6 Results
6.1 Discovered apology strategies
There has been an emphasis on cross-cultural studies in previous apology research, often with the goal of studying the universality of the apology speech act. Many languages have been studied but according to Ogiermann (2009: 63) English has received the most attention since it is often the language that is contrasted with the other language(s). Earlier studies have looked at apologies in English in every-day situations and counted the discovered strategies by singular instances, which is different from this study’s approach. Olshtain (1989), Bataineh and Bataineh (2008) and Ogiermann (2009), for example, all found similar strategies in their studies although they sometimes had different terms for them. These strategies include IFID/explicit apology, expression of responsibility, justification, self-criticism/deficiency/castigation, offer of repair, promise of forbearance, lack of intent to do harm, intensification, minimization, concern for hearer,
explanation/accounts, embarrassment, and denial of responsibility. The results of this study should bring something new to the discussion because the data and methods are different from
traditional apology research.
Before presenting the results, table 3 is provided below which includes short descriptions of the offenses that the YouTubers in the data committed. These descriptions are based on the video’s speaker’s own description of the offense. If the speaker has not described the offense in the video, the details of the incident were searched online by me. The speakers are referred to with pseudonyms instead of their real names. Female subjects are referred to with the letter F and a number, and male subjects are referred to with the letter M and a number.
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Table 3. Descriptions of the offenses committed by the creators of the videos.
Offender Offense
F1 As a college student, expressed that she wants the experience of college parties but does not care about studying.
F2 As the owner of a cosmetics company, put out lipsticks that were considered contaminated and subpar quality. (Although this person is a brand owner, she started out as a YouTuber and still posts videos as one. The video she put out is very similar in style to other videos on the data, which is why the video is included in the study.)
F3 Treated another YouTuber poorly by being insulting and not taking her transgender identity seriously.
F4 Accidentally uploaded a video which showed her abusing her dog.
F5 Told a real story about a student who died in her school without talking to the family of the student before making the video and was thus deemed insensitive.
F6 Used to be a fan of a YouTuber who was largely deemed problematic at the time of filming the apology video.
F7 Posted a video on social media where she went outside in public during a COVID-19 lockdown and displayed behavior that was deemed xenophobic.
F8 As a white American, did a DNA test to find out her genetic origin and afterwards seemed disappointed by the fact that her origins were mainly in Europe.
M1 Said an ethnic slur in a live stream as he was playing a video game.
M2 Filmed and uploaded a video on his channel that showed a victim of suicide in a forest.
M3 Was banned from a video game after uploading videos where he used a cheat in the game.
M4 Cheated on his girlfriend who is also a YouTube creator.
M5 Was banned multiple times from a streaming platform due to breaking their
guidelines that forbid self-harm (broke a keyboard over his head) and hate speech.
M6 Advised his viewers to go to an online community site for Mormons and ask them questions, which resulted in people going there and saying hurtful things.
M7 Uploaded a comedic video about another YouTuber, which resulted in his fans going and harassing that person.
M8 During a meet-and-greet event had a displeased expression on his face when a fan went to hug another person instead of him. Also, made a social media post where he expressed frustration over the fact that his driver did not speak English.
M9 Uploaded a video where he challenged himself to live on one pound (£1) for 24 hours and was thus deemed ignorant.
M10 Was found out to have used an ethnic slur in the past and was claimed to have paid money for gossip.
32 Offender Offense
M11 As a white American, made comedic videos in the past that were deemed offensive and racist and played African American people in some of those videos.
M12 Was suspended from a team-based video game for deliberately not trying to win a competitive game.
The strategies that were discovered in this study can be divided into seven general strategies.
Some of these strategies include additional sub-strategies, which will be explained in this
section. The general strategies are: 1. An expression of apology, 2. an explanation or account of the situation, 3. an acknowledgement of responsibility, 4. expressing praise, gratitude, or love, 5. an offer of repair, 6. a promise of forbearance and 7. not acknowledging responsibility. They will be
discussed in further detail below.
