A study of ritualized expressions in Spanish language original version film scripts

This study examines the use of ritualized expressions, such as greetings and farewells, in the scripts of Spanish-language films, focusing on their application in teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language (ELE) and their connection to Spanish Studies: language, literature and culture. The primary objective is to identify and describe the pragmatic features associated with the contexts in which these expressions occur within movie scenes, evaluating their contextual appropriateness. Frequently, lexicographic resources and ELE manuals fail to adequately address the pragmatic conditions governing the use of these expressions. To fill this gap, this study delimits and analyzes the scenes where ritualized expressions are used or omitted, conducting a comparative and pragmatic-linguistic analysis. The results are compared with those generated by a language model (LLM), such as ChatGPT 4o, which provides contextual data (subtitles, transcripts, video files, or screenshots) to analyze and describe the same scenes through targeted prompts. This approach incorporates a mixed methodology, combining qualitative descriptions (conducted by human experts) and quantitative data (generated by the LLM). This dual perspective enables the systematization and objectification of data, uncovering usage patterns and consolidating the ritualized nature of these expressions. The study also evaluates whether these expressions meet the criteria for inclusion in lexicographic lists with appropriate pragmatic contexts for language teaching. Finally, this study clarifies how the use conditions for ritualized expressions should be described in ELE materials, distinguishing between genuinely ritualized expressions and those created as fictional elements in audiovisual scripts. It also documents the diachronic and diatopic uses of these expressions while offering a comprehensive comparison between analyses conducted by human experts and those generated by AI tools.