tony Lip, who is apparently in great favor to showcase a more barefaced and open way to unfold his commands, typically represented for people from middle and working class at the US society at that historical period of time 80 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS As shown in the foregoing chapter, conclusions about the structural and functional features of directives, accompanied with the direct/indirect directives in the movie “Green Book” are drawn in this chapter Moreover, implications and limitations are also provided before some research topics are suggested for further researches 5.1 Conclusions The study has discussed structural and functional features of directives, as well as the similarities and differences in structural and functional features between 214 samples from Tony Lip’s transcripts and 184 samples of directives from Dr Shirley Both quantitative and qualitative approaches are used with the assistance of descriptive, contrastive, analytic, and synthetic methods for the study The major conclusions drawn to answer the three research questions are presented as follows 5.1.1 Conclusions concerning structural features of directives uttered by the two main characters From the results of the research, there are some similarities and discrepancies in the structural features of directives uttered by the two main characters a Similarities Generally, it is easily recognized that hints, non-explicit question directives and imperatives take up the three highest rates in the total number of structural features of directives uttered by both Tony Lip and Dr Shirley The other three kinds including imbedded imperatives, need statement and permission directives are not frequently employed in the movie surveyed 81 b Differences Overall, the total number of structural features of directives uttered by Tony Lip strikingly exceeds those produced by Dr Shirley In spite of the fact that both of the main characters display their strong favor for hints, non-explicit question directives and imperatives, there is likely to point out some disparities in their ranks comprising the first, second and the third place With reference to Tony Lip, non-explicit question directives make up the biggest percentage (33.65%), following in the second ranking is imperatives with 30.37% while hints are clearly asserted to occupy the next highest favorable place, with over one third of the total figures As regards Dr Shirley, hints (accounting for two-fifths) appears to attain the most predominant frequency type, coming in the first place among the six types of directives forms investigated Next, whereas the second rank belongs to imperatives (59 utterances), non-explicit question directives rank the third with 44 utterances, equivalent to 24.00% 5.1.2 Conclusions concerning functional features of directives uttered by the two main characters From the results of the research, there are some equivalences and differences in the functional features of directive uttered by two main characters a Similarities Generally, it is easily recognized that requestives, requirements, questions and advisories are considered to make up the four most prevalent kinds in the total number of functional features of directives produced by both characters The other two types including prohibitives, and permissives are not frequently emerged in the movie surveyed 82 b Differences In general, the total number of functional features of directives uttered by Tony Lip are exceptionally surpassed those produced by Dr Shirley Despite the fact that both main characters expose their highly-favored tendency for requestives, requirements, questions and advisories, there is the likelihood that some disparities in their ranks including the first, second and the third place are asserted With respect to Tony Lip, requestives is observed to account for the biggest percentage (55.60%, with 119 utterances), followed in the second ranking by advisories with 20.56% The third place is taken by questions, with 17.28% (equivalent to 37 utterances) As regards Dr Shirley, in the same fashion, requestives is undeniably perceived to occupy the most ubiquitous function, accounting for 44.02% with 82 utterances Attaining the next most prevalence ranking is requirements (37.50% with 69 utterances) while advisories takes the third position with 22 utterances, equivalent to 12.00% 5.1.3 Conclusions concerning direct/indirect directives uttered by the two main characters In terms of the direct/indirect directives conveyed through the number of direct directives uttered in the movie by the two main characters It is easily attained that the single most strikingly remarkable extracting from the data is the huge surpassing quantity of direct directives made by Tony Lip over those produced by Dr Shirley It is noteworthy that the majority of direct directives uttered by Tony Lip accounts for approximately 61.68% with 132 utterances compared to 82 out of 184 utterances made by Dr Shirley 83 From the findings, the total number of direct directives conducted by Tony Lip is tremendously surmounted those produced by Dr Shirley It could be concluded that Tony Lip is supposed to express his opinions and affections in such a direct and straightforward manner, in comparison with Dr Shirley, who is apparently exerted to garner a more smooth-and-subtle way to disclose his desires, just like what a noble-originated artist is expected to be As regards indirect directives uttered in the movie by Tony Lip and Dr Shirley the single most paramountly impressive element witnessing from the data is the gigantic outnumbering quantity of indirect directives made by Dr Shirley over those produced by Tony Lip It is irrefutable that the majority of indirect directives uttered by Dr Donald Shirley accounts for in the vicinity of 66.84% with 123 out of 184 utterances compared to 92 out of 214 utterances made by Tony Lip In a nutshell, from the data investigated, the total number of indirect directives produced by the character Dr Donald Shirley is astoundingly surpassed those uttered by the character Tony Lip It could be concluded that Dr Shirley is expected to convey his personal thoughts and feelings in such an indirect and politeness-preserving manner, in stark contrast with Tony Lip, who is apparently in great favor to showcase a more barefaced and open way to unfold his commands, typically represented for people from the middle and working class in the US society at the historical period of time 5.2 Implications The study is of vital importance for users of English including both teachers and learners Firstly, the study assists learners of English to obtain a deep insight into the language used in the movie “Green Book” 84 Secondly, due to the fact that the study is conducted to investigate structural and functional directives emerged in the conversations in the movie, it enables teachers of English to employ directives successfully in daily communication in general as well as in teaching in class in particular As a result, teachers of English potentially achieve their