A Comparative Study On Parent-child Conflict Talk In Sino-american Sitcoms

Conflict talk is a common and ubiquitous linguistic phenomenon in life. As a branch of conflict talk, parent-child conflict talk has aroused many researchers’ attention. Scholars both at home and abroad did researches on parent-child conflict talk from different perspectives, such as cognitive linguistics, psychology, and pragmatics. However, most of the previous studies have been done in the same cultural background; few comparative studies concerning parent-child conflict talk from different cultural backgrounds are done.The present study aims to analyze the production mechanism, language manifestations and features of parent-child conflict talk in both Chinese and American TV series. All the conflict talk fragments are identified and selected from American TV series Modern Family and Chinese TV series Home with Kids according to the definition given in Chapter two. After transcription, 50 conflict episodes from each TV series are selected as the data according to the following tips: 1) the intensity of the conflict talk; 2) the length of conversation turns; 3) the whole process of the conflict talk including initiating, maintaining and terminating stage.Within the framework of Speech Accommodation Theory, Rapport Orientation and Conversation Analysis, this study employs both qualitative and quantitative research methods, hoping to answer the following questions:(1) what’s the production mechanism of conflict talk between parents and children in Chinese TV series Home with Kids and American TV series Modern Family?(2) What are the language manifestations of each stage applied in conflict talk between parents and children in Chinese TV series Home with Kids and American TV series Modern Family, and what are the similarities and differences?(3) What are the features of parent-child conflict talk in Chinese TV series Home with Kids and American TV series Modern Family?Through the qualitative and quantitative analysis, the major findings are as follows:(1) Parent-child conflict talk occurs out of the disparity in the identity, social status and the intention of the communication between the two sides. One party of the conversation tries to diverge while the other party tries to converge or both of them try to diverge from each other, and then the conflict arises.(2) The language manifestations of parent-child conflict talk are as follows: in the initiating stage: claim vs. counter claim, directive vs. refusal and provoking questions vs. opposing answer. In the three patterns of initiating stage, both Chinese and American parents and children tend to choose provoking question vs. opposing answer pattern. And the subtle difference is that directive vs. refusal accounts for a larger proportion between Chinese parents and children than American ones, and disputants in American family are inclined to choose indirect ways; in the maintaining or escalating stage: argumentative(explanation, rhetorical question, stating one’s views, direct confrontation) and non-obedience are two major patterns, and the difference is that Chinese parents and children tend to use rhetorical pattern more often than American ones; in the terminating stage: submission, compromise, topic-shifting, third-party intervention, withdrawal and unexpected event. Third-party intervention and withdrawal are two major patterns, the dominant pattern in America is third-party intervention and withdrawal is Chinese dominant pattern. The difference is that submission accounts for a larger proportion in Chinese family setting than that of American ones, and compromise is seldom employed by the Chinese parents and children.(3) Except for the general features(disagreement of exclusiveness, negative emotion and interference), parent-child conflict talk also owns the following features: during the kids’ adolescence, mother-child conflicts are more common than father-child conflicts; the conflicts between parents and children are usually inevitable, frequent and durable.The study may enrich the previous studies of parent-child conflict talk. Meanwhile, it can contribute to the studies of cultural difference.