A Study Of Identity Construction Of The Boss Group In Job-Hunting Show Only You

With the rapid development of economy, employment is becoming a serious social problem to which much attention is paid. In this context, job-hunting show gradually comes into being to deal with the situation, which provides a new and favorable platform for the job-hunters. One of a job-hunting shows-Only You, produced by Tianjin TV Station, is attracting many people. As the TV show is a kind of media discourse, it bears some similarities between institutional discourse and daily conversation. This thesis, based on linguistics, employs Verschueren’s(1999) Linguistic Adaptation Theory to investigate the various identities constructed by the Boss Group and the linguistic choices made for their identity construction in the interview. In addition, the thesis aims to reveal properties of the dynamics of identity construction in job-hunting show. To achieve these aims, the following three questions will be addressed: 1) What types of identity are constructed by the Boss Group in the job-hunting show and what linguistic choices are made for constructing these identities? 2) How are these identities constructed in the job-hunting show? 3) Why does the Boss Group dynamically construct these identities in the context of job-hunting show?To answer these questions, we select twelve episodes of job-hunting show Only You broadcasted from January 2014 to May 2015. All video programs are downloaded from the Internet and are partially transcribed. Results suggest that: 1) In the job-hunting show, the Boss Group constructs the following identities: the job creator, the interviewer, the adviser and the critic. 2) Initiating-turn, interruption and overlapping are the most frequent employed language forms and pragmatic strategies. 3)In the process of interview, dynamic identities are constructed as a means of satisfying communicative needs.This study contributes to the relevant research both theoretically and practically. Theoretically, this research not only can promote the understanding of identity construction and help people fully aware of the relationship between the speech act and the identity construction, but also enriches the study of TV shows by providing a new theoretical perspective. Practically, the study will be beneficial for the bosses to realize the importance of the language strategies in the interview, and construct the suitable identities to meet the communicative needs.