A Pragmatic Study of Apologies Posted on Weibo by Chinese Celebrities

Xu Zhanghong; Li Yanan

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14

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A Pragmatic Study of Apologies Posted on Weibo by Chinese Celebrities

Xu Zhanghong, Li Yanan

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 8, Issue 2)

Received: 27 February 2020 Accepted: 10 March 2020 Published: 31 March 2020

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Abstract

As we are living in the “Age of Apology” (Brooks, 1999), our ability to say “I’m sorry” does matter considerably, for an appropriate apology would not only express regret but also contribute to interpersonal relationship management and image restoration. Although apology as a social phenomenon has been extensively studied in the English-speaking world, Chinese apologies have not drawn due attention from linguists and management scientists. This paper investigates formal apologies made by Chinese celebrities between 2018 and 2019 in the context of social media by scrutinizing 30 cases collected from Weibo, a Chinese micro-blogging site. Based on Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Patterns (CCSARP) and image repair strategies, it is found that (1) IFID (Illocutionary Force Indicating Device) is the most common strategy in apologies, followed by Explanation or Account, whereas Offer of Repair is the least; (2) In terms of image restoration, Chinese celebrities tend to employ Reduce Offensiveness and Mortification to offset negative impressions; (3) Being shamed or being embarrassed (“羞愧”) and self-examination (“反省”) are specific IFID types in Chinese, and some mitigation strategies distinct from those in other languages are found. The research has revealed the specific features of Chinese apologies on social media and will shed light on ways of image management for the ordinary Chinese in general and Chinese celebrities in particular.

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 8, Issue 2) This article belongs to the Special Issue Humanity and Science: China’s Intercultural Communication with the Outside World in the New Era
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14
Page(s)	52-61
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Apologies, Image Repair, Weibo, Celebrities

References

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APA Style

Xu Zhanghong, Li Yanan. (2020). A Pragmatic Study of Apologies Posted on Weibo by Chinese Celebrities. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 8(2), 52-61. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14

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Xu Zhanghong; Li Yanan. A Pragmatic Study of Apologies Posted on Weibo by Chinese Celebrities. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2020, 8(2), 52-61. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14

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Xu Zhanghong, Li Yanan. A Pragmatic Study of Apologies Posted on Weibo by Chinese Celebrities. Int J Lit Arts. 2020;8(2):52-61. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14,
  author = {Xu Zhanghong and Li Yanan},
  title = {A Pragmatic Study of Apologies Posted on Weibo by Chinese Celebrities},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {8},
  number = {2},
  pages = {52-61},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20200802.14},
  abstract = {As we are living in the “Age of Apology” (Brooks, 1999), our ability to say “I’m sorry” does matter considerably, for an appropriate apology would not only express regret but also contribute to interpersonal relationship management and image restoration. Although apology as a social phenomenon has been extensively studied in the English-speaking world, Chinese apologies have not drawn due attention from linguists and management scientists. This paper investigates formal apologies made by Chinese celebrities between 2018 and 2019 in the context of social media by scrutinizing 30 cases collected from Weibo, a Chinese micro-blogging site. Based on Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Patterns (CCSARP) and image repair strategies, it is found that (1) IFID (Illocutionary Force Indicating Device) is the most common strategy in apologies, followed by Explanation or Account, whereas Offer of Repair is the least; (2) In terms of image restoration, Chinese celebrities tend to employ Reduce Offensiveness and Mortification to offset negative impressions; (3) Being shamed or being embarrassed (“羞愧”) and self-examination (“反省”) are specific IFID types in Chinese, and some mitigation strategies distinct from those in other languages are found. The research has revealed the specific features of Chinese apologies on social media and will shed light on ways of image management for the ordinary Chinese in general and Chinese celebrities in particular.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Pragmatic Study of Apologies Posted on Weibo by Chinese Celebrities
AU  - Xu Zhanghong
AU  - Li Yanan
Y1  - 2020/03/31
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 52
EP  - 61
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14
AB  - As we are living in the “Age of Apology” (Brooks, 1999), our ability to say “I’m sorry” does matter considerably, for an appropriate apology would not only express regret but also contribute to interpersonal relationship management and image restoration. Although apology as a social phenomenon has been extensively studied in the English-speaking world, Chinese apologies have not drawn due attention from linguists and management scientists. This paper investigates formal apologies made by Chinese celebrities between 2018 and 2019 in the context of social media by scrutinizing 30 cases collected from Weibo, a Chinese micro-blogging site. Based on Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Patterns (CCSARP) and image repair strategies, it is found that (1) IFID (Illocutionary Force Indicating Device) is the most common strategy in apologies, followed by Explanation or Account, whereas Offer of Repair is the least; (2) In terms of image restoration, Chinese celebrities tend to employ Reduce Offensiveness and Mortification to offset negative impressions; (3) Being shamed or being embarrassed (“羞愧”) and self-examination (“反省”) are specific IFID types in Chinese, and some mitigation strategies distinct from those in other languages are found. The research has revealed the specific features of Chinese apologies on social media and will shed light on ways of image management for the ordinary Chinese in general and Chinese celebrities in particular.
VL  - 8
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Xu Zhanghong