Figure 1 is provided next which presents the seven main categories by frequency in the entire data. As shown by figure 1, an explanation or account of the situation (35.9%) and an
acknowledgement of responsibility (26.1%) are the most commonly used strategies. An acknowledgement of responsibility as well as not acknowledging responsibility have a few sub-strategies which will be explained in detail later.
Figure 1. The seven main categories of apology strategies used in the data + unrelated (%).
3.5 3. An explanation or account of the situation
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The strategies found in the data correspond mostly with the strategies found in earlier research on English apologies (e.g. Olshtain 1989, Ogiermann 2009) with the exception of 4. expressing praise, gratitude, or love, which is an additional strategy based on the data which seemed suitable for this study. However, because this data is presented through word-count instead of singular instances of strategy use, the frequencies cannot be directly compared to those of earlier studies. For example, in many studies an expression of apology (or IFID) is presented as the most frequent strategy because it appears in nearly every apology situation. In this data an expression of apology is the least frequent because saying it does not require many words, and it is often said only a few times in the entire video.
Next, the strategies will be described with examples.
0. Content unrelated to the apology
All of the videos include some content which is not relevant to the apology itself. This includes, for example, greetings and farewells, explanations regarding why the video was being made and other unrelated content. This content has been put into its own category and will not be
discussed any further. This is due to the interest being solely on the apology itself and not the speech around it. However, this category has still been left into the results to demonstrate how much the subjects avoided talking about the apology itself. This content makes up 10.4% of the data.
1. An expression of apology
The first strategy is a direct expression of an apology. This strategy is the most straightforward way of expressing an apology in the data. It makes up 3.5% of the data.
(1) Yeah, I'm sorry, what can I say. (M12)
(2) And for that, from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry. I wanna apologize to the internet, I wanna apologize to anyone who’s seen the video, I wanna apologize to anyone who has
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been affected or touched by mental illness or depression or suicide, but most importantly, I wanna apologize to the victim and his family. (M2)
The two examples above illustrate some of the different ways that the subjects in the data offer a direct apology. In example 1, the speaker expresses his apology in a very simple manner. He even adds “what can I say” to show his audience that he does not have anything more to say. On the other hand, example 2 is quite the opposite. The speaker apologizes multiple times “from the bottom of [his] heart” and offers apologies to multiple, specific recipients. All speakers in the material offered a direct apology at least once, but the number varied between individuals.
In previous studies on English apologies, it seems that requests for forgiveness are not all that common. For example, Ogiermann (2009: 96) found only one instance of “forgive me” in her data of English apologies. The data in this study also includes only one instance of a speaker directly asking for forgiveness from the recipient. This singular instance has been included under the strategy of “an expression of apology,” because that is where it is usually included in other studies as well due to its function. It is presented below as example 3.
(3) I hope that you guys accept my apology if I, like, offended you. (F1)
Since example 3 is the only instance of this strategy in the data, we can assume that YouTubers do not prefer to use this strategy when they apologize. Ogiermann (2008: 266) suggests that “[i]n requesting forgiveness, the offender not only places her- or himself at the hearer’s mercy, but also threatens the hearer’s negative face by assigning her or him an active role in the process of forgiving.” Perhaps YouTubers do not want to place themselves or their hearer in this situation, so they avoid this strategy. Ogiermann (ibid.: 266) does also mention that this preference for negative politeness seems to be common in Anglo-Saxon culture.
In previous apology research, direct realizations of an apology are sometimes referred to as IFIDs (Illocutionary Force Indicating Devices) (see section 2.1). The current study uses the term
“an expression of apology” instead of “IFID” for the sake of simplicity, although IFID could be used here as well. The apology expressions in the data mostly include expressions like “I’m sorry”, “sorry” and “I apologize”, whereas the term IFID covers a wider selection of apology
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expressions which either do not appear in the current data (such as excuse) or have been placed in a separate category (such as regret).
2. An acknowledgement of responsibility
This strategy includes five sub-strategies with which the speaker acknowledges their
responsibility and involvement in the matter and accepts the blame that is being put onto them.
