Gestures and Facial Expressions Illustrating the Expressive Speech Acts Used in the Russian Language on Social Media: A Case Study in А поговорить? Talk Show on YouTube

Abstract

The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) to categorize the types of expressive speech acts used by interviewees on the А поговорить? talk show, and 2) to examine the gestures and facial expressions employed by these interviewees to illustrate expressive speech acts during the interviews. Data were collected from 12 Russian interviewees, split evenly between women and men aged 30 to 40, who appeared on the show, aired on YouTube from 1 December 2019 to 31 May 2021. This study draws on the expressive speech act theories of Norrick (1978), Трофимова (2008), and Guiraud et al. (2011), as well as Акишина & Кано’s concept of using body parts to express gestures and facial expressions in Russian culture. The findings of this study allowed the categorization of 111 expressive utterances into 12 types of expressive speech acts, listed in descending order: 1) expressing sadness 2) agreeing 3) liking 4) expressing delight 5) disliking 6) disagreeing 7) thanking 8) complimenting 9) expressing concern 10) wishing 11) greeting and 12) apologizing. The expressive speech acts were also categorized through the study of gestures, arranged in descending order: 1) head and neck 2) body 3) hands and arms 4) palms 5) shoulders 6) hands, fingers, and fists. Facial expressions illustrating the expressive speech acts were ordered in descending frequency as follows: 1) eyes and eyelids 2) lips and mouth corners 3) brows 4) mouth and 5) teeth. The findings of this study have been applied to the instruction of Russian as a foreign language in the RUS3701, Russian Language and Culture course at Ramkhamhaeng University.