Apologizing, Taking Responsibility, and Acceptance of an Apology : Examples from American TV Dramas

This paper examines how English native speakers admit the responsibility for what they cause
and apologize, by observing some conversations from American TV dramas. It also observes
how people accept/not accept an apology, using the model of apology suggested by
Suszczyńska(1999).
The observation revealed that one of the key factors of the speech act “apologizing” is taking
responsibility and its degree. If the listener(the receiver of the apology) thinks that an apology
is not enough in that the causer of the problem is not taking full responsibility, he/she may not
accept it. In cultures where “taking responsibility” is difficult, the listener will evaluate the
speaker’s effort. Even in a situation where the listener has difficulty in forgiving, if he/she
notices the effort of the speaker (the causer of the trouble) in taking responsibility, he/she can
appreciate the effort and accept the apology.