Taking on responsibility for an offense is an intention to placate the victim, but it is also a face-threatening act for the speaker. This strategy, including all five sub-strategies, makes up 26.1% of the data. Table 4 below presents the strategies and their amounts. The sub-strategies are
discussed in order from most to least frequent.
Table 4. Apology sub-strategies under the strategy of an acknowledgement of responsibility.
Strategies Word-count %
2a. Accepting the blame (e.g. It’s my fault) 3,246 50.2
2b. Self-criticism (e.g. I was stupid) 1,282 19.7
2c. Expressing lack of intent (e.g. I didn’t mean to) 981 15.2 2d. Expressing regret or remorse (e.g. I regret doing that, I feel bad) 736 11.4 2e. Expressing disappointment or shame in oneself (e.g. I’m ashamed
of myself)
225 3.5
Total 6,470 100
2a. Accepting the blame
The contents of this strategy are quite various, because one can “accept the blame” in many ways. The most common ways of accepting the blame in the data include admitting that they made a mistake or are in the wrong, saying that they are not trying to excuse or defend their actions and expressing that they understand where the victim(s) is/are coming from. The examples below represent this strategy most accurately.
(4) That was incredibly, incredibly wrong and hurtful for me to say. (F5)
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(5) I’m not gonna make excuses. There are no excuses for that kind of behavior. (M5) (6) … and I see where that came across that way … (F8)
In example 4, F5 accepts the blame by acknowledging how “wrong and hurtful” her words were in the past. In example 5, M5 expresses that he is not going to make excuses or defend what he did, because he likely knows that it was wrong. In example 6, the speaker states that she
understands why she came across a certain way and accepts the blame for it. Essentially, they are telling their recipients that they agree with the accusations and blame that has been put onto them.
2b. Self-criticism
The strategy of self-criticism refers to the speaker criticizing themselves in an attempt to provide an explanation to their mistake or simply to acknowledge their own deficiency. They
acknowledge their wrongdoing and give an internal reason for it. Most common self-criticisms in the data include calling oneself an idiot or stupid, expressing that they should be more mindful, and that they “should have known better”.
(7) I know completely that I should have done more research involving this whole thing. (M7) (8) If I’m gonna have this platform I need to understand the position I’m in and I can’t be so
thoughtless and impulsive and dumb when doing something for humor. I feel like, you know, I’m 24, I’m a grown-ass woman, this is something that an 18-year-old shouldn’t even do. (F7)
In example 7, M7 criticizes himself by acknowledging that he should have done more research before making the video which made people upset. In example 8, F7 feels that her behavior was not suitable for someone her age. Both speakers thus direct the blame onto themselves and their own qualities and choices.
37 2c. Expressing lack of intent
The next strategy involves the offender expressing lack of intent. They tell the recipient that they did not intend to do what they did. This strategy also includes cases where the speaker appeals to the notion of “everyone makes mistakes”. They argue that people, including themselves, will make mistakes sometimes even if they do not mean to.
(9) I didn't mean to do that. I'm not a… like I'm not that guy, that's not what I'm trying to do.
(M6)
(10) You know, everyone makes mistakes… no one is perfect in this world, sorry, and at the end of the day, you know, I’m just a human being. (M4)
Example 9 is a perfect illustration of an offender expressing their lack of intent. He even expresses that he is not “that guy”, which probably refers to something like “a guy who does things like this on purpose.” Example 10 is an instance of the plead for “everyone makes mistakes”. M4 explains that human beings make mistakes and that no one is perfect, including himself. This way he seems to present his mistake as a general accident that could happen to anyone, even the members of his audience.
2d. Expressing regret or remorse
This strategy includes cases where the speaker expresses feelings of regret or remorse. Regret is something that can come up in many ways and one could argue that the act of offering an apology is in itself an expression of regret. This specific strategy, however, only includes direct mentions of regret. This is merely in order to simplify the study a bit.
