146 | nº 36, pp. 145-162 | January-June of 2023Phraseology and oral discourse in the TV series La que se avecinaISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicación1. IntroductionModern television oers many dierent forms of entertainment: game shows, reality TV, documentaries, and ction productions. ere is great variety of genres among these latter, and considerable mixing between pure genres. From amongst these ction formats, we are going to analyse the phraseology of some of the characters from La que se avecina. e action in shows of this type revolves around established characters, dierent situations arising around them in each episode. e story begins and ends in each programme. Daring though it may seem, the series has been compared to or thought of as an adaptation of the Ibáñez comic, La gran aventura de Mortadelo y Filemón (made into a lm by director Javier Fesser in 2003): the indebted neighbour, the shmonger (though he prefers to be called a wholesaler), the hair-dresser, the bar or the estate agency. Linguistically, we would have to analyse such expressions as: sapristi!, su padre! or ande y váyase a tomar el viento a la farola! from the point of view of phraseology or pragmalingusitics. It is hardly surprising that readers of Ibáñez’s work have inherited in their form of speech a series of phrases which originated in the numerous volumes of the special agents’ adventures. Certain expressions read in the Mortadelo & Filemón strips have been branded into their readers’ memories and are used when they nd themselves in similar situations. One of the most eective is servidor de usted y picapedrero, which Mortadelo says when acting under orders and thumping the bad guy. e image below contains the expression Rayos, me está bien por bajar a por un duro para pipas (Billy el Horrendo), normally used when he (Billy) has put his foot in it: by the medium and its consumers’ behaviour. Methodologically, we have strived to look at the type of set phrases or particular pragmatemes employed by dierent characters in the series which have entered the receivers’ colloquial speech. A Google online survey was posted on the social media platforms Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp to ensure that the results are anonymous, spontaneous and immediate. e results show that these linguistic elements have been established in Spanish society’s colloquial language.Keywords:La que se avecina; phraseology; pragmateme; ction series; television.televisivo supone reconocer el modelo de comunicación empleado por este medio en la actualidad y el comportamiento de sus consumido-res. Metodológicamente, tratamos de averiguar qué tipo de frases he-chas o pragmatemas particulares de distintos personajes de la misma se han establecido en la lengua coloquial de los receptores a partir de una encuesta online de Google publicada en las redes sociales Twitter, Instagram, Facebook y WhatsApp, de manera que los resultados obte-nidos pudieran ser anónimos, espontáneos e inmediatos. Los resultados concluyen en que estos elementos lingüísticos se han establecido en la lengua coloquial de nuestra sociedad. Palabras clave: La que se avecina; fraseología; pragmatema; series de cción; televisión. doxa.comunicación | nº 36, pp. 145-162 |January-June of 2023María Victoria Galloso Camacho and Elena Martín Márquez ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978147Image 1. Phraseological example of a panel from Mortadelo y FilemónSource: El rincón de Mortadelón. Frases heredadas1.1. Fiction series, phraseology & pragmatemesUtilising a linguistic and communicative analysis of ction series as popular as La que se avecina, this work is born from observation of how language denes the society in which it is created due to the signicant inuence that television series have on their viewers, particularly with regard to linguistic and identity stereotypes. It is for this reason that we were interested in studying the phraseology of this particular series.Numerous studies have sought to explain from a theoretical perspective what phraseology is. However, there are very few in which this discipline is studied in a practical way. at is to say, few have looked into how phrasemes that appear in books, television series, radio programs, etc., are later reected in the language of their audience. One such study is that of Tinoco Pérez (2020), in which the pragmatemes of two works of ction are analysed: Star Wars and Harry Potter, and where it is pointed out that:In digital communication, especially on television, there is an extraordinary profusion of pragmatematic elements destined to sublimate the everyday to stupefying extremes, to ask too much of the viewer’s evocative, representative ability, so that they reect in their language a world full of these catchy pieces, each of which contains a story. ings happen in those stories –these are minimal narratives– but their vitality comes from those who consume them (Tinoco Perez, 2020: 47).us, the pragmatemes or phrasemes depend on the utilisation people assign them, that is, in the moment that users cease utilising a set phrase, it vanishes from society’s collective vocabulary. If communication does not function, although the phrase remains as a residual for some speakers, it will no longer be used. It could be said that, in the case of La que se avecina, its pragmatemes are currently commonly used and can be found at all levels of society, and therefore possess great vitality. It is safe to arm that when the series ceases to be broadcasted viewers will stop employing these pragmatemes in favour of others in their lexicon deriving from a new fashionable TV series. 