A DIAGNOSTIC DOCTOR’S DISCURSIVE PORTRAIT IN TERMS OF SOCIOLINGUISTIC DIALOGUE CHARACTERISTICS (BASED ON THE SERIES “HOUSE, M.D.”)
Abstract
https://doi.org/10.18522/1995-0640-2025-3-76-85
Sociolinguistic analysis of such dialogical categories as politeness, insult, rudeness is given based on the material of the hero’s discourse in the series “House, M.D.” The article examines the load of Gregory House’s remarks, which consists in implicating the main hero’s discursive portrait and providing the emotional impact on the viewer. It is proved that the hero’s priority strategy is derogatory criticism of the addressee, which is able to break contact with junior medical staff and patients; however, it is aimed at stimulating solidarity between the interlocutors. In the context of the drama project of the series “House, M.D.”, the communicative banter strategy performs two pragmatic functions: (1) constructs the Gregory House’s image in his social relationships with colleagues and patients (a function of the protagonist’s discursive characteristics); (2) acts as a pragmatic mechanism for maintaining the entertainment function of the series (based on linguistic resources). In his dialogue with junior medical staff and patients, Gregory House does not limit himself to sarcastic judgments; his discursive portrait’s moral dimension is characterized by a more complex architecture: the diagnostic doctor is not a one-dimensional or schematic protagonist, a thoughtful dramatic structure allows for storylines in which he is able to change and develop. As for the demonstration of the language game, its assessment as something separate from the psychological characteristics of the protagonist can be considered as an indication of something related to the “aesthetic mood” (in terms of P. Bourdieu), uninterrupted provision of the effect of audience enjoyment of Gregory House’s image in formal terms that do not require referential and narrative integrity. However, the protagonist’s sarcastic discourse, no matter how witty, activates in the viewer’s mind clearly unpleasant aspects of the relationship of individuals in modern society. In the hero’s dialogical speech, sarcasm takes the form of fake banter.
Key words: television dramatic dialogue, impoliteness, ironic banter, phatic contact, communicative attack
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Copyright (c) 2025 Olga P. Ryabko, Igor A. Kudryashov
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