The Middle Scene Analysis

In the scene from the show The Middle (S9, E12), where Sue and Brad are sitting at the bar and watching Aiden and his band perform, while having a conversation, after which Aiden comes up to Brad and Sue with his friend Luke, whom Brad instantly becomes attracted to, characters use both verbal and nonverbal communication in order to convey their emotions and important messages to their partners, in this case in both a romantic way and the fake romantic way. This scene is important to the episode because it marks the start of a new relationship between Brad and Luke and the near end of Aiden and Sue’s relationship. Sue, Brad, Aiden and Luke use low/informal language to establish the casual atmosphere of the scene, code switching to switch to

2018, p.). Sue uses code switching in this scene because she came to the bar ready to break up with Aiden, but then she says, “Eugh, Brad, my stomach is all fluttery, and not the good kind like when you realize that you are the only one on the ballot for youth group treasurer. Maybe this isn’t the right time to break up with him” (Sue, 2018). She switches her speech repertoire, “sets of complex language styles, behaviors and skills in different situations” (O’Hair et al. 2018, p.), in order to not break up with Aiden. She blames her upset stomach as an excuse to not do what she wanted to do, thus using language to change the situation in which she is with Aiden. In the bar scene, Brad’s shift in the speech repertoire, is also an example of code switching. Brad replies to Luke, “good, very good” (Brad, 2018), in a different manner than he spoke to Sue seconds ago, he speaks slowly and, in a way, seductive using his language. His intentions are different for Luke than they are for Sue, so he used code switching to emphasize his intentions to Luke, which are to attract him and potentially start a romantic relationship. Sue also uses code switching in this scene. She came to the bar ready to break up