148 | nº 36, pp. 145-162 | January-June of 2023Phraseology and oral discourse in the TV series La que se avecinaISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónAlthough the Royal Spanish Academy dictionary states that phraseology is ‘a set of established phrases, gurative locutions, metaphors and set comparisons, idioms and sayings, existing in a language, and utilised by individuals or some groups’, one of the diculties facing researchers into phraseology is the diversity of proposed classications of phraseological units (Corpas Pastor, 1996; Wotjak & Wotjak, 2014). is study is based on the proposal set out by Corpas (1996: 20), who denes phraseological units as: Lexical units made up of more than two graphical words and which may include the whole of a compound sentence. Such units are characterised by their frequent usage, and the coappearance of their integral elements; by their institutionalisation, understood in terms of their semantic specialisation and setting; by their idiomaticity and potential variations; as well as by the degree in which all these aspects appear in the dierent types. In line with this denition, a series of common linguistic characteristics can be observed such as being a polylexical unit, a certain degree of axation, extended use that encourages its inclusion in a community of speakers’ cultural heritage and a swift identication by native speakers. is proposal also oers the following classication for phraseological units:Figure 1. Classication of phraseological units (Corpas Pastor, 1996: 50-52)Unidades léxicas formadas por más de dos palabras gráficas en su límite inferior, cuyo límite superior se sitúa en el nivel de la oración compuesta. Dichas unidades se caracterizan por su alta frecuencia de uso, y de coaparición de sus elementos integrantes; por su instituanalización, entendida en términos de fijación y especialización semántica; por su idiomaticidad y variación potenciales; así como por el grado en el cual se dan todos estos aspectos en los distintos tipos.Deacuerdoconestadefinición,seobservanunaseriede características lingüísticas comunes como el hecho de ser una unidad poliléxica, cierto grado de fijación, unusoextendidoquefomentasuinclusiónenelacervoculturalde una comunidad dehablantesyunaidentificaciónrápidaporpartedeloshablantesnativos. Esta propuesta también ofrece la siguiente clasificación para las unidades fraseológicas:Figura 1. Clasificación de las unidades fraseológicas (Corpas Pastor, 1996: 50-52)Fuente:Manual de fraseología española, Madrid, Gredos, 1996. De esta manera, se presenta una clasificación basada en la combinación del acto de habla con el de fijación, ya sea en la norma, en el sistema o en el habla. En primer lugar, se presentan aquellas unidades que equivalen a sintagmasynecesitanotroselementoslingüísticosparacombinarse,enunaprimeraesferacon una fijación a nivel de norma las colocaciones, y en la segunda esfera con una fijación a nivel de sistema las locuciones. En el lado opuesto, se clasifican aquellas unidadesquesíconstituyenunactodehablaensíyqueestánasociadasalacervosociocultural de una comunidad, es decir, los enunciados fraseológicos.Martínez López propone una definición que se ajusta de forma sobresaliente a la teoría de este artículo, en tanto implica al emisor y al receptor, a la forma del mensaje y al contexto. Es la definición más apropiada de este tipo de unidades en los medios televisivos: La unidad fraseológica adquiere un nivel global capaz de adaptarse a determinadas circunstancias o hechos típicos, producto de la interacción social de una comunidad. Esta expresión es captada por la citada comunidad, que la hace suya, pues es capaz de expresar complejas ideas con una estructura simple y de fácil memorización. (Martínez López. 1996: 30) Es en este contexto en el que se considera el concepto de pragmatema, que hace referencia a las expresiones lingüísticas fraseológicas que están restringidas por situaciones extralingüísticas particulares en su uso. Se trata de unos de los últimos frasemas que han pasado a formar parte de la tipología propuesta por Mel’čuk en el seno de la Teoría Sentido-Texto (Ovejas Martín, 2021). El resultado de este trabajo de campo realizado a partir del análisis de los pragmatemas de esta serie de televisión, y la posterior encuesta, nos lleva a afirmar la importancia que este aspecto (la fraseología, las fórmulas giros y expresiones hechas) puede llegar a tener Source: Manual de fraseología española, Madrid, Gredos, 1996us, a classication is presented based on the combination of the speech act with that of axation, be it in the norm, in the system or in speech. Firstly, those units are presented that are equivalent to syntagmas and require other linguistic elements in combination, collocations appearing in a rst sphere with axation as a norm, and in the second sphere we nd locutions with xation as a system. On the other side, we nd those units that in themselves constitute a speech act and are associated with the sociocultural heritage of a community, that is, phraseological statements. doxa.comunicación | nº 36, pp. 145-162 |January-June of 2023María Victoria Galloso Camacho and Elena Martín Márquez ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978149Martínez López propounds a denition which sits perfectly with the theory of this paper, as it involves both the sender and the recipient, both the message’s form and context. It is the most appropriate denition of this class of units in televisual media: e phraseological unit acquires a global level capable of adaptation to certain circumstances or typical facts, as a result of the social interaction in a community. is expression is caught by the community, which adopts it, as it adequately expresses complex ideas within a simple, easily memorised structure. (Martínez López. 