Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/228021
Title: | “I’M SORRY”: A STUDY OF POLITENESS STRATEGIES IN APOLOGY LETTERS PUBLISHED BY CELEBRITIES AND INFLUENCERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA | Authors: | NG XIANG HUI | Issue Date: | 11-Apr-2022 | Citation: | NG XIANG HUI (2022-04-11). “I’M SORRY”: A STUDY OF POLITENESS STRATEGIES IN APOLOGY LETTERS PUBLISHED BY CELEBRITIES AND INFLUENCERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. ScholarBank@NUS Repository. | Abstract: | When public figures are embroiled in a scandal, their reputations undoubtedly suffer. To remedy this, they might publish apology letters, carefully balancing apologising for evident/alleged misbehaviour and upholding untarnished public personas. Politeness strategies allow them to maintain a façade of politeness and respect while subtly protecting their reputations. This study investigates the types and frequencies of politeness strategies present in social media apology letters written by influencers and celebrities. It will also explore and account for differences between men’s and women’s usages of politeness strategies. The corpus comprises 21 apology letters from influencers and celebrities on social media. Using this corpus, this study seeks to answer the following: 1) What types of politeness strategies are present in influencers’ and celebrities’ social media apology letters? 2) Are women more polite than men? How politeness strategies can be used to “manipulate” the audience will be discussed as well. The framework used to analyse the letters is largely based on Brown and Levinson (1987)’s framework (henceforth abbreviated as B&L). I apply quantitative and qualitative approaches during analysis by calculating the frequency of occurrence of each politeness strategy and accounting for them. 7 politeness strategies were identified and apologise, offer, promise redress and explaining/justifying actions (give reasons) were the most common strategies. Women were found to be slightly more polite than men and the strategies with the largest differences in usage between men and women are apologise, avoid disagreement and explaining/justifying actions (give reasons). | URI: | https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/228021 |
Appears in Collections: | Bachelor's Theses |
Show full item record
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | Access Settings | Version | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
EL-Ng Xiang Hui-HT-2120.pdf | 616.87 kB | Adobe PDF | RESTRICTED | None | Log In |
Google ScholarTM
Check
Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.