BINH DUONG PROVINCIAL PEOPLE’S COMMITTEE THU DAU MOT UNIVERSITY NGUYEN DANG MINH HOA LINGUISTIC DEVICES USED IN HARRY POTTER SERIES MAJOR: ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES MAJOR CODE: 8 22 02 01 MASTER THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES BINH DUONG PROVINCE – 2022 BINH DUONG PROVINCIAL PEOPLE’S COMMITTEE THU DAU MOT UNIVERSITY NGUYEN DANG MINH HOA LINGUISTIC DEVICES USED IN HARRY POTTER SERIES MAJOR: ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES MAJOR CODE: 8 22 02 01 MASTER THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES SUPERVIOR: PH. TRẦN THANH DŨ BINH DUONG PROVINCE – 2022 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I declare that this thesis “Linguistic devices used in Harry Potter series” is created by my findings, and I am the sole author of this thesis. This thesis has not also been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution. To the best of my knowledge, except for the indication of reference, this thesis is carried out without using any other author’s work and is submitted after carefully checking progress in order to fulfill the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts.
Binh Duong, July 2022 Nguyen Dang Minh Hoa i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research would never have been possible without the constant assistance, guidance, and support of many people. They deserve much more than an acknowledgment. Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to my advisor, Dr. Tran Thanh Du for his guidance, wisdom, and understanding.
Words could not describe how he helped me throughout my academic pursuits and thesis completion. I am a single mom facing so many difficulties in life. I would like to express my love and appreciation to thank my parents and my little son for their support, patience, and strength. They provided me with great love and encourage me to try my best to complete this project.
I could not have been able to complete this project without their intense devotion. I am greatly indebted to all my lecturers at Thu Dau Mot University for their endless enthusiasm and undeniable helpful lectures. I would be very grateful to the staff of the Post-graduate Department for their support during my time of studying. Finally, I would like to acknowledge J.
Your characters have caught my heart and inspired me to do new things in the field of linguistics. Binh Duong, July 2022 Nguyen Dang Minh Hoa ii ABSTRACT This study investigated J. Rowling’s novel entitled Harry Potter consisting of seven books. It aims at exploring and analyzing the linguistic devices used in this novel to illustrate the characteristics of protagonist characters such as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger.
It also attempts to explain the impact of Harry Potter on both adults and teenagers since it is an excellent novel for them to learn about a variety of topics, including friendship, loyalty, and good and evil, thereby having a clearer view of the ideology of the author, J. Qualitative descriptive approach is the main method that is used to explore several linguistic devices such as metaphor, allusion, simile, etc. Data for these devices is collected from seven books: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The results show that all of the investigated devices are flexibly used to contribute to the deep understanding of the characters in the novel and clearly show the author's ideology.
Key words: Harry Potter; linguistic devices; Rowling, ideology, characteristic. iii TABLE OF CONTENT STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP.iii TABLE OF CONTENT. Background to the study. Objectives of the study.
Scope and limitations of the study. Scope of the study. Limitations of the study. Significance of the study.
Organization of the study. Literature and roles of literature. Linguistic devices in literature. The roles of linguistic devices in literature.
An overview of Rowling’s life and works. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. The effects of linguistic devices in expressing characteristics of the main characters. The effects of linguistic devices in expressing ideological and educational values of the Harry Potter series.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS. Summary of the research. Implications and recommendations. INTRODUCTION The first chapter provides the background to the study, the objectives, the research questions, the scope, the limitations, the significance, and the organization of the study.
Background to the study From an unknown author from the United Kingdom who wrote a book about a boarding school and a young magician with little attention in 1997, J. Rowling has become one of the most popular contemporary novelists thanks to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the first book of the Harry Potter series. It was considered "one of the best books of 1998" by School Library Journal, Booklist in the United States, and Publishers Weekly. Moreover, it was also voted as the 1998 New York Public Library Best Book of the Year and the 1998 Parenting magazine Book of the Year Award.
The series of Harry Potter has created a legendary "magic universe", with Hogwarts and apprentice witches and dark forces hunting them day and night. It is one of the quality works of art for audiences of all ages, capturing the hearts of both professionals and the general public. Harry Potter, both the novel and the movie, has set many records. This novel has been translated into 73 languages.
A series of six books about the fictional life of Harry Potter has been published since 1997. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007) are the titles of the next six books. Millions of copies of these books have already been distributed around the world. The books have sold over 500 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling series of all time, with the last four novels 1 shattering records for the fastest-selling books in history.