1996: 30) It is within this context that the concept of a pragmateme is considered, with reference to those phraseological linguistic expressions which are limited in their usage by particular extra-linguistic situations. ese are some of the latest phrasemes proposed by Mel’čuk at the core of Meaning-Text eory (Ovejas Martín, 2021).e result of this eld work conducted by an analysis of the pragmatemes in this television series, and the later survey, leads us to state the importance that this aspect (the phraseology, formulas, twists and set phrases) may attain in viewers’ oral communication. Furthermore, though it is true that phraseological units present display high levels of axation, they are also subject to variation (Legallois, 2013; Mogorrón Huerta, 2020; Penadés Martínez, 2022), adapting to the times and to the personal and social circumstances of their users. It should be borne in mind that the series was rst broadcast on the 22nd of Abril, 2007, and has been on for 15 years, as we detail below.1.2. e linguistic success of ction series. e sitcom ‘La que se avecina’ Fictional series have invaded contemporary culture since television entered the home and established themselves as a part of the daily rituals of family life, entertainment and access to information. As López Gutiérrez and Nicolás Gavilán (2015: 23) put it:Since the 50s, television series have been builders of symbolic universes for the articulation of social values, perspectives on life and the aspirations of several generations to mirror the qualities of the characters. Changes in television series have been a process subject not only to the growth in audiences or the medium’s technical possibilities, but to the gradual development of viewers’ communicative competences, as they have assimilated styles, aesthetics, complex plots and characters who respond to diverse socio-historical situations.e success of television series is partly due to their day-to-day subject matter and also to the linguistic irony and humour used to deal with the events by which the content is portrayed. In them, the construction of dialogues imitating spontaneous oral discourse is fundamental to catching the viewer’s interest. In fact, analysis of the format strives to reproduce the great situational variety found in spontaneous oral language. We nd in TV series a sample of an orality moulded on real speech: it goes from ‘parlato-recitato’ to ‘recitato naturale’ (Melloni, 2004) through the actor’s free interpretation or through improvised segments, especially when lming before a live audience who actively participate with applause and laughter. is representation of everyday speech is useful for the audience to have the illusion of watching a scene from real life, with real, credible, and productive dialogue, employing formal linguistic elements of identication by the audience, such as pragmatemes or set phrases, built on purpose to seduce the audience by reducing their distance from the actors. Mapelli (2016: 16-17) describes how: 150 | nº 36, pp. 145-162 | January-June of 2023Phraseology and oral discourse in the TV series La que se avecinaISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónIn particular, we nd in situation comedies most of the resources of spoken language, such as, for example, a reduced lexicon, coarse words, marginal slang, vocatives, conversation markers idioms…., and, even, those mechanisms that grant discourse its discontinuity (hesitation, stammering, reformulations, unnished sentences …) typical of the improvisation of spontaneous speech and which are often omitted in other genres of audio-visual ction, such as lms. However, it must be pointed out that, in order to produce this comical-humorous eect, the main goal of the series, numerous intensifying procedures are employed. Axes and quantiers are particularly common when wishing to arm the opposite, metaphors, similes, hyperbole and puns, and especially, catchphrases (or pragmatemes) which serve to dene each character and by which the audience recognizes them linguistically and socially. ese pragmatemes help the audience to identify with this parallel reality created for their entertainment, satirically imitating the real world, and are turned into conversational strategies to reinforce the relationship with the audience, who have to activate their pragmatic capacity to understand the message and, later, use it in their daily life.La que se avecina shows the life of the neighbours living in Mirador de Montepinar, a “high class” apartment building on the outskirts of Madrid. e series was created by the Caballero siblings (Alberto and Laura) in 2007 and has maintained a high audience share, which has kept it on the small screen, ever since. ere have been 13 seasons, with a xed group of characters since the beginning, such as those played by the actors: Jordi Sánchez (Antonio Recio), Pablo Chiapella (Amador Rivas), Eva Isanta (Maite Figueroa), José Luis Gil (Enrique Pastor), Nacho Guerreros (Coque), or Nathalie Seseña (Berta Escobar). ere are other characters who appear sporadically, who do not usually have as much inuence on viewers. e series is a situation comedy. As mentioned above, just as television consumption has increased, so has that of series. According to Padilla & Requeijo (2010: 189) sit coms are the cheapest genre to produce. e authors explain that the genre is so successful due to “speaking to the society of now and, despite being ction, being the genre closest to reality”.Situation comedies have a beginning and an end, that is, each episode is self-contained. A problem is presented at the beginning and solved by the end. is means that the characters always behave the same in the dierent situations. erefore, we know that they will utilise the same lines, making it very easy for the viewer to learn a specic phrase. For example, in La que se avecina, one can see that each time one of the characters enters the bar, located in the building, everyone greets him/her saying: Eh!, usually continuing with the phrase: caña, aquí! As pointed out by Padilla & Requeijo (2010: 199), the important thing in these comedies is the dialogues, as the places and sets are always the same. Mapelli (2016: 2) considers it fundamental to study this type of series from a linguistic point of view. One nds in these comedies