‘I Believed It Was a Work Event’: Sociolinguistic Features in an Apology and Its Responding Memes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/lev112026167522Keywords:
political apologies, sociolinguistics, apology theory, memes, speech acts, social mediaAbstract
Sometimes, simply saying you are sorry is not enough. Apologies are not always perceived as adequate or sincere, and when they fall short, they can provoke public criticism and creative responses, also in popular culture. This article examines the criteria an apology must meet to be regarded as convincing, and how it can be disputed or rejected in popular culture when it fails to meet them. The article analyzes Boris Johnson’s parliamentary apology concerning the 2022 ‘Partygate’ controversy, drawing on speech act theory and politeness theory. A close reading of the apology suggests that it is phrased to express empathy with public frustration rather than to clearly acknowledge any wrongdoing by Johnson, making the unspecified apology untrustworthy. The second part of the article examines how some of the responding memes to the apology contribute to new interpretations. In this manner, it is illustrated how memes function as multimodal speech acts that reinterpret and critique the official narrative and further highlight how popular culture templates allow the public to ‘talk back’ to authority.
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