(11) I don't regret criticizing the beliefs and the opinions but attacking who [another YouTuber] was as a person. I shouldn't have done that. (F3)
(12) … and I regret every second of it. I shouldn’t have never answered these stupid-ass people. (M4)
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Both of these examples, 11 and 12, have the speaker expressing explicit regret over something and then saying that they “should not have done it.”
This strategy also includes instances where the offender expresses remorse. More specifically, the offender expresses that they feel bad about what has happened. The examples below should illustrate this.
(13) … and seeing that hurt me so much, knowing that she was hurt by something I did. (M8) (14) Yeah, so it's pretty obvious, I feel really bad. (M12)
In example 13, M8 explains that he felt hurt when he realized that someone else was hurt because of him. In example 14, M12 also says that he “feels bad”. When an offender expresses that they feel bad over the fact that they did something wrong, it shows the recipient that they are honest and regretful over what they have done. Victims often want to see the offender being remorseful to know that they are truly sorry.
2e. Expressing disappointment or shame in oneself
With this strategy, the offender explicitly expresses disappointment, shame, or embarrassment in themselves.
(15) I’m so disappointed in myself for doing this and not thinking about, like, the consequences that could’ve happened. (M3)
(16) All I can do is say that I’m ashamed of what I’ve done, I don’t wanna be that person. (M5) In both of these examples, the speakers directly say that they are disappointed or ashamed of themselves. The speaker in example 16 even goes as far as to say that he does not want to be
“that person”, which probably refers to something like “that person who does things like this.” It can be argued that these examples have hints of self-criticism and lack of intent in them. Some strategies tend to overlap like this. However, to simplify the study, these have been placed into this category because of the explicit expression of disappointment or shame.
39 3. An explanation or account of the situation
This strategy includes the speaker’s explanation of the offense, their personal view of the
situation or their own role in the offense. Every video in the data has this in some form, more or less. Some offenders like to give very long, detailed descriptions of the incident, whereas some try to avoid talking about the situation as much as they can. This strategy makes up 35.9% of the data.
(17) So, I was like ‘oh cool, this is [another YouTuber], I loved him when I was younger, I
watched him all the time’. It was really cool to see that happen, that he reacted to me, and I still can’t take that away that I felt like that, I did. I thought it was cool. Because I didn’t really, until today, I didn’t relate him to all the drama that’s happened ‘cause I haven’t really watched it. (F6)
(18) It was something that I said in the heat of the moment. I said the worst word I could possibly think of and it just sort of slipped out. (M1)
In example 17, F6 explains the background story of her situation. Throughout her video she is very open and willing to explain her point of view. On the other hand, in example 18, M1
explains his incident very briefly. This sentence is the only part in the whole video where he gives any kind of explanation of what happened. He is not as willing to talk about the situation as F6.
There are probably many factors that affect how open the offender is to explaining the situation, including the severity of the offense and how embarrassed the speaker feels.
When the speaker explains their reasoning regarding the situation, they sometimes give external reasons for their offense. These reasons are also explanations and personal accounts, but they seem to include shifting the blame to an external source.
(19) I had switched schools at one point and the year that I went to the other school they had already done geography and my school, my old school, hadn't and I ended up skipping that entire subject. (F8)
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(20) … a certain environment that I was in that I grew up in, it, you know, I grew up in the hood and I said that before. I didn't really, you know, wasn't the best place to grow up … (M10)
In example 19, F8 explains that her poor knowledge of geography is due to her not learning it properly in school because she switched schools. She is essentially saying that her poor
knowledge was not her fault entirely. To be fair, after this sentence she does also criticize herself for not making the effort to learn those things later on by herself. Still, she does provide some external reasoning. In example 20, M10 is explaining that the reason why he used racial slurs was because he “grew up in the hood and said that before”. These examples have hints of denying responsibility, but they do not explicitly deny it. The explicit utterance is an explanation which is why they have been placed in this category.
Page (2014: 37), who examined corporate apologies on Twitter, suggests that explanations can be either face-damaging or face-saving “depending on whether or not the explanations allow the
Page (2014: 37), who examined corporate apologies on Twitter, suggests that explanations can be either face-damaging or face-saving “depending on whether or not the explanations allow the