A Study Of Pragmatic Identities Of Chinese Adolescents’ Parents In Studies-Related Conversations From The Perspective Of Rapport Management Theory

With the discursive turn of the studies of identity,the studies of dynamic construction of pragmatic identities have received much attention.Researchers mainly focus on the construction of identities in institutional discourses,but pay little attention to that in family talk.By qualitative analysis of studies-related conversations in Chinese TV series A Little Reunion,this study integrates pragmatic identity theory by Chen Xinren(2018)and rapport management theory by Spencer-Oatey(2008),and explores the construction of pragmatic identities of Chinese adolescents’ parents,the influence of their identities on parent-child rapport,and the factors contributing to the construction of their identities.The study finds that,by employing six types of discursive practices,Chinese adolescents’ parents mainly construct four pragmatic identities,namely guide,friend,mediator,and controller.Then,the identities selected or constructed by the parents exert either positive or negative effects on parent-child relationship: the identities as a guide,a friend and a mediator support children’s face or sociality rights,thus maintaining or enhancing their rapport;conversely,the identity as a controller challenges children’s face or sociality rights,thus threatening their rapport.Besides,the construction of the pragmatic identities of Chinese adolescents’ parents is mainly influenced by power and solidarity,gender,cultural factors and so forth.This study not only contributes to the studies of identity from the perspective of interpersonal pragmatics,but also provides implications for maintaining harmonious rapport between parents and children.