Pseudo-Intimacy Through Personal Pronouns In Indonesian Talk Shows: A Gender Perspective

Abstract

The paper takes a gender perspective in investigating how personal pronouns are used in enacting pseudo-intimacy in media interactions, particularly two Indonesian TV talk shows, namely the Show Imah Show and the Just Alvin Show. Overall, female participants show a greater preference for using intimate pronouns, meanwhile, pronouns for respect are more frequently employed by male speakers. These tendencies of using intimate forms in a formal context are pragmatically considered positive politeness. It is considered as such because the pragmatic function of the intimate forms expresses solidarity as well as creating and maintaining pseudo-intimacy between parties. This paper also argues that the tendencies can also be influenced by the social relationship between the parties (e.g., they tend to be close friends), and it is not a reflection of their social status being female or male speakers. The findings of the paper offer further insights into the literature on how linguistic features such as pronouns can create pseudo-intimacy.