A Sociolinguistic Approach to Downton Abbey English: Social Class, Gender, Geographical Origin and Context.

Lahuerta Bruballa, María
Ana María Hornero Corisco (dir.)

Universidad de Zaragoza, FFYL, 2019

Graduado en Estudios Ingleses

Abstract: This undergraduate dissertation aims to study the variations in speech of the main characters in the British television series Downton Abbey, variations that are motivated by different extralinguistic factors, such as social class, gender, geography and context. Therefore, the characters’ speech has been examined with respect to these factors, in order to find the most representative linguistic features displayed in each of them. The reason why this specific corpus has been chosen for the main objective is that it presents a wide range of accents and dialects of the English language along the six seasons of the series. More specifically, twenty-five episodes from all these seasons have been used for the analysis. The results of the study indicate that, linguistically, the main features and differences are found in the field of vocabulary and phonology. They demonstrate how these extralinguistic factors influence the speakers’ way of speaking and, consequently, provide information about their identity and lives.

Tipo de Trabajo Académico: Trabajo Fin de Grado