1、Classified Index:U. D. C:CODE: 10075NO: 20090543A Dissertation for the Degree of M. ArtsA Case Study of Father-Son ConflictTalk and Power in Country LoveCandidate: Liu YongSupervisor: Prof. Ye HuijunAcademic Degree Applied for: Master of ArtsSpecialty: English Language and LiteratureUniversity: Hebe
2、i UniversityDate of Oral Examination: May, 2012AbstractAbstractAs an inevitable product of human interactions, conflict can not be avoided and ignored.To a certain extent, it is restricting and affecting the social development course. In the presentstudy, conflict talk refers to the language phenome
3、non in which debating, arguing, disputing,quarreling, squabbling， talking back， wrangling and so on, arise while conversationalparticipants are opposing each other by means of talking. Although people are concerned withvarious conflict phenomena in daily life, domestic scholars have not been doing a
4、n enoughresearch for that, in particular the conflict talk between different generations which is still afield seldom scholars have set foot in. Based on the data of father-son conflict talks in TVseries Country Love, this study integrates sociolinguistics, speech act, conversation analysisand relev
5、ant power theory to investigate two main issues in the Chinese socio-cultural setting:the first, what are the patterns of father-son disputes normally undergoing three stages initiating, escalating and terminating; what and how managing strategies are used by boththese family disputants. The second,
6、 father-son dispute is a prime site where power relation isshown, (re)constructed and negotiated by family members. We want to find out how existingpower relations affect the construction of the conflict talk in analysis and the dynamiccontextual power is conditioned by different strategies. This st
7、udy attempts to analyze theintergenerational conflict talk of kind connected with power so as to extend the research fields.For its social significance, it is hoped to help fill the generation gap in terms of verbalcommunication and thus improve family relations.The whole thesis is composed of five
8、chapters. Chapter 1 is the introductory part, whichincludes the background, objective, significance of the research, the methodology and dataresource. The theoretical foundation, including speech act theory and conversation analysis isalso introduced. Chapter 2 offers a brief overview of conflict ta
9、lk studies at home and abroad,and previous power studies in all kinds of disciplines as well. Chapter 3 concludes thepatterns of father-son disputes in three phases, and further analyzes functions of powerrelationship on these formats in detail. Chapter 4 examines what and how managing strategiesare
10、 employed by the father and the son to challenge or control each other in the process ofinteractions. Chapter 5 summaries the findings with limitations pointed out and suggestionsfor future study offered.IAbstractKey Words Country Love conflict talk speech acts conflict patterns managingstrategies p
11、owerII摘摘要要冲突与摩擦是人类交往中无法避免的。其中的人际冲突表现在对话中就会产生冲突性话语，如辩论、争执、驳斥、争论、争吵、拌嘴等。在本研究中，冲突话语这一概念涵盖了前边所提到的这些具体话语冲突形式。虽然人们在日常生活中与语言冲突的各种现象息息相关，但国内学者对冲突话语的研究却起步较晚而且研究领域比较狭隘，尤其对中国社会文化背景中代际冲突话语的系统研究鲜有涉足。本文以电视连续剧乡村爱情中谢广坤与谢永强父子间的家庭冲突话语为研究对象，从社会权势关系入手，结合社会语言学、言语行为、会话分析和相关权势理论，探究以下两个问题：一、父子冲突话语在开始、激化和结束三个发展阶段的冲突模式的构建，以及
12、冲突双方的策略运用；二、揭示父子冲突话语与权势之间的互动关系。父子冲突话语是代际权势关系展示、构建（或重构）与制衡的重要场所。已有权势关系会影响具体冲突模式的构建，而不同冲突管理策略的运用也会进一步形成动态的语境权势关系。因此，本文尝试在社会语言学和语用学的框架内，结合中国社会文化背景中的权势关系对父子这种代际冲突话语进行探索，在一定程度上拓展了现有关于冲突话语以及权势研究的领域。从社会意义看，它有助于解决家庭矛盾，改善家庭关系，以及弥合两代人之间的语言和思想代沟。本文共分五个部分。第一章为绪论部分，介绍研究背景、目的和意义，研究方法及语料来源，重点阐释全文的理论基础：言语行为和会话分析理论。
