The present study investigates the impoliteness strategies presented in season 1 of the American TV series The Ranch (2016). The qualitative analysis this essay will provide focuses on selected excerpts; more specifically, on the utterances spoken by the main male characters of the show: Beau, Jameson and Colt. The hypothesis underpinning this paper is that bald-on-record, positive and negative impoliteness are commonly employed by both father and sons to achieve different aims. I intend to demonstrate that Beau often mistreats Jameson and Colt either by displaying indifference or using swearing. However, his harsh words are not meant to offend his boys, whether to spur them into adulthood and awareness. As far as Jameson and Colt’s utterances are concerned, they get along well, care about and support each other when nobody is around and they can talk in privacy. Yet, in the presence of their father, the elder son openly and repeatedly threats the younger’s face. In conclusion, the essay aims to expose the features of the above-mentioned pattern from a linguistic perspective, to understand how impoliteness affects the characters’ personality and their relationship with each other.

Authors:
Valentina Rossi, eCampus University of Novedrate, Italy

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Valentina Rossi is a University Postdoctoral Fellow or Instructor at eCampus University of Novedrate in Italy

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