Sung, Juhyun. (2023). “Discourse Analysis of Rita Pierson’s TED Talk: "Every Kid Needs a Champion"”. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea, 31(2), 1-27. The study focuses on the discourse strategies used in Rita Pierson’s TED Talk “Every Kid Needs a Champion” speech. The transcript and video of her speech retrieved from the TED website were used as data. This paper analyzes how she has used different discourse strategies to successfully deliver her speech based on the politeness theory, persuasion strategies, and relevance theory. The findings suggest that Pierson efficiently used different discourse strategies to effectively deliver her idea through a brief public speech, which remains one of the most viewed TED speeches. The results prove that Rita Pierson has exerted effort to strategically encourage other educators to build relationships or connections with the students to improve the education system.

This paper aimed to discuss the operative aspects of politeness from two perspectives (i.e., social duty and intentional strategy) by examining the Korean public perceptions presented within the Korean literature texts. As the Korean social duties for politeness presuppose the recognition of status, the speech and behaviors of superiors and inferiors are distinct and fixed. Thus, the truth is concealed to respect superiors’ status while inferiors are forced to do self-depreciation. In addition, speech and behavior for solidarity and fellowship are considered as ones that inferiors dare not perform to superiors, and instead are replaced by obedience and permission to superiors. The intentional strategies of inferiors to superiors for individual profits run outwardly in parallel with polite behaviors performing social duties. However, when they do not bring any profits, the polite speech and behavior disappears, thus bringing about relative betrayal. On the other hand, the intentional politeness of superiors to inferiors is marked in Korea. It is performed to trade profits with each other and recognized according to a hearer’s subjective perspective and emotion. In this way, Korean politeness in terms of the social norms operates in the boundary between harmony and betrayal.