INTRODUCTION
It is unquestionable that a television series has become an outlet of many memorable lines, which we can recall in any moment of time. These lines of dialogues are scripted and fictional conversations between or among TV characters which are indeed fundamental to how televisual narrative works. Hence, dialogues move the story forward along in the direction of the plotline. In addition, it often illuminates the central theme of the series which is sustained from one season to another, even the forthcoming ones and beyond. Aside from the abovementioned, however, dialogues fulfill this another important function: the revelation of what's there within the character (social differences, intentions and personal stance/s). And this can actually be traced in one of the most, if not the most yet, far-famed drama series that is consumed by millions of viewers worldwide, including us.
Game of Thrones is the story of a deadly game among powerful houses for control of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, and to sit atop the iron throne. Basically, we have chosen this as our material because of our personal inclinations toward the series. Aside from its spectacular storyline, brilliant execution, exceptional casting and great camera work, Game of Thrones has captured us with its highly engaging dialogue that interplay with its respective characters. Honestly, there are so many dialogues in every episode that display exquisite intricacy leaving much of an impression to the viewers--to us. One of the many particular scenes could be on Episode 3 on its third season.
This scene is so compelling by its dialogue which accentuates the rising action of the episode and illuminates each TV character present. A slaver who insists upon a dragon; a queen who is in need of soldiers. Both of them could have been caught up in the chaos of language barrier and might have ended up in a dispute if it is not for Missandei who becomes more than just a servant but turns into a go-between. Accordingly, Huang (2005) pointed out that individuals often avoid taboos, odious ideas, and what are socially complicated by substituting them with polite phrases and accurate words (2005, pp.46-47). And little do we know, we are already using what we called 'Euphemism'. As social tools, euphemism is widely used in every level of society to meet certain communicative needs, show respect, humility, and politeness. These tools could make our speech more expressive and colorful since they adapt speech to different situations (Alkire, 2002).
The objective of this study is to analyze how the employment of 'Euphemism' in the translation of the slave emphasizes her social status, how it saves one's face through Politeness, and helps the negotiation between the Queen and her Lord to come to a harmonious level.
In order to answer these questions, it is best to use Conversational Analysis as an approach. Conversation analysis draws its conclusion mainly on the discovery of how the participants understand and respond to one another on their turn at talks and how it reveals their intentions, status and stance particularly through its language use, voice and the sequences of their action generated. For these observations, that particular scene in GOT Season 3 Episode 3 thus provides a fertile and challenging ground for conversation analysis.