How do US-American and British TV show hosts of talk shows differ in terms of compliment use? In what part of the show, how often, on what topic and in which context do they use compliments? This paper aims at answering these questions with a focus on late-night talk shows, exemplarily shown with one episode in each case. The US-American late-night talk show that was chosen to take data from is The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the British counterpart that was picked for this compliment research is The Jonathan Ross Show, concentrating on the compliments of the hosts, namely Jimmy Fallon and Jonathan Ross.
First there will be an overview of previous research on compliments on the one hand and talk shows on the other, coming to the method that has been chosen to gather the data, the structure of talk shows in general and in the case of the late-night talk shows this paper deals with, ending with presenting the results of this research on compliments.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
3 Method
4 Talk Shows and Their Structure
4.1 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
4.2 The Jonathan Ross Show
5 Results
5.1 Position in Discourse and Frequency
5.2 Context
5.3 Compliment Topics
6 Discussion
7 Conclusion
Research Objective and Topics
This study investigates the linguistic differences in compliment usage between US-American and British television talk show hosts, specifically analyzing Jimmy Fallon and Jonathan Ross to determine how the context, frequency, and topics of compliments vary within the format of late-night entertainment.
- Comparative analysis of compliment strategies in US and British talk shows.
- Examination of the structural distribution of compliments across different show segments.
- Categorization of compliment topics (ability, performance, appearance).
- Exploration of the role of "absent" vs. "present" compliment receivers in audience-oriented talk.
Excerpt from the Book
5.2 Context
As seen in the previous paragraph, in both episodes compliments are mainly made in the context of introductions, announcements, interviews and during the news section. Especially when announcing someone and interviewing a guest many compliments are made.
The compliments mainly have two different types of compliment receivers, the person who is present while the compliment is made and can respond to it on the one hand, and the person that is absent and is not able to react to the compliment on the other. It is apparent that a lot of compliments are not directed at the person being complimented but to the audience inside of the studio and in front of a television. The person who is the receiver of the compliment is, in this second case, someone who is absent at the moment and is probably not watching this episode of the talk show at all, which fits to the annotation of Ilie, that talk shows “basically consist of audience-oriented talk” (2001:217). Those compliments in talk shows have mainly the purpose to entertain the audience rather than to please the compliment receiver.
An example for this second type of receiver can be found in the following compliment from The Jonathan Ross Show:
(1) Ross: It was hosted by the fabulous Ellen DeGeneres! (Appendix 2, compliment no. 8)
Ross compliments US-American TV show host Ellen DeGeneres who is absent and is probably not watching the show. Another example for that type of receiver is this extract from The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon:
(2) Fallon: He’s really talented! (Appendix 1, compliment no. 2)
Fallon compliments the winner of the thirteenth season of American Idol, Caleb Johnson, who is absent at that particular moment and will probably not be able to hear nor react to this compliment. Ross also compliments someone absent when talking about a picture that he presents during the news section:
(3) Ross: I mean talk about cute. He’s so cute, he doesn’t seem to be very happy about it! (Appendix 2, compliment no. 10)
Chapter Summaries
1 Introduction: This chapter defines the research question regarding the differences in compliment usage between US and British talk show hosts and establishes the linguistic focus of the study.
2 Literature Review: It provides an overview of previous academic studies on talk show discourse, linguistic structure, and established definitions of compliments.
3 Method: This section details the data collection process, justifying the selection of specific episodes from The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and The Jonathan Ross Show.
4 Talk Shows and Their Structure: It analyzes the semi-institutional nature of talk shows and outlines the dramaturgic components that define the two selected programs.
4.1 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Describes the structural segments of the US-American episode, including the news and interview components.
4.2 The Jonathan Ross Show: Outlines the British counterpart's structural segments and highlights key differences in presentation.
5 Results: Presents the raw findings regarding the frequency and discourse distribution of compliments within the chosen episodes.
5.1 Position in Discourse and Frequency: Examines where in the show the compliments occur and how often they appear in relation to the segments.
5.2 Context: Analyzes the situational context of compliments, distinguishing between present and absent receivers.
5.3 Compliment Topics: Evaluates the thematic focus of the collected compliments, such as appearance or performance.
6 Discussion: Interprets the findings by comparing the specific complimenting behaviors of the two hosts within the context of their respective cultural media formats.
7 Conclusion: Summarizes the research findings and acknowledges the limitations of the current study regarding the scope of the data sample.
Keywords
Compliments, Talk Shows, Discourse Analysis, US-American English, British English, Speech Acts, Jimmy Fallon, Jonathan Ross, Late-Night Television, Linguistic Research, Compliment Topics, Audience-Oriented Talk, Semi-institutional Discourse, Pragmatics, Media Communication.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The paper examines how talk show hosts in the US and the UK differ in their use of compliments, specifically regarding when, where, and why they utter them.
What are the primary thematic fields covered?
The study centers on the linguistic analysis of speech acts within the "semi-institutional" framework of late-night television talk shows.
What is the primary research goal?
To identify patterns in compliment usage, such as frequency, contextual triggers, and the targeted topics of the compliments by hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jonathan Ross.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The author employs a discourse analytical method, combining philological approaches with conversation analysis to study two specific talk show episodes.
What topics are explored in the main body of the work?
The main sections analyze the structure of talk shows, the categorization of compliment receivers (present vs. absent), and the thematic distribution of compliments, such as ability, performance, and appearance.
Which keywords define this work?
Key terms include Compliments, Talk Shows, Discourse Analysis, Pragmatics, and Media Communication.
How does the host of The Tonight Show differ from the host of The Jonathan Ross Show regarding compliment frequency?
The findings indicate significant variance based on show structure; for example, Jimmy Fallon's compliments are heavily clustered in the news section, whereas Jonathan Ross utilizes compliments more frequently during introductory segments.
Why did the author distinguish between "present" and "absent" receivers?
This distinction is crucial for understanding that talk shows are "audience-oriented," meaning many compliments are intended to entertain the viewing audience rather than strictly to validate the person being complimented.
- Citar trabajo
- Lioba Frings (Autor), 2014, "We Have a Great Show Tonight!" A Contrastive Study on Compliment Use Among US-American and British Television Hosts of Late-Night Talk Shows, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/368134
