1. Teaching Functions Using Movie Subtitles
Kenji Kitao
Doshisha University
Kyoto, Japan
S. Kathleen Kitao
Doshisha Women’s College
Kyoto, Japan

2. Introduction Good to teach English Movies (semi-natural conversations)
information about context
relationships among interlocutors
nonverbal cues
many dialogs (variety)

3. Uses Teaching language Analyzing functions
e.g., requests, apologies, etc.
Teaching concepts related to linguistic pragmatics

4. Dialogues Obtaining texts Scanning subtitles from DVD
Finding scripts on the Internet

5. With Software DVD Decrypter http://www.mrbass.org/dvdrip/
Download subtitles (image files)

6. DVD Decrypter

7. Scanning Subtitles SubRip
Scanning texts from image files

8. SubRip
2018/8/2
Kenji Kitao

9. SubRip

10. SubRip

11. Subtitles are often different from the actual dialogue.

12. Scripts or transcripts available online
Drew’s Script-o-Rama
Movie Scripts and Screenplays
Scripts
Original scripts

13. Simply Scripts http://www. simplyscripts
Simply Scripts Note: Scripts and transcripts are available online. Original scripts, or early drafts of scripts, may be different from the movie.
Transcripts are taken down from the movie itself, and they can be inaccurate.
2018/8/2
Kenji Kitao

14. Analyzing You’ve Got Mail

15. You’ve Got Mail 1998 movie Starring Tom Hanks Meg Ryan
Joe Fox, whose family owns a large bookstore chain, Fox Books
Meg Ryan
Kathleen, who owns a small independent children’s bookstore

16. Reasons for choosing this movie
Students’ interest
Natural, everyday dialogue
Involves both men and women
A variety of speech acts
Same functions in a variety of situations

17. Procedure Ripped subtitles from DVD
Put each sentence on one line on Excel
Added information about
Who the speaker was
Sex of the speaker
Whether the sentence is dialogue, voiceover, etc.
Function(s)

18. 2018/8/2
Kenji Kitao

19. Statistics 1 hour and 54 minutes
10, 949 words (8,512 words of dialogue）
1,894 sentences (1,578 in dialogue）
Other
, Voiceovers, Song lyrics, TV

20. 5.39 words per sentence
Level of difficulty 2.73 (3rd grade level)

21. Vocabulary Level Using the JACET 8000 word levels
About 96% of the words are within the first 5000 words, that is, within Japanese college students’ vocabulary
Can get a list of words at each level

22. Key Words in Context

23. Looking at functions
Seeing how one function is used in different situations, speaking to different interlocutors
Comparing males and females, younger and older speakers, etc.

24. Looking at requests Conventional forms (56 cases)
Imperative 23 (close people; very small requests; adult to child; intentional rudeness due to annoyance)
Please … / …, please. 8 (between customers and service people; used by itself to emphasize a request)
Could you/someone… 3 (boss to employee; customer to service person)

25. (naming what one wants) 3 (between customers and service people)
Let’s… 2 (caretaker to child; boss to employee)
Will you… 2 (boyfriend/girlfriend)
I/We’ll take… 2 (customers to clerks)
Would you… 1 (between friends)
(Do you) want to… 1 (caretaker to child)
I want… 1 (child to caretaker)
Will you… 1 (boyfriend/girlfriend)
I ask you to… 1 (clerk to customer)
You can… 1 (customer to clerk)

26. So … already! 1 (customer to customer [intentionally rude])
Do you think … 1
Can we … 1 (speaker to protesters)
You are (not)… 1 (acquaintances)
I beg you. 1 (acquaintances, emotional situation)
Do you mind… 1 (strangers; sarcastic intonation)
I would appreciate it if you would… 1 　(acquaintances)

27. Non-conventional forms (6 cases)
Is there anything you can do? 1 (customer to clerk)
It’s your turn to… 1 (customer to clerk)
Orange (Aren’t) you going to … 1 (customer to clerk, as part of a joke)
There you go… 1 (customer to clerk)
If you don’t… 1 (customer to service person; angry threat)
Zip, zip. 1 (customer to clerk)

28. Using Subtitles in the Classroom
Data-driven learning
Have students
Identify and analyze functions, find examples
Compare male and female language
Compare language of older and younger characters

29. Giving examples of linguistic pragmatic or sociolinguistic theory
Brown and Levinson’s positive and negative politeness
1. Bald on record – make a request directly
2. Positive politeness – meet H’s need to be liked and to feel included in the same group, e.g., through showing interest in H, using in-group identity markers, using first name, joking

30. 3. Negative politeness – a show of respect for H and H’s desire to be unimposed upon, e.g., by expressing request as a question, apologizing, not assuming, minimizing size of request
4. Off-record – make the request in a way that can be interpreted in more than one way, e.g., by hinting

31. Negative and positive politeness difficult for students to understand
Scene from You’ve Got Mail as example of contrast between negative and positive politeness
Kathleen is shopping and sees Joe, a business rival, but avoids him
Goes to register to pay for purchases

32. The cashier finishes adding up Kathleen’s purchases.
Cashier: $ (The cashier requests the amount by stating it. Bald on record. task-oriented)
(Kathleen holds out a credit card.)
Cashier: This is a cash-only line. Cash only. (The cashier refuses by stating a general principle.)

33. The supermarket scene from You’re Got Mail on YouTube 　　
2018/8/2
Kenji Kitao

34. Kathleen: Oh, my God. I just have a credit card. I'm sorry
Kathleen: Oh, my God. I just have a credit card. I'm sorry. Is that okay? (Negative politeness strategies:. Apologize, ask permission [not assuming])
Customer: No, it's not okay. There's a sign.
Kathleen: I'm sorry. I'm very sorry. I never do this. But I ask you to make an exception in this one case. (Negative politeness strategies: Apologize; Indicate reluctance [“I never do this.”] Minimize imposition [“in this one case”])

35. Customer 1: You have no cash? She has no cash.
Customer 2: No, she has no cash.
Customer 3: Get on another line, lady. (Bald on record; annoyed and intentionally rude)
Kathleen: I have a dollar. That's all I have. I have a dollar. One dollar. Is there anything you can do? (Negative politeness strategies: Give overwhelming reasons; not assuming)

36. Joe comes up to her. He offers her cash, but when she refuses, he turns to the cashier.
Joe: Rose. That is a great name. Rose. This is Kathleen. I'm Joe. This is a credit card machine. Happy Thanksgiving. It's your turn to say ”Happy Thanksgiving” back. (Positive politeness strategies: Claim common ground [notice and attend to H; exaggerate interest in H]; Use in-group identity markers [first names]; Complimenting)

37. Cashier: Happy Thanksgiving back.
Joe: Knock, knock.
Cashier: Who's there?
Joe: Orange.
Cashier: Orange who?

38. Joe: Orange you going to give us a break by zipping this credit card through the credit card machine? Come on. You can do it. Zip, zip. There you go. (Positive politeness strategies: Being optimistic [“Come on. You can do it. Zip zip.”]; joking; involving both S and H in the activity [though the joke])
(The clerk runs Kathleen’s credit card.)

39. Using in class Explain Brown and Levinson’s categories
Show the scene from You’ve Got Mail
Give students the script of the scene
Ask students to work in groups to identify examples of positive and negative politeness in the dialogue
Discuss with the class

40. The End