Neste estudo, analisamos a realização linguística dos pedidos de desculpas em situações espontâneas no português do Brasil e no espanhol da Argentina. Os corpora são constituídos por fragmentos das atrações televisivas Big Brother Brasil e Gran Hermano Argentina. Ao nos voltarmos para os estudos pragmáticos para abordar a cortesia, considerando que este fenômeno linguístico-discursivo está apoiado no conceito de face, recorremos aos postulados de Goffman (1970), Brown & Levinson (1987 [1978]), Leech (1997), chegando até os mais recentes estudos, com teóricos como Haverkate (1994), Kerbrat-Orecchioni (2004, 2005, 2006), Bravo (1999, 2004, 2009), Briz Gómez (1996, 2001) e Álvarez Muro (2005). Nas interações analisadas do corpus do português do Brasil, observou-se uma forte valorização da imagem pública, com uma preocupação com a imagem junto aos telespectadores, ou seja, há a preocupação com a efetivação da desculpa e a volta da interação, valorizando o consenso. No corpus argentino, por sua vez, observou-se que a intenção primeira é a valorização da imagem pessoal frente ao interlocutor direto, sem um trabalho efetivo de imagem junto ao telespectador, de forma que expressar sua opinião e sustentá-la até o fim, mesmo ao custo da manutenção da interação, é mais valorizado que o consenso. Os resultados apontam que, se há, por um lado, o valor brasileiro de parecer bom, posicionando-se de forma contrária a qualquer atitude que possa ser considerada como preconceituosa, mesmo que isso custe o direito de defender sua opinião frente aos demais; do lado argentino, há a valorização do sentido de parecer justo, buscando a defesa do direito de expressar sua opinião e defendê-la, mesmo ao custo da manutenção da interação. / In these studies we will analyze the linguistic application of apologies in spontaneous situations in both Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish in Argentina. The corpora consists of fragments from Big Brother Brazil and Gran Hermano Argentina, both television programs. When we turn to the pragmatic studies to address courtesy, and considering that this discursive linguistic phenomenon is supported by the concept of face, we agree with the postulates of Goffman (1970), Brown & Levinson (1987 [1978]), Leech (1997) and with the most recent studies of theoreticians such as Haverkate (1994), Kerbrat-Orecchioni (2004, 2005, 2006), Bravo (1999, 2004, 2009), Briz Gómez (1996, 2001) and Álvarez Muro (2005). In the analyzed interactions of Brazilian Portuguese corpus we observed a strong enhancement of public image in relation to the viewers, with a concern for the image of the viewers. Thus, there is a concern about the effectiveness of the apology and the return of the interaction, valuing consensus. Regarding the Argentinean corpus, on the other side, we observed that the primary intention is to value personal image in relation to the interlocutor, without an effective work with the image of the viewer. This is done in order to express their opinion and to support it until the end, even at the cost of maintaining the interaction, which is more valued than the consensus. The results indicate that there is, on one hand, the Brazilian value of \"looking good\", placing it in an opposite manner to any action that might be considered prejudicial, even if it costs the right to defend his opinion toward the other; on the Argentinean side, the results point to a sense of \"being fair\", seeking to defend the right to express their opinion and defend it, even at the cost of maintaining the interaction.

In recent years, YouTube has evolved from a user-generated platform to a platform that thrives on professionalized and marketable content, otherwise known as the era of the social media influencer (Kim, 2012;). This thesis applies neutralization and Millsian theories to help unpack the widespread fraud and deceptive advertising on the platform within a neoliberal capitalist context. The focal points of this thesis are apology videos in the wake of deceptive/fraudulent advertising scandals, cancel culture, and the symbiotic relationship that influencers and corporations share in paid sponsorships on YouTube. The findings indicate that influencers function similarly to corporate entities during scandals and engage in neutralizations to protect their reputation, brand, and business relationships (Schoultz & Flyghed, 2019; Whyte, 2016). This thesis also points to the legal challenges in holding influencers accountable at the level of domestic advertising agencies and on YouTube itself. Lastly, this thesis questions the invisibility of corporations in these scandals regarding how this may be indicative of larger manifestations of corporate power in society.