13、第二章回顾并评述国内外冲突话语和有关权势的各种学说及研究现状。根据以往研究，话语冲突过程包含开始、激化和结束三个阶段，每个阶段又有不同的冲突模式。基于此，第三章利用所收集的语料，对父子冲突话语不同发展阶段的具体冲突模式进行归纳，并在这些模式中进一步分析现有的社会权势关系对冲突双方言语行为的影响。第四章考察两类冲突管理策略，即缓和策略与激化策略在父子话语冲突中的作用，同时揭示这些策略如何重新构建冲突者之间的动态语境权势关系。第五章作为结论部分，总结本文的主要内容并呈现研究成果，最后指出论文的不足之处。关键词 乡村爱情 冲突话语 言语行为 冲突模式 管理策略 权势IIIContentsConten
14、tsChapter 1 Introduction 11.1 Background of the Study 11.2 Aim and Significance of the Study 21.3 Theoretical Foundation of the Study41.3.1 Speech Act Theory41.3.2 Conversation Analysis 51.4 Research Methodology and Data Collection71.5 Outline of the Thesis7Chapter 2 Literature Review 92.1 A Review
15、of Conflict Talk Studies92.1.1 Conflict Talk Studies Abroad 92.1.2 Conflict Talk Studies at Home 102.2 A Review of Power Studies 11Chapter 3 Formats of Father-son Conflict 153.1 Formats in the Initiating Phase 153.1.1 Assertion vs. Counter-assertion 163.1.2 Directive vs. Refusal173.1.3 Accusation vs
16、. Interruption 193.2 Formats in the Escalating Phase 203.2.1 Argument 203.2.2 Non-obedience 223.2.3 Interrogation 243.3 Formats in the Terminating Phase253.3.1 Submission 253.3.2 Withdrawal 263.3.3 Compromise 28Chapter 4 Conflict Strategies in Father-son Disputes 304.1 Mitigating Strategies 304.1.1
17、Agreement Tokens 314.1.2 Hedges 33IVContents4.2 Aggravating Strategies 354.2.1 Negative Comments354.2.2 Power-type Threats 37Chapter 5 Conclusion 405.1 Major Findings 405.2 Limitations 415.3 Suggestions for Future Research 41Works Cited 43Bibliography 46Acknowledgments 49VChapter 1Chapter 1Introduct
18、ionIntroductionThis chapter first reveals the whole structure, including background information, aim andsignificance, methodology of the research and data source. Above all, it also presents thetheoretical foundation for the analysis of father-son conflict talk: speech act theory andconversation ana
19、lysis.1.1 Background of the StudyPeace and conflict are two living states of human beings. Cooperation and competitionare compatible. Both are equally important and contribute to the development of humansociety. Conflict as well as verbal conflict is ubiquitous and complicated in our daily life.Ther
20、e are multiple definitions of conflict from separate disciplines, including anthropology,psychology, sociology, law, linguistics and so on. For example, one simple definition is thatconflict is a common and contrastive phenomenon in interactions between individuals orbetween groups. It can also be d
21、efined as a relationship when two people have incompatiblegoals and use a variety of prosocial and antisocial strategies to influence each othersbehaviors. 1 Conflict can fall into many types. According to the content, it can be classifiedinto political conflict, racial conflict, military conflict,
22、trade conflict, etc.; from the context, itcan be categorized as institutional conflict, family conflict, individual conflict, etc.; it can alsobe divided into verbal and non-verbal by the way in which conflict is handled.All kinds of contradictions in life are the main source of conflict as well as
23、verbalconflict. According to dialectical materialism, contradictions are everywhere. However,contradiction isnt equal to conflict. Contradiction is the embryonic stage of conflict. It is notnecessarily reflected in conflict. Once contradiction is intensified by opposing parties, conflictis more like
24、ly to take place. Human is characterized by the unity of nature and society,especially the sociality that plays an important role in peoples interactions. By this principle,various social relations are constructed and conditioned among people, such as colleagues,relatives and friends. However, friction would frequently emerge in the development of1
