The multimodal expression of impoliteness and implications for subtitling: the case of Modern Family

This thesis examines multimodal (im)politeness in telecinematic discourse and its subtitling. It brings together research in (im)politeness, audiovisual translation (AVT), multimodality and the pragmatics of fiction to provide concrete analytical frameworks to study how situated (im)politeness is expressed multimodally in an unfolding interaction and how multimodal (im)politeness is rendered in subtitling, which have received scarce attention in each of the mentioned research field.

Using the data from the American family sitcom Modern Family and its Chinese fansubbed version, I formulate analytical frameworks for studying multimodal (im)politeness and its subtitling. The theoretical underpinnings draw upon social semiotics (e.g., Kress, 2010) while combining and adapting (im)politeness models (e.g., Culpeper, 2011a, Spencer-Oatey, 2008), interpersonal pragmatics (e.g., Locher, 2015) and the pragmatics of fiction (e.g., Locher et al., 2023, Locher & Jucker, 2017, 2021). The study adopts a “co-text” approach: its originality lies in studying all modes in their own right through examining how (im)politeness meanings are created within and across modes, and how situated (im)politeness effects are shaped by the modes employed and their affordances. The data is analysed quantitatively and qualitatively.

The analysis shows how (im)politeness and its supported diegetic functions, i.e., characterisation and comedic effects are linked to the modes recruited and their affordances. It shows that the impoliteness trigger, response and resolution (Bousfield, 2007) can occur simultaneously rather than only sequentially. It uncovers a “new” type of mixed messages where both politeness and impoliteness are sustained. It demonstrates that semiotic effects (e.g., emphasis) in (im)politeness acts can be produced by prosody and/or the modal resources in other modes (e.g., movement in gesture). It shows that subtitles can actively render what modes other than speech convey.

The study moves the discussion of multimodal (im)politeness from observation to explanation. It highlights that fictional discourse warrants the examination in and of itself.