School of English for International Business, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China
Li Yanan

School of English for International Business, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Xu Zhanghong, Li Yanan. (2020). A Pragmatic Study of Apologies Posted on Weibo by Chinese Celebrities. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 8(2), 52-61. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14

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ACS Style

Xu Zhanghong; Li Yanan. A Pragmatic Study of Apologies Posted on Weibo by Chinese Celebrities. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2020, 8(2), 52-61. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Xu Zhanghong, Li Yanan. A Pragmatic Study of Apologies Posted on Weibo by Chinese Celebrities. Int J Lit Arts. 2020;8(2):52-61. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14,
  author = {Xu Zhanghong and Li Yanan},
  title = {A Pragmatic Study of Apologies Posted on Weibo by Chinese Celebrities},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {8},
  number = {2},
  pages = {52-61},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20200802.14},
  abstract = {As we are living in the “Age of Apology” (Brooks, 1999), our ability to say “I’m sorry” does matter considerably, for an appropriate apology would not only express regret but also contribute to interpersonal relationship management and image restoration. Although apology as a social phenomenon has been extensively studied in the English-speaking world, Chinese apologies have not drawn due attention from linguists and management scientists. This paper investigates formal apologies made by Chinese celebrities between 2018 and 2019 in the context of social media by scrutinizing 30 cases collected from Weibo, a Chinese micro-blogging site. Based on Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Patterns (CCSARP) and image repair strategies, it is found that (1) IFID (Illocutionary Force Indicating Device) is the most common strategy in apologies, followed by Explanation or Account, whereas Offer of Repair is the least; (2) In terms of image restoration, Chinese celebrities tend to employ Reduce Offensiveness and Mortification to offset negative impressions; (3) Being shamed or being embarrassed (“羞愧”) and self-examination (“反省”) are specific IFID types in Chinese, and some mitigation strategies distinct from those in other languages are found. The research has revealed the specific features of Chinese apologies on social media and will shed light on ways of image management for the ordinary Chinese in general and Chinese celebrities in particular.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Pragmatic Study of Apologies Posted on Weibo by Chinese Celebrities
AU  - Xu Zhanghong
AU  - Li Yanan
Y1  - 2020/03/31
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 52
EP  - 61
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.14
AB  - As we are living in the “Age of Apology” (Brooks, 1999), our ability to say “I’m sorry” does matter considerably, for an appropriate apology would not only express regret but also contribute to interpersonal relationship management and image restoration. Although apology as a social phenomenon has been extensively studied in the English-speaking world, Chinese apologies have not drawn due attention from linguists and management scientists. This paper investigates formal apologies made by Chinese celebrities between 2018 and 2019 in the context of social media by scrutinizing 30 cases collected from Weibo, a Chinese micro-blogging site. Based on Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Patterns (CCSARP) and image repair strategies, it is found that (1) IFID (Illocutionary Force Indicating Device) is the most common strategy in apologies, followed by Explanation or Account, whereas Offer of Repair is the least; (2) In terms of image restoration, Chinese celebrities tend to employ Reduce Offensiveness and Mortification to offset negative impressions; (3) Being shamed or being embarrassed (“羞愧”) and self-examination (“反省”) are specific IFID types in Chinese, and some mitigation strategies distinct from those in other languages are found. The research has revealed the specific features of Chinese apologies on social media and will shed light on ways of image management for the ordinary Chinese in general and Chinese celebrities in particular.
VL  - 8
IS  - 2
ER  -

Copy | Download