Silence and face-work in two chinese TV talk shows

This study examines the phenomenon of silence and face-work in Chinese TV talk shows. In general, TV talk shows aim at entertaining the audience by interviewing celebrities either about their work or their personal life, subjects that will interest the audience. Since air time is limited, silence in such TV talk shows is not preferred. However, our study shows that there are many instances of silences in these talk shows. Silences are seen as meaningful turns in the conversations. The data is taken from two Chinese TV talk shows: Lu Yu You Yue (A Date with Lu Yu, henceforth LY) which is a popular information talk show in China and Kang Xi Lai Le (Here Comes Kang Xi, henceforth KX) from Taiwan. This study explores how the frame or expectations of the type of a talk show will determine how the silences are used in relation to face-work given the media specificity and cultural expectations.

► We study silence and face-work in two Chinese TV talk shows: LY and KX. ► In more serious LY, host uses silence to avoid FTA, transferring FTA to audience, and save own face. ► In exploitive talk show KX, hosts use silence to do FTA to humiliate guests. ► Guests use silence to not do FTA to hosts and for off-record strategies.