The popularity of the Harry Potter series by J. Rowling is undoubted. Additionally, Warner Bros. produced film adaptations, which became box office successes.
As one of the best- selling books of the past 20 years, the Harry Potter series has a devoted following all over the world. It has attracted fiction fans with its quantity and quality, having spread its reach outside the fan community. Reading is not only about relaxation, but also about thinking and analyzing the literature from different perspectives. It allows students to expand their knowledge and imagination, which makes it an excellent way for English learners to become proficient in the language.
Rowling has had a positive influence on the youth and adolescence of an entire generation. Through Harry Potter, she contributed to the moral lessons and upbringing of millions of kids. It educates kids on the virtues of friendship, loyalty, and good and evil while also fostering their imagination and their language acquisition ability. This novel also catches the attention of many linguists who would like to get into the details of linguistic devices.
Linguistic devices are words or phrases that convey a meaning that is different from the literal one. Specifically, Murali (2015) investigated that Latin roofs and etymology, reporting verbs, and adjectives help to compare the heroic and villainous characters’ descriptions in the Harry Potter series. Next, Bonifacio (2013) claimed that J. Rowling mostly used compound, complex, declarative, simple past, and active voices to narrate the story.
The transformed sentences were mostly composed of one or more kernel sentences, which had been strung effectively together through the use of connectives. Meanwhile, the description of characters in positive and negative terms is much investigated by using reporting verbs, adverbs, and adjectives to contribute to the depiction of a heroic or villainous identity for individual 2 characters (Nygren, 2006). However, linguistic devices are still not studied much in this novel. Language is used to express thoughts and feelings to others (Pinker & Bloom,1990).
Asoulin (2016) similarly believes that the main function of language is as an instrument for expressing thoughts. The language of literature is different from the language used in daily life. Literature communicates both the information and experiences of the author. This is achieved through the employment of different linguistic devices.
In reading, readers do not only concentrate on what is said but on how it is said; that is, the linguistic technique, which employs linguistic devices. The analysis of language techniques used in the Harry Potter books is believed to have significant benefits for improving audience comprehension of artistic works. The understanding of the linguistic devices may help the readers to be enhanced by an awareness of linguistic devices in literature. This perceptive insight is based on good reasons, not based on subjective assessments.
By utilizing linguistic factors, this finding can be helpful for English usage. The researcher believes that the analysis of the language methods used in the Harry Potter series has not received enough attention. Sometimes, despite having certain thoughts, we are unable to express them effectively. We can read several writings and literary texts in newspapers as well as numerous inscriptions in advertising, but we are unaware of the figurative meaning of these texts or what the author was trying to convey by employing particular language.
This explains why the researcher decided to deal with this problem, which has affected a lot of people. As a result, the researcher chooses to apply a linguistic devices approach because it is thought to provide an objective understanding of language and primarily concentrate on the literary text being analyzed. 3 For these reasons, the researcher decided to carry out the thesis on "Linguistic devices used in the Harry Potter series". This thesis is necessary because it is expected to use a descriptive approach of linguistic devices, which is considered descriptive to understand the language objectively.
It primarily focuses on the literary text under study and provides more insights into the language by examining linguistic devices in the Harry Potter series. Objectives of the study To make a small contribution to future research on linguistic devices, the general objective of the study is to examine the use of linguistic devices used in the Harry Potter series written by J. These devices specifically include allusion, conflict, exposition, flashback, foreshadowing, hyperbole, metaphor, simile, repetition, symbolism, and personification. These are the following specific objectives of the study: (1) To point out linguistic devices used in the Harry Potter series; (2) To explore the effects of linguistic devices on depicting characteristics of the main characters to help readers comprehend the thoughts and feelings of characters throughout the analysis of linguistic devices; (3) To investigate the ideological and educational values that the author would like to express and educate adults and teenagers valuable lessons in life.
Research questions To guide the research, the following answers are put forward: (1) What are typical linguistic devices used in the Harry Potter series? (2) What are the effects of these linguistic devices on depicting the characteristics of the main characters? (3) What ideological and educational values are reflected in these linguistic devices? 1. Scope and limitations of the study 4 1. Scope of the study The scope of this study is the seven books of the Harry Potter series, including chapters of the books, and not the film series. The data collected are in plenty of particular contexts of the main protagonist, especially the words, the speeches, the conversations, and the narrations in which the author uses linguistic devices.
Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Book 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.