VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of English-Speaking Countries INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH LINGUISTICS 2 GROUP REPORT ANALYSIS OF THE DIFFERENT FEATURES OF MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SPEECH IN THE MOVIE “ LA LA LAND" Lecturer: Ms. Nguyen Hai Ha Group 3 Student Name Student ID Class Trần Thị Quỳnh Anh 21040601 21E15 Thái Phương Anh 21040081 21E15 Bùi Anh Đức 21040141 21E15 Trần Lê Bảo Khánh 21040146 21E15 Nguyễn Hải Yến 20040132 21E15 Hanoi, May 2024. TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS. Rationale for the study.
CDA Conceptual Framework. Taking the turn:. Holding the turn:. Yielding the turns:.
Backchannel as a 'continuer'. Backchannel as a 'captured interest token'. Backchannel as a 'consonance token'. Backchannel as an 'information confirmation token'.
Findings and Discussion. Turn-taking element in 4 scenes. Turn-taking element in scene 1. Turn-taking element in scene 2.
Turn-taking element in scene 3. Turn-taking element in scene 4. Interruption element in 4 scenes. Interruption element in scene 1.
Interruption element in scene 2. Interruption element in scene 3. Interruption element in scene 4. Backchannel element in 4 scenes.
Backchannel element in scene 1. Backchannel element in scene 2. Backchannel element in scene 3. Backchannel element in scene 4.
The reasons for differences between men's and women's speech.36 2 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Title Page i Fairclough’s Framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (2001) 7 Figure Table Page 1 List of Mia's times of rising intonation in the first video 16 2 List of Mia's times of rising intonation in the second video 17 3 List of Mia's times of rising intonation in the third video 18 4 List of Mia's times of rising intonation in the fourth video 19 5 List of Mia’s and Sebastian’s times of interruption in the first 20 video 6 List of Mia’s and Sebastian’s times of interruption in the second 22 video 7 List of Mia’s and Sebastian’s times of interruption in the third 24 video 8 List of Mia’s and Sebastian’s times of interruption in the fourth 25 video 9 List of Mia’s and Sebastian’s times of using backchannel in the 27 first video 10 List of Mia’s and Sebastian’s times of using backchannel in the 28 second video 11 List of Mia’s and Sebastian’s times of using backchannel in the 29 third video 12 List of Mia’s and Sebastian’s times of using backchannel in the 30 3 fourth video ABSTRACT The article demonstrates the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of the conversations between men and women in some movie scenes of "La La Land" in a sociolinguistic context. The study investigates how those features may lie based on applying the Fairclough version of CDA in 2 movie scenes of the text. Furthermore, it clarifies the hidden message underlying the speech in the context of the movie and framework. Keywords: CDA, sociolinguistic, turn-taking, interruption, back-channel The linguistic analysis of conversation between 2 sexes patterns has been a longstanding study in the field of sociolinguistics, with numerous studies examining the features of how men and women communicate across various contexts (Lakoff, 1975; Tannen, 1990).
However, in this case, investigating these distinctions in the context of cinematic representation remains a relatively underexplored domain. The critically acclaimed movie "La La Land" describes a compelling background to analyze how the speech patterns of male and female characters are portrayed and potentially reflect broader societal perceptions of gender-based communication. "La La Land," a musical romantic drama, depicts a whole picture that delves into the personal passion and professional lives of the lead characters, Mia and Sebastian. "La La Land" offers a rich tapestry of dialogue that can be intensely analyzed through a linguistic view.
The film's exploration of themes such as passion expression, personal aspirations, and interpersonal relationships provides a profound context to explore how gender influences and is influenced by language use in real-life situations. Rationale for the study 4 "La La Land" is chosen as the main focus of the analysis for Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) due to its cultural significance and rich discourse embedded within the narrative. The film offers a great deal of linguistic and speech pattern elements for clarification. The dialogues and speech cues included throughout the movies serve as means for conveying and reinforcing certain ideologies, norms, and power structures within society.
The first reason behind selecting "La La Land" for CDA is its intricate portrayal of romance, ambition, and the pursuit of dreams within the context of contemporary Hollywood culture. Through a profound examination of the discourse presented in the movies, we can explain underlying messages regarding gender roles and societal expectations linked to each character in the research. Moreover, the film's narrative structure, character interactions, and script provide ample material for investigating discursive strategies employed to construct dialogues in the movies. By focusing on the micro-level discourse within "La La Land," we aim to analyze how power's gender effect, social norms, and hegemonic ideologies are reinforced through the two specific movie scenes.
The second reason is its broader implications within the landscape of contemporary and cultural discourse. As one of the most acclaimed and commercially successful films of its time, "La La Land" is embodied as a cultural reflection of the latest societal trends, values, and ideologies. By exploring "La La Land" through a CDA aspect, we aim to unravel the discourses surrounding the representation of romance and passion. The film's depiction of Sebastian and Mia, two characters with passion and love in Los Angeles - a dreamland for aspiring artists and dreamers offers intense insights into narratives regarding ambition, the demand for living, and the pursuit of happiness.