The apology video has become a genre of its own on YouTube. Easily recognizable, the particular ways that YouTube creators address controversy on the platform have been subject to extensive parody and media coverage as they rack up drama-fueled views. Despite this satirization, the apology video is a strategic tool for creators to repair tarnished reputations, regain the trust of their audience, and secure their livelihood in the face of public conflict. Through semiotic visual analysis and quantitative content analysis of videos from six popular creators this thesis examines their strategies of apology and expressions of emotional labour as a form of self presentation. The analysis departs from theoretical perspectives on the strategies of apology, the nature of a public crisis, and on performativity. The main findings reveal that the most heavily used strategies of apology are those involving acknowledging an offense, presenting plans to solve or prevent recurrence, and asking for forgiveness. An important factor is discovered to be the visual and behavioral performance of sincerity through aesthetics of intimacy and authenticity. And lastly, findings also indicate that creators discuss emotional labour in relation to facing criticisms or hardship, in worry around maintaining an income, and in order to continuously project a marketable persona.

Pragmatics is part of communicative competence. In order to communicate successfully, pragmatic competence is of vital importance. Although pragmatics has played a significant role in L2 learners' communicative competence, pragmatics still has not been commonly taught in the classroom. The present research investigates the efficacy of instruction in pragmatics in the advanced Chinese language class has on the production and appropriate use of apology strategies, and examines the correlation between exposure in a Chinese Speaking Community (CSC) and pragmatics development. The subjects include 55 students in their third-year of college-level Chinese, divided into four classes at Brigham Young University. The study uses an experimental design in which the participants are assigned either to an explicit instruction group or an implicit instruction group. Participants in both groups also report their experience in a CSC. Results of this study show which as a whole improved their apology performance over the 8-week instruction, as rated by Chinese native speakers. Results reveal no significant difference between the explicit and implicit instruction groups, suggesting that explicit and implicit approaches were both effective methods in facilitating pragmatic competence. In addition, we also found no statistically significant difference between the CSC and Non-Chinese Speaking Community (NCSC) group in their pragmatic development. The findings of the present study indicate that pragmatic knowledge may emerge from classroom instruction, regardless of explicit or implicit instructional approaches; and living in a Chinese speaking communities do not necessary aid or accelerate the development of pragmatic competence.

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In the current ‘Age of Apology’, public apologies have become everyday occurrences; from corporate CEOs to Hollywood celebrities to political figures, the adage of ‘never apologize, never explain’ has been eschewed in favour of ‘always apologize, always explain’. In a society where news travels at the speed of the internet, and content can go ‘viral’ in hours, there are new pressures for all public figures to apologize when things go wrong. These public apologies are available for public consumption almost immediately after an offense, released through mainstream media (e.g. broadcast news, physical/online newspapers) or, as is becoming more frequent, over social media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram). Some researchers (e.g. Kampf, 2009; Thaler, 2012) have suggested that public apologies are not true apologies as defined by Speech Act theory – that they may serve another social function, but not to apologize. Such ‘fauxpologies’ are made without meeting the traditional felicity conditions for the speech act of apology (Ogiermann, 2009). If this is the case, what makes a public apology (in)felicitous? The aim of this thesis is to describe what makes a public apology felicitous. I present a critical analysis of the discourse strategies used in three types of public apologies – corporate, celebrity, and historical political – examining how these discursive strategies are used according to varying contextual factors using Critical Discourse Analysis and Speech Act theory as a framework. To counter the claim that the discourse strategies used in public apology do not meet the felicity conditions for the speech act of apology, I present evidence that, despite using some non-apology strategies, many public apologies are felicitous. However, I argue for the adoption of a revised set of felicity conditions as laid out by Murphy (2014, 2015), which can properly encompass public apology as a performative speech act. This study also extends the framework of semantic formulae previously used in apology analysis (Blum-Kulka & Olshtain, 1984; Olshtain & Cohen, 1983) to include ‘fauxpology’ strategies particularly useful in examining public apologies, which provides a more robust description of how public apologies are performed. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

