UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE COLOMBIA FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT PRESENTED BY: Juan Carlos Giraldo PRESENTED TO: Prof.

Leonardo Varela

DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

In the following paper I will analyze based on the readings that we made in class about critical discourse analysis. I will analyze a Facebook conversation between ten Pokmon Facebook users about ones of them evolution. In order to do so, I have to contextualize you about what is a Pokmon and who is the Pokmon that has evolved. This paper will be divided in three sections: contextualization, discourse analysis and appendix.

CONTEXTUALIZATION What is Pokmon? The word Pokmon is usually related to a Japanese anime series. The anime follows the quest of the main character Ash Ketchum to become a Pokmon master. Ash and his group travel all around that fictitious world in order to catch as many Pokmon as they can, train them and make them evolve. But the anime is just a small part of what Pokmon is; Pokmon is the name of a media franchise published and owned by Japanese Video game company Nintendo. Pokmon was created by Satoshi Tajiri. Tajiri created Pokmon based on his childhood experiences. He enjoyed collecting insects and based on that he thought Pokmon world as a new way to catching animals and training them. Even though Pokmons appearance is very animal like, Tajiri used Japanese mythological creatures appearance to create his own animal world and the different species of them. Going deeper into the contextualization lets describe who Magikarp and Gyarados are.

Basically Magikarp and Gyarados are referred to the same creature. Magikarp is the pre-evolution of Gyarados. In the anime, Magikarp is the useless Pokmon. It is just a red fish that doesnt have any special ability. The only thing that it can do is use splash to attack its enemies, splash is referred to the action of splash as itself, just get somebody else a little wet. In the other hand Gyarados is a powerful dragon. Just its presence is intimidating for other Pokmon. He can attack his rivals by using rays, fire and his own body. While Magikarp has a very passive

attitude, almost deedless, Gyarados has a furious and irreverent attitude. He could attack even to himself.

DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

After having enough contexts about who are Magikarp and Gyarados we will analyze the Facebook conversation about the picture that Magikarp has recently uploaded on Facebook about his evolution. On the pages below we will consider what aspects of the critical discourse analysis are referred to in that conversation. After reading Locke1 and Cutting2, we have enough tools to analyze the linguistic components of the conversation and even more important, what is on the very underneath of the conversation. After mentioning that, we could find the following aspects highlighted by Locke and Cutting on the conversation.

By studying the context that is shown in the conversation we can find that in the conversation, it is only noticeable the interpersonal context about them. Interpersonal context: this concept is noticeable throughout the entire conversation, we can notice it in some specific comments that the other Pokmon make about Magikarp/Gyarados. Some comments like Dugtrio Ooo, or else what? You gonna use Splash? Were sooo scared In this particular comment, we can notice that Dugtrio by mentioning the attack that Magikarp is going to use demonstrate that he already know how useless and weak Magikarp is. Geodude wut was ur nickname in high school again? O right, Magikrap. XD Pidgeot No dude, it was Magishitty. Ghastly All this time I thought it was. Picked Last For Every Sport These comments how much information they have about Magikarp/Gyarados. Geodude and Pidgeots comments show how Magikarp was seen at high school. It

Locke Terry(Author) Critical Discourse Analysis NY, USA: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004 P.I. 2 Cutting, Joan (Author). Pragmatics and Discourse: A resource book for students. Florence, KY, USA: Routledge, 2002. P I. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/keris/Doc?id=10016807&page=1

shows that the three of them of them know that Magikarp was not so popular at high school. In Ghastlys comment we can notice that the knowledge between both of them goes beyond that simple appreciation, by mentioning that, Ghastly shows that they both know how weak Magikarp is. It shows that they had played sports together and that both of them know that Magikarp was that bad at sports that nobody wanted him in their team.