Additionally, "La La Land" under analyzing from multi-dimensional perspectives brings the combination of text, context, and author's ideology within the film's discourse. Through this research, we can gain a deeper understanding of CDA's effects in 5 constructing dialogues between men and women, as well as how it shapes and reflects societal norms, values, and power structures. The primary purpose of this research study is to conduct a systematic analysis of the distinctive linguistic features that facilitate the exchange of speech between men and women in "La La Land." By investigating factors such as turn-taking, interruption, and back-channel, the researchers discover the nuanced differences between the male and female protagonists in conversation. The findings of this study might point out insights into our understanding of how gender, language, and cinematic portrayal are included in the context of the movies.
Through a thorough analysis of some noticeable speech patterns in "La La Land," we aim to shed light on how Mia and Sebastian's communication was constructed by filmmakers, writers, and linguistic researchers to illustrate men's and women's linguistic behaviors. Understanding this knowledge can help to define how these components influence audience perceptions and contribute to further investigations. Research Questions This study aims to address 3 key questions: Research question 1. How do men and women communicate in the movie "La La Land"? Research question 2.
What are the distinctions between the speech patterns of men and women in "La La Land"? Research question 3. Why do these differences in the speech patterns of men and women occur? 1. Research Methodology This research employed a mixed-methods design, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative approaches to analyze the different features of men's and women's speech in the movie "La La Land." The combination of qualitative and quantitative methods allowed for a comprehensive examination of speech patterns and provided an 6 insightful understanding of the communication dynamics between male and female characters. CDA Conceptual Framework This study employs Norman Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework to examine the relationship between language, power dynamics, and gender ideologies in the context of speech patterns portrayed in the movie "La La Land." CDA is a multidisciplinary approach that studies how discourse shapes and is shaped by social structures, power relations, and ideological representations.
Fairclough's CDA model includes three interrelated dimensions: text, discursive practice, and social practice (Fairclough, 1992: p. The textual dimension involves analyzing linguistic features such as vocabulary, grammar, and textual structures. The discursive practice dimension examines the production, distribution, consumption, and interpretation of texts by different social actors. The social practice perspective places discourse within its wider socio-cultural context, exploring how it relates to and reinforces or challenges existing power structures and ideologies (Fairclough, 1992).
Fairclough’s Framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (2001) 7 CDA provides a set of analytical tools to explore underlying ideologies, assumptions, and power dynamics in discourse. By examining the interactions between language, context, and social structures, CDA offers a critical lens to scrutinize and challenge dominant narratives, power imbalances, and social inequalities (Fairclough, 2001). Fairclough's CDA framework, especially the social practice aspect, is useful for examining how gender ideologies and power structures are constructed and reinforced through speech patterns in films such as La La Land. By using CDA's analytical tools, this study will explore how turn-taking, interruptions, and backchanneling contribute to the construction of gender in "La La Land".
Turn-taking Turn-taking refers to the basic conversational rule in which speakers take turns speaking, with one speaker talking at a time before the next speaker initiates (Sacks et al. Lakoff (1975) suggests that women's speech facilitates turn-taking by frequently using tag questions, rising intonation, and hedging, which helps invite input or agreement 8 from others. In contrast, Tannen (1995) proposes that men's speech tends to assert dominance, focusing on negotiation, status, and power, exhibiting strongly assertive speech, direct speech acts, and longer turns. In addition, Turn-taking, according to Strenstrom (1994), can be classified into three types below: 2.
Taking the turn In conversations, participants need strategies for using the turn to chance to speak. This can involve two key steps: Starting Up: Refers to when speakers begin their turn without proper planning. There are a total of two types: hesitant start and clean start. Available stalling devices like filled pauses (e., "uh/um") can be used in conversation with a hesitant start.
For others, a clean start might involve phrases like "well," "I mean," and "you know," which are used when speakers take a turn unprepared. Taking Over: One speaker directly responds and replaces the first speaker. This 'taking over' strategy is signaled by responses like yes, no, but, etc., according to Stenstrom (1994). Holding the turn: Following the research by Stenstrom (1994) mentioned the way speakers struggle with controlling their speech and planning what to say.
To recognize this strategy, techniques like filled pauses, silent pauses, lexical repetition, and new starts can be employed to avoid breakdowns and interruptions. Filled pauses included sounds like "uh" or "um," while silent pauses linked to periods of silence in talking. Lexical repetition involves repeating words, and new starts must immediately repeat phrases to keep track of the conversation and avoid confusion. Yielding the turns: Refers to how the previous ones give a speaker chances to have a turn to talk.
Strenstrom (1994) suggested that the speaker will change the role of the listener for hearing the responses. Specifically, it can be divided into three types: 9 Prompting: This occurs when the speaker acts to the other speakers promptly to give responses. Additionally, automatically prompt responses will be combined with 'greeting,' 'asking questions,' 'asking to apologize,' 'inviting', … Appealing: This encourages others to join the conversation by signaling. This involves using certain words or phrases like 'question tag,' 'all right,' 'you know,' and so on,.
Giving up: This emphasizes the strategies in which speakers have nothing to say or think when another speaker raises their voice. It can be identified by yielding the turn at the completion point where the speakers are silent. Moreover, a long pause by uttering 'I will – e:m' is commonly used. Interruption Interruption is defined as cases in which a speaker penetrates the internal structure and syntactic boundaries of the current speaker's pronunciation (West & Zimmerman, 1977).
Research indicates that men are more likely to interrupt women while speaking, accounting for 96% of interruptions compared to 4% of women (West & Zimmerman, 1997).