Roasting Videos: A YouTube-based Vernacular Discourse
Abstract
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This research endeavors to investigate the impact of a novel genre, that is, roasting. It also aims to know how this YouTube discourse finds its way into the vernacular discourse in the Pakistani context. The researchers selected two highly subscribed Pakistani YouTube channels, that is, KhujLee Family and CBA-Arslan Naseer. Using the purposive sampling technique two videos from each channel were selected, which made a total of four videos selected as sample. The researchers meticulously observed the trending section of YouTube with the purpose to select far reaching roasting videos of the aforementioned channels. This phenomenological research employed the Interactive Alignment Model as its theoretical framework. The conclusions suggested that conversation designs are the outcomes of addressee feedback and penetrate the vernacular discourse (Chiarello & Clark, 2012), casting a deep impact on its viewers particularly in terms of desensitization. The findings further explicated that desensitization has amplified because of the consumption and reciprocation of such content by the receivers, courtesy of the participatory culture of YouTube. This allows the viewers to not only enjoy roasting videos but also to imitate the abusive vocabulary used as punch line, mostly in Punjabi. The participation of viewers was observed through the comment section of the selected videos, advocating the consequent desensitization of the vernacular discourse. Subsequently, the study implies that the creation and dissemination of the roasting content can be achieved in a responsible manner by decreasing the use of curse words.
Keywords: CBA-Arslan Naseer channel, desensitization, Interactive Alignment Model, Khujlee Family channel, participatory culture, roasting videos, trending section, vernacular discourse, YouTubeDownloads
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