On 11 June 2008 the Government of Canada delivered an official apology to former students of Indian residential schools for its participation in the schools’ creation and administration. The morally infused discourses of political apologies may at first seem to symbolize a progressive step towards a better and more egalitarian future. This thesis, however, will challenge and problematize such perspectives by presenting not only a critical analysis of the 2008 apology itself but also by contextualizing the apology’s narratives with the colonial framing strategies which have historically served to marginalize and dominate the Indigenous nations and peoples of Turtle Island. Through the critical exploration of the 2008 apology’s operability and political significance in Canada’s colonial context, this thesis intends to reveal both the message(s) that the apology got across to the Canadian general public and the forms of domination and political distraction that the apology’s seemingly moral and progressive narratives effectively belie.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Cette thèse examine, dans leur rapport aux Pensées de Pascal, deux ensembles de l’apologétique chrétienne, chacun dans sa quasi-totalité : les auteurs grecs et latins jusqu’à 450 et les auteurs français de la fin du XVIe siècle jusqu’à Pascal (1662). L’hypothèse initiale était que la fragmentation des Pensées pouvait avoir des modèles littéraires dans l’époque où naquit la polémique des philosophes contre le christianisme. La recherche porte sur les formes littéraires des apologies en considération de leur parenté avec les Pensées en discontinuité, en disposition, et, à titre secondaire, en inventaire d’arguments principaux. Il s’avère que les Pensées héritent de la première apologétique leurs particularités formelles, ainsi que leur thématique. Pour les modèles d’apologies antiques fragmentaires, nous avons relevé les Stromates de Clément d’Alexandrie et les Sentences de Sixte. Nous n’avons pas trouvé de modèles des Pensées au XVIIe siècle, mais avons constaté que l’apologie de Pascal a beaucoup en commun sur le plan du contenu avec les écrits des apologistes du même siècle. Nous avons aussi conclu que ce qu’on entend par emprunts ou lectures de Pascal dans ses précurseurs immédiats, peut appartenir à la tradition apologétique maintenue par une multitude d’écrivains insuffisamment connus, parmi lesquels il est impossible de déterminer l’auteur d’une sentence donnée. Ainsi la discontinuité des Pensées, défaut aux yeux des contemporains et originalité qui détermine leur succès postérieur, est due au choix conscient de Pascal en faveur de l’apologétique des Pères de l’Église, choix qui s’inscrit dans le retour aux sources du catholicisme de la Contre-Réforme. / Our dissertation looks at two corpuses of apologias, both analysed almost in their entirety, in relationship with Pascal’s Pensées : they are the Roman and Greek apologists up to 450 AD, and the French seventeenth century apologists (until 1662). We made an assumption that the Pensées’ fragmentary form might have had literary models in that period when Christianity began to defend itself against the philosophers’ attacks. Our research studies the apologists’ literary choices in comparison with Pascal’s in view of discontinuity, disposition and, secondarily, content of main arguments. It appears that the Pensées do inherit from the early apologists their literary form as well as their themes. Clement of Alexandria’s Stromata and the Sentences of Sextus have emerged as possible sources and specific models of fragmented apologies. No such models were to be found in seventeenth century France, but the substance of Pascal’s apology has a lot to do with the works of contemporaries. Is has also become clear that what is generally assumed as borrowed by Pascal from a few contemporaries, belongs in fact to the general apologetic tradition, as maintained by a vast number of insufficiently well-known authors, and cannot be traced back to one apologist in particular. The Pensées’ discontinuity, perceived at the time as a flaw and hailed since as unique, and a key to the book’s success, stems from Pascal’s deliberate decision to follow where the Church Fathers had led, in line with the Contre-Réforme’s return to early christian roots.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal