Gender-specific Speech in Disney Animated Movies

Language as an Indicator of Female Inferiority and Politeness?

Tesis (Bachelor) , 2016 , 72 Páginas , Calificación: 2,3

Filología inglesa - Lingüística

This thesis deals with the research area of gender linguistics, especially with the communicative behavior of men and women in single and mixed-gender communications. The differences in communication between genders have been addressed often in our society within the last few decades. The common misunderstandings between men and women resulting from these differences serve as the basis for many books, films and television shows. But not only is this apparent in society and entertainment media, but also in sociolinguistics, which deals with the differences between men and women more and more intensively.

In this thesis I first of all want to address the term Gender and some of the existing research on gender representations in Disney movies. After that I want to touch on gender-specific speech in detail, and summarize what I found to be the most important findings. At that point I also want to talk about the highly discussed essay Language and Woman’s Place, which was published in 1973 by Robin Tolmach Lakoff, a professor of linguistics at the University of California Berkley. Afterwards, I will analyze selected features, which gender linguists in previous research ascribed to female language, in reference to three well-known animated movies by Disney, namely The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, and Tangled.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• 1. Introduction
• 1.1. Aim
• 2. Background
• 2.1 What is 'Gender'?
• 2.2 Previous research: Disney's portrayal of gender roles
• 2.3 Gender linguistics
• 2.4 'Genderlects'
• 2.5 Politeness, Inferiority and their Relationship
• 3. Gender-specific speech in Disney animated movies
• 3.1 Method and materials
• 3.2 Hypothesis
• 3.3 Results
• 3.3.1 The Little Mermaid
• 3.3.1.1 Interruptions
• 3.3.1.2 Tag Questions
• 3.3.1.3 Compliments
• 3.3.1.4 Apologies
• 3.3.1.5 Please
• 3.3.2 FINDING NEMO
• 3.3.2.1 Interruptions
• 3.3.2.2 Tag Questions
• 3.3.2.3 Compliments
• 3.3.2.4 Apologies
• 3.3.2.5 Please
• 3.3.3 Tangled
• 3.3.3.1 Interruptions
• 3.3.3.2 Tag Questions
• 3.3.3.3 Compliments
• 3.3.3.4 Apologies
• 3.3.3.5 Please
• 3.3.4 Not using specific lexical features
• 3.4 Summary and discussion
• 3.5 Conclusion

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This thesis explores the field of gender linguistics, specifically focusing on the communicative behavior of men and women in both single-gender and mixed-gender interactions. The primary aim is to analyze how gender-specific language is reflected in Disney animated movies and to compare this with existing research on natural gender-specific speech. Ultimately, the thesis seeks to determine what kind of female role models young children, particularly girls, are exposed to through the language used in these movies.

• Gender differences in communication
• Representation of gender roles in Disney movies
• Gender-specific language features in Disney animated films
• Impact of Disney movies on young children's perceptions of gender
• Relationship between language and gender identity

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The introduction provides a general overview of the topic of gender linguistics and highlights the significance of this field in understanding communication patterns between genders. It also introduces the specific focus of the thesis, which is to analyze gender-specific language in Disney animated movies.

The background chapter defines the term "gender" and differentiates it from "sex," exploring the social construction of gender roles and their variation across cultures. It then reviews previous research on Disney's portrayal of gender roles, highlighting recurring themes of female characters as passive, domestic, and dependent on male characters. The chapter also delves into the field of gender linguistics, examining different theories and research on gender-specific language patterns.

The main chapter presents the methodology and materials used in the analysis of three Disney animated movies: The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, and Tangled. It outlines the specific linguistic features that were analyzed, including interruptions, tag questions, compliments, apologies, and the use of "please." The chapter then presents the results of the analysis for each movie, comparing the findings with existing research on gender-specific language.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The main keywords and focus topics of this thesis include gender linguistics, gender-specific language, Disney animated movies, female role models, communicative behavior, gender roles, and representation. The research aims to understand how language reflects and influences gender identity and societal expectations, particularly within the context of popular media and its impact on young viewers.

• Universidad: University of Koblenz-Landau (Institut für fremdsprachliche Philologien: Anglistik)
• Calificación: 2,3
• Autor: Lisa Henigin (Autor)
• Año de publicación: 2016
• Páginas: 72
• No. de catálogo: V338081
• ISBN (Ebook): 9783668274778
• ISBN (Libro): 9783668274785
• Idioma: Inglés
• Etiqueta: Disney, genderspecific, tangled, politeness, communication, speech, bachelor, thesis, bachelorthesis, mermaid, nemo, ariel, female, language, gender, genderlinguistics, sociolinguistics