directives’ underlying purposes in a politeness-sparking way Thirdly, the data of the study are utterances taken from the movie “Green Book”, they are uttered naturally in the target language - English Therefore, learners of English can use the direct and indirect directives to practice regularly in daily conversations for different purposes, which helps them intensify their understanding, interpretation, and performance of directives in English Last but not least, by using and comprehending English directives in the movie surveyed, not only teachers but also learners can build up and maintain interpersonal relationships with other people 5.3 Limitations of the study One of the limitations of the study is the source of data for analysis Obviously, the directives are collected from the two main characters Tony Lip and Dr Shirley, which is in general obtain different turns of speaking basing on the film plots Hence, data might not be abundant and adequate Another limitation lies in the number of directives gathered from the two main characters As a matter of fact, due to the lack of efficient time, the researcher did not have enough time to consider other types of speech acts used in the movie “Green Book” The last limitation is that some linguistic aspects are not investigated such as politeness strategies, hedges, or implicatures 85 5.4 Suggestions for Further Research It is believed more studies can be conducted to investigate: - Directives in other movies; - Politeness markers of the conversations in the movie “Green Book” - A Contrastive Study of Directives in a movie in English and one in Vietnamese 86 REFERENCES Austin, J L (1962) How to things with words Cambridge: Harvard University Press Andrew R C., (2019) What to Know About the Controversy Surrounding the Movie Green Book Retrieved on February 20, 2019 from URL: https://time.com/5527806/green-book-movie-controversy/ Bach, K., & Harnish, R (1979) Linguistic communication and speech acts Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Brown, R W & Gilman, A (1960) The pronouns of power and solidarity In T Sebeok (ed.), Style in language Cambridge: MIT Press, pp 76-253 M.A Thesis, Quy Nhon University Clark, H H (1979) Responding to indirect speech acts Cognitive Psychology, 11, 430-477 Clyne, M (1996) Intercultural communication at work: Cultural values in discourse Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Đoàn Thị Hương Hiền (2015) A study of linguistic features of indirect speech acts in modern short stories in Engish and Vietnamese M.A Thesis, Quy Nhon University Ervin-Tripp, S (1968) Sociolinguistics In L.Berkowitz (ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology New York: Academic Press 91-165 Ervin-Tripps, S (1976) Is Sybil there? The structure of some American English directives Berkley: University of California 87 FrieDr ich, P (1972) Social context and semantic feature: The Russian pronominal usage In J J Gumperz, & D Hymes (eds.) Directions in sociolinguistics New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston 270-300 Geis, M (1995) Speech acts and conversational interaction Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Geohegan, W (1973) Natural information processing rules: Formal theory and application to ethnography Berkeley, California: Language Behavior Research Laboratory Monograph Gumperz, J J (1971) Language in social groups A Dil (ed.) Stanford, California: Stanford University Press Hurford R J., Heasley, B & Michael, B S (2007) Semantics: A coursebook (Second Edition) Cambridge: Oxford University Press Hymes, D (1974) Foundations in sociolinguistics Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press James, S L (1975) The effect of listener and situation on the politeness of preschool chilDr en’s directive speech Unpublished doctoral dissertation University of Wisconsin Labov, W (1972) Sociolinguistic patterns Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press Lakoff, R (1973) The logic of politeness: or minding your P’s and Q’s Papers from the 9th Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society Levinson, S C (1983) Pragmatics Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Lê Thị Mỹ Nhớ (2018) “A contrastive study of indirect speech acts in “Spotlight” versus “Sai Gon, Anh Yeu Em”” B.A Graduation Thesis, Quy Nhon University 88 Mohan, B (n.d.) Principles, postulates, politeness Unpublished manuscript Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Dung (2014) A study of speech acts in conversations in the new interchange series M.A Thesis, Quy Nhon University Richards, J C et al (1992) Longman dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics (2nd Ed.) London: Longman Rose, K R (1992) Speech acts and questionnaires: The effects of hearer response Journal of Pragmatics 17, 49-62 Saville-Troike, M (1982) The ethnography of communication: An introduction Oxford: Basil Blackwell Searle, J R (1969), Speech acts, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Searle, J R (1975), Indirect speech act, in P Cole and L Morgan (Eds.), Syntax and semantics 3: Speech acts.New York: Academic Press Searle, J R (1976) The classification of illocutionary acts Language in Society 5, 1-23 Searle, J R (1976) “A Taxonomy of illocutionary acts” Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Searle, J R and Van Der Veken D (1985) Foundations of illocutionary logic Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Soskin, W F & John, V (1963) The study of spontaneous talk In R G Barker (ed.) The stream of behaviour New York: Appleton Teaford, S (1974) The markers of compatibility: A comparative analysis of request forms Unpublished term paper Trần Thị Cẩm Giang (2016) A Study of speech acts in hospitality B.A Graduation Thesis, Quy Nhon University 89 Thomas J (1996) Meaning in interaction: An introduction of pragmatics London and New York: Longman Tyler, S (1972) Context and alternation in Koya kinship In J J Gumperz & D Hymes (eds.) Directions in sociolinguistics New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, pp 251-69 Vallelonga N., Currie B H., and Farrelly P., (2018) Green Book transcript Retrieved on February 20, 2019 from URL: https://www.scriptslug.com/script/green-book-2018 Yule, G (1996) Pragmatics Oxford: Oxford University Press Yule, G (1997), Pragmatics, Oxford University Press, Oxford https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6966692/plotsummary (Retrieved on February 20, 2019) ... examine structural features in directives in the movie ? ?Green Book? ?? To examine functional features in directives in the movie ? ?Green Book? ?? To examine the direct and indirect directives in the movie. .. aimed to examine linguistic features of directives in the movie ? ?Green Book? ?? 1.2.2 Research Objectives To attain the research aim involving linguistic features of directives, the following objectives... imperative directives, accounting for in the vicinity of a half (48.07%) of the number of directives uttered by the character Tony Lip in the conversations with other characters in the movie In other