Grammar Cohesion Talking about grammar cohesion we must say that this conversation ellipsis as a grammatical cohesive element. It is easily noticeable in the comments about Magikarps nick name at high school, lets take a look. Geodude wut was ur nickname in high school again? O right, Magikrap. XD Pidgeot No dude, it was Magishitty. Ghastly All this time I thought it was. Picked Last For Every Sport Ellipsis is easily noticeable in Pidgeot and Ghastlys comments, after Geodude comments wut was ur nickname in high school again? Pidgeot and Ghastly avoid Saying your nickname at high school was and change it into it was.

Lexical Cohesion

About lexical cohesion we can say that there is a noticeable and not polite use of synonyms to make reference to Magikarp/ Gyarados. When the other Pokmon are discussing about Magikarps nickname they use different words to describe him such as: Magikrap, Magishitty, Picked Last for Every Sport and referring to Gyarados, Geodude changes his name into GAYarados.

Speech Acts From the speech acts theory point of view we have to say that there is no use of declarations, but there is wide use of representatives from the attacking Pokmon. On the other hand there is a wide use of expressives from Magikarp/ Gyarados.

Representatives In this conversation, representatives are empowering what Geodude, and the other Pokmon say. By the use of representatives they are proving that the Evolution picture is fake and therefore, Magikarp is lying. We can see that more clearly in the comments below. Geodude LOL u expect us to believe that? That pic is totes photoshopped, and u misspelled GAYarados apparently Pidgeot No dude, it was Magishitty. Charizard BURNED Raichu ELECTROCUTED

Expressives

In this conversation Magikarp/Gyarados is being attacked and therefore is defenseless about refuting what the others are saying about the picture. Gyarados uses expressives in order to protect and victimize himself; we can realize that in the comments below. Gyarados HEY SHUT UP OR ELSE I WORKED REAL HAR FOR THIS! Gyarados MY NAME IS GYARADOS AND IM A DRAGON A LOT SINCE HIGH SCHOOL

Felicity conditions At the beginning of the conversation the felicity conditions are given, Gyarados intention is to tell the world that he has evolved, that action is performed by posting a picture and a comment about it. From that point of view the felicity conditions for Gyarados are being met. But, from the other Pokmon point of view at the end of the conversation the felicity conditions are not met. The illocutionary act or the intention when posting those comments was to bother Gyarados. at the very beginning of the conversation those conditions are met. But later on in the conversation Gyarados quit answering the comments and the felicity conditions get broken for them. An exchanged structure is not followed by the participants of this conversation; they just post what they want in order to piss Gyarados off.

Adjacency pairs

Although this Facebook conversation apparently has not any adjacency pair throughout the conversation we can summarize it into the following adjacency pair, it is a provocation waiting for a negative response, and during the conversation we can notice that it happens, the provoke Gyarados and he answers in a negative way.

Cooperative principle maxims

Gyarados, by posting that picture and the comment below it Gyarados is following the maxim of quality; he is being sincere about his evolving process. (This can be an ambiguous appreciation, because as all Magikarp evolve into Gyarados we have to assume that he actually evolved into Gyarados). Later on in the conversation he is flouting the maxim of quantity, Gyarados is providing more information than the amount this is required about his evolving process. We notice can about that in the Comments below

Gyarados HEY SHUT UP OR ELESE, I WORKED REAL HARD FOR THIS! Gyarados WELL YOUR EVOLUTION IS JUST THREE DIGLETTS HANGING OUT TOGETHER. YEAH, SOMEONE FINALLY SAID IT.

There are three more comments that flout the maxim of Relation, Raichus, Charizards and Poliwags final comment, there is an ambiguity in those three comments. For a ingenuous reader those comments could be actually very ambiguous, but for the participants of the conversation everything is clear as we see in the comments below

Charizard BURNED Raichu ELECTROCUTED

Poliwag wet?

POLITENESS

In this Facebook conversation, there is not politeness at all, everybody starts attacking Gyarados and he follows the game by attacking Dugtrio, is impossible to find any kind of politeness. The closest example of negative politeness is Poliwag comments; he is trying to be rude by being polite as we will see in the comments below. Poliwag OH (Pokmon) SNAP, but yea, Magikarp: ur not foolin any1. Super uneffective

Appendix