Quiz show as a hybrid genre of media discourse

Nowadays the line between the mediagenres has become increasingly blurred. For this reason genre hybridity is an important and relevant feature of media texts. This paper focuses on description of the features of the genre structure of TV quiz show, which determine genre hybridization. The major objective of this study is to investigate types of hybridity. The research material is outlets of the Russian quiz shows “Clever girls and clever boys” and “What? Where? When?” on Channel One. We consider TV quiz show speech genre as communicative event intellectual game realization. Hence, we draw on Borisova I. N. communicative event conception and linguopragmatic method. According to linguopragmatic method, within the scope of our discussion are the communicative situations of the game, corresponding to its stages, and the role relations of communication partners, including situational-role variation of speech. The results indicate that quiz show is a very clear example of hybrid media genre. Quiz show has such types of hybridization as genre, discursive, polycode and polytext hybridity. Genre hybridity is due to hypergenre nature of quiz show which implies the inclusion of a number of subgenres in its structure. Discursive hybridity is a result of the combination of sports, judicial, didactic and entertainment discourse. Polytext hybridity is the combination of precedent texts and the use of stylization. Polycode hybridity is characterized with the interaction of various sign systems. In summary, hybridization of quiz show determines manifestations of new genre features, such as a trend towards symmetry of communication and intimization; tendencies to role variation of the television anchorman’s speech; trends towards polylogue use; stylization trends. The scientific novelty of the research is putting to use the new notion “discursive hybridity”.

discourse analysis, media discourse, speech genre, hybrid genre, quiz show