The Sociolinguistic Construction of Character Diversity in Fictional
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The sociolinguistic construction of character diversity in fictional television series Susan Reichelt Centre for Language and Communication Research School of English, Communication and Philosophy Cardiff University A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Cardiff University, 2018 Declarations This work has not been submitted in substance for any other degree or award at this or any other university or place of learning, nor is being submitted concurrently in candidature for any degree or other award. Signed …………………………………… 02/01/2018 This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD. Signed …………………………………… 02/01/2018 This thesis is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise stated, and the thesis has not been edited by a third party beyond what is permitted by Cardiff University’s Policy on the Use of Third Party Editors by Research Degree Students. Other sources are acknowledged by explicit references. The views expressed are my own. Signed …………………………………… 02/01/2018 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available online in the University’s Open Access repository and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed …………………………………… 02/01/2018 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available online in the University’s Open Access repository and for inter-library loans after expiry of a bar on access previously approved by the Academic Standards & Quality Committee. Signed …………………………………… 02/01/2018 i ii Abstract This thesis investigates the language used in six fictional television series (1997 – 2014). The overall aim is to find out how linguistic patterns contribute to distinguishing features of characters and character groups. Throughout the thesis, I answer three overarching questions: 1. How are individual linguistic variables used for purposes of characterization? 2. How do linguistic variables interact to create linguistic character styles? 3. Are characterization patterns used in similar ways across characters within individual series, as well as across series? The thesis presents an interdisciplinary study of sociolinguistically meaningful stylization and produces a useful account of the underused fictolinguistic approach that links concepts of variationist sociolinguistics with stylistics. Through quantitative analysis and informed by previous sociolinguistic findings on the uses of five pragmatic forms (pragmatic markers, hedges, general extenders, modal adverbs, and intensifiers), I trace how language variation and change ties in with the individualization of fictional characters. Findings suggest that linguistic patterns that link to character qualities are consistent across a variety of investigated features. Further, some features (e.g. pragmatic markers) appear to be used with greater variance than others (e.g. general extenders), suggesting that there are distinctions in terms of saliency and availability of characterization cues. Further findings show linguistic variation correlating to particular character types, series production and genre, and character background (in particular nationality). Linguistic change is investigated through apparent time analyses for all features, as well as a brief real time analysis for selected contexts. Throughout the thesis, I touch upon concepts of indexicality, saliency, and authenticity. Finally, the thesis concludes that the present study of fictional television dialogue adds to our understanding of current language use and linguistic perception and that more studies of this kind might further enhance our knowledge of the intrinsic relation between language and identity. iii iv Acknowledgements It is at this point, the very final step before handing the thesis over, that I wish I could get a glance into the minds of the many great writers whose work I examine in these pages. Being able to put into words how grateful I am for the support and encouragement I received over the past four years is no easy task. First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor Dr Mercedes Durham. In another place, for another degree, she provided me with lectures and plenty of reading, the right encouragement and an infectious joy for research that ultimately led me here. A PhD can be quite scary, from the actual research to teaching, presenting, reading reviewer comments, and of course, the overwhelming blank page. Thank you for the challenges in all of this, for the time you gave me, the excitement, the feedback, the chocolates, the many conversations that put me at ease, in short, for being my Giles. I could not have asked for more. I also thank Dr Tereza Spilioti and Dr Nick Wilson for their helpful comments and encouragement at various stages of this project. Cardiff has been the home of most of this work and it is the people I met in Cardiff that contributed greatly to its shape. Thank you to everyone who has shared the wonders and woes of research: Dorottya, Piotr, Jessi, Eimi, Jaspal, Argyro, Emily, Rowan, and Gareth. I miss the lunch breaks, the reading groups, the board games. Thank you, Emanuele, for being the most wonderful flatmate, for providing me with food and much-needed escapes, together with the Barefoot Contessa. Throughout the PhD I was lucky to present at a great number of conferences and learn from inspiring scholars. I thank Prof Dr Jannis Androutsopoulos for helpful comments and the platform to present my work in Hamburg, a city I miss dearly. Thank you also to Dr Monika Bednarek for the lovely talks over lunch and for (unknowingly) providing me with the final push in pursuing this PhD. Her book on The Language of Fictional Television is as dog-eared as my copy of The Prisoner of Azkaban (a whole lot). v I am grateful to Dr Vaclav Brezina and Dr Dana Gablasova for welcoming me to Lancaster, trusting me with an exciting new project and allowing me the time to finish this thesis. Thank you also to the generous support of the Sidney Perry Foundation, the Allan & Nesta Ferguson Charitable Education Trust, the Sir Richard Stapley Trust, as well as Cardiff’s School for English, Communication and Philosophy for enabling me to focus on my studies full-time. The past four years have gone by very fast and very slow in equal measures. They’ve been filled with amazing experiences and daunting challenges, as well as a few curveballs. I want to thank Jenny for her constant support throughout the good and the not-so-good. I couldn’t have done any of this without her. Thanks also to Marika, the other HB, for sharing the experience, the pizza, the fate of empty fridges and full bookshelves. Last but not least, thank you to my family for their support. I promise I didn’t just watch TV these past few years. vi Table of Contents Declarations........................................................................................................................ i Abstract ........................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ vii List of Tables..................................................................................................................... x List of Figures .................................................................................................................. xi 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 2 Literature Review – linguistic approaches to variation in fiction ............................. 9 2.1 Sociolinguistic Theory – relevant background ................................................. 9 2.1.1 Age as a social variable ........................................................................................ 11 2.1.2 Gender as a social variable .................................................................................. 14 2.1.3 Social Class as a social variable ........................................................................... 15 2.1.4 Social networks and communities of practice as social variables ........................ 16 2.2 Fiction and character as landscape and agent of style ..................................... 19 2.3 The language of television characters and previous linguistic applications ... 27 2.3.1 Television dialogue ............................................................................................... 27 2.3.2 Previous linguistic approaches to television dialogue .......................................... 31 2.3.3 Fictolinguistics and cinematic indexicality ........................................................... 40 2.4 Characterization as sociolinguistic styling ...................................................... 48 2.4.1 Functions of dialogue ............................................................................................ 50 2.4.2 Culpeper’s textual cues in characterization .......................................................... 57 2.4.3 Bednarek’s expressive character cues .................................................................. 62 2.4.4 Characterization through stance-taking ............................................................... 64 3 The Television Dialogue Corpus