A Study of Pragmatic Strategies of Medical Chinese Comfort Language Based on Speech Act Theory: A Case Study of Four Medical Documentary Series – The Story in ER, The Doctors, A Lifelong Journey, and Sheng Ming Yuan

Abstract

Based on Speech Act Theory, this paper takes four medical documentaries, including The Story in ER, The Doctors, A Lifelong Journey, and Sheng Ming Yuan, as linguistic data sources, using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, aiming to categorize the pragmatic strategies of comfort language employed in doctor-patient conversations and to analyze the reasons behind the higher frequency of certain comfort strategies. Using Searle’s constitutive rules, it defines the comfort language used by medical personnel toward patients or their families in Chinese medical discourse. The comfort pragmatic strategies are categorized into two main approaches: Patient-oriented Strategies and Healthcare Personnel-oriented Strategies. The former is further divided into Targeting-patient-emotions Strategies and Targeting-patient-behaviors Strategies, while the latter includes Healthcare Personnel Attitudes Strategies, Professional Techniques Strategies, and Echoing Strategy. Statistical analysis reveals that Targeting-patient-emotions Strategies and Professional Techniques Strategies have significantly higher frequencies compared to other types of strategies. This paper interprets this phenomenon from the perspective of the Highly Person-centered approach and the asymmetry of power in the doctor-patient relationship.