An Analysis Of English TV Talk Shows From The Perspective Of Register Theory

With the rapid development of mass media, English TV talk shows have beenenjoying more and more popularity among the audience and they have drawnattention from many scholars both at home and abroad. The relevant studies can beroughly divided into two parts: mass media approach and linguistic approach.However, the linguistic studies on English TV talk shows are not only limited inquantity but also lack depth and systematicness.As an important theory in systemic-functional linguistics, register theory isdeveloping rapidly and begins to draw increasing attention from more linguists.However, the existing research on register theory hasn·t form a complete system andthe application of register theory in English TV talk shows hasn·t been analyzed so far.As a form of the registers, the language in English TV talk shows is influenced by theregister and register theory can also be used for conversational analysis as an effectivemethod of discourse analysis in English TV talk shows, which means that moreresearch on English TV talk shows need to be done to develop register theory and tobroaden its application field. Therefore, through applying register theory, this thesiscreates a new way to appreciate and analyze English TV talk shows. Specifically, thisthesis is intended to answer the following questions:(1)How do English TV talkshows and the register relate to each other?(2)What are the features of English TVtalk shows from the perspective of tenor and mode?(3)How to better keep the artisticvitality of English TV talk shows and perform their functions of communication andentertainment by applying register theory?First, the author collects some relevant literature information about English TVtalk shows from reference materials and CNKI, then reviews previous research onthem made by western and Chinese scholars, including definition, development andprevious studies of English TV talk shows at home and broad. And a brief summaryof the whole chapter is presented at last.Next, the author collects and sorts out some relevant information about register theory. And the author presents a systematic introduction to register theory includingformation of register theory, variables of register theory and a brief summary ofchapter three.At last, the author downloads thirty episodes of Ellen Show from the Internet inrandom and presents a detailed qualitative analysis of English TV talk shows from theperspective of register theory by taking Ellen Show as an example, including (1)analysis of the field in English TV talk shows, in which topic, environment, andactivity are discussed in detail.(2) analysis of the tenor in English TV talk shows, inwhich speech roles and speech functions are analyzed systematically.(3) analysis ofthe mode in English TV talk shows, in which conversational structures andconversational characteristics are discussed in detail.(4) a brief summary of theregister in English TV talk shows.This thesis creates a new way to appreciate and analyze English TV talk showsfrom the perspective of register theory. In addition, this thesis finds a new way tobetter keep the artistic vitality of English TV talk shows and perform their functionsof communication and entertainment by applying register theory. This thesis alsomeans a lot to register theory. It helps the English learners have a better understandingof register theory and improves their abilities to use it. Moreover, this thesis expandsthe application field of register theory and provides some help and enlightenment forthe relevant research and development of register theory.