Haviza, Nadia (2025) An Analysis Of Speech Style Used By Oprah Winfrey In Super Soul Sunday Show. Other thesis, Universitas Islam Riau.

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Abstract

This study examines the types of speech styles used by Oprah Winfrey in "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and explores the factors influencing her choice of these styles. The research aims to classify Winfrey's speech styles according to Chaika’s (1982) framework—formal, informal, serious, ironic, and humor—and understand the underlying reasons for her style choices. The study addresses two key questions: (1) What kind of speech styles did the host employ on 'Super Soul Sunday' during interactions with guests? (2) What factors triggered the host to use certain types of speech styles on Oprah's Super Soul Sunday show? Employing a descriptive qualitative methodology, the research analyzes selected episodes of the show, focusing specifically on Winfrey’s utterances. The study uses transcriptions of these episodes to identify and categorize the speech styles, utilizing Chaika’s (1982) classifications. Holmes’s (2001) theory is applied to investigate the factors influencing these choices, including age, social background, speech convergence, and speech divergence. The findings reveal that Winfrey’s speech styles include formal, informal, serious, ironic, and humor, with a total of 66 utterances categorized into these types. The serious style was the most prevalent, with 43 serious style, reflecting its use to emphasize significant topics and enhance the gravity of discussions. Informal style appeared in 15 utterances, formal style in 5, ironic style in 2, humor in 1, and 4 combinations of serious-informal and formal-serious style. Additionally, the research identifies four main factors influencing speech style: the participant's age, social background, speech convergence, and speech divergence. This research offers a nuanced understanding of speech styles and their impact on effective communication in diverse contexts.

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