Linguistic features of american english in the adventures of tom sawyer by mark twain

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ĐỖ THỊ PHƯƠNG MAI LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF AMERICAN-ENGLISH IN "THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER" BY MARK TWAIN (Đặc điểm ngôn ngữ tiếng Anh Mỹ "Những phiêu lưu Tom Sawyer" Mark Twain) M.A THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60.22.15 Hanoi – 2010 VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ĐỖ THỊ PHƯƠNG MAI LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF AMERICAN-ENGLISH IN "THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER" BY MARK TWAIN (Đặc điểm ngôn ngữ tiếng Anh Mỹ "Những phiêu lưu Tom Sawyer" Mark Twain) M.A THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60.22.15 Supervisor: M.A., Van Thi Thanh Binh Hanoi - 2010 Lists of tables and figures Tables List The order Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table 10 Table 10 11 Table 11 12 Table 12 13 Table 13 Figure Figure TABLE OF CONTENT Certificate of originality Abstract Acknowledgements List of graphs and tables Table of content PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1.Rationale 2.Aims of the study 3.Scope of the study 4.Methodology 5.Design of the study PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.Standard language 1.1 Definition of standard language 1.1 Features of standard language 2.Dialect Definition of dialect 2 Levels of dialects…………………………………………………… .7 3.American English 1.1 American English - a dialect of British Engli 1.2 Features of American English dialect ……… 4.Southwestern American English 4.1.P 4.2 Lexical features of Southwestern American English……………… …24 Mark Twain and "The adventures of Tom Sawyer" 24 1.Mark Twain - the first 'truely' American writer 24 The novel "The adventures of Tom Sawyer"……………………… …29 CHAPTER 2: DISCUSSIONS AND FINDINGS Linguistic features of American English in characters' utterences………………… 33 2.1.1 Phonological features of American English………………………………… 33 2.1.2 Grammatical features of American English ………………………………… 38 2.1.3 Lexical features of American English ………………………………… … …41 2 Linguistic peculiarities of American English in characters' utterences………… 46 2.2.1 Linguistic peculiarities of American English in characters' utterences…… 46 2.2.2 Linguistic peculiarities of American English as a means of characterisation… 56 PART 3: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION Issues addressed in the study 64 2.Issues not addressed in the study 67 Application 68 Suggestions for further study………………………………………………………… 69 REFERENCES APPENDIXES PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale Language is a communicative means and also a social phenomenon Human beings use language to communicate among themselves as well as to construct the world around them The study of language, therefore, should be the study of language in use A language, however, is not realized in only one but in a variety of forms among which one form can be considered the standard one while others are the non-standard or dialects of the standard one (Wolfram, 1991) The study of one language, therefore, should include not only the so-called standard but also other variations of this language Nowadays, English, an international language used in many parts of the world and almost every aspect of life, exists in more than ten big group variations, among which American English is particularly influential due to the U.S.'s dominant in the world economy The study of American English is, therefore, of interest of many people and also the author of this thesis Additionally, literature is "a body of written works related by subject-matter, by language or place of origin, or by prevailing cultural standards of merit." (Peter Widowson, 1998) Literature is an art that adopts language as its form and its means Language of literature works, hence, has been the subject of many studies by linguists because it presents particularly the relation of language and culture It is not only the language of art but also the language of life The author hopes to reveal all these relations through this thesis, consequently It is also essential to provide an explanation why Mark Twain and his work, "The adventures of Tom Sawyer" are chosen Firstly, Mark Twain is considered the "first 'truly' th American writer." (Howell, 1967) Early 19 century American writers tend to be too flowery, sentimental or ostentatious, partially because they were trying to prove that they could write as elegantly as the English Nevertheless, together with the country development in almost every aspect of life and the national self-confidence spirit, American writers sooner or later realized that they must have their own American literature which is quite separated from the one of English And Mark Twain is regarded as "the Lincoln of our literature" (Howells), the one that revolutionaries American literature Additionally, Van Spanckeren (1994: 78) argues that "Twain was the first major author to come from the interior country, and he captured its distinctive humorous slang and iconoclasm" She further states that "Twain's style, based on vigorous, realistic, colloquial American speech, gave American writers a new appreciation of their national voice" In fact, many critics comment on the high level of accuracy of Mark Twain in recording various dialects making it possible "to present his characters in a truthful light to the reader in a language that is both vivid and clear at the same time " Furthermore, Twain is considered a realistic writer (High, 1986; Gerber, 1993; Van Spanckren, 1994 and Wonham, 1996) who has the ability to give an accurate description of the nation's experience "its soul, its life, its speech, its thought" (Twain 1895 cited in Wonham, 1996: 1) Following the realistic dimension, Twain claims in the preface to "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (p 1) that almost all the events in the novel really occurred and that characters are inspired by people he knew In fact, if events and characters are drawn from life, it is likely that the language spoken by characters is also drawn from life It is, consequently, an important reason for the author to investigate Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer with the hope of revealing the linguistic th features of American English spoken in the Southwest of America in the 19 century Aims of the study This study aims to investigate the linguistic features of American English in characters' utterances in Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer To realize this aim, the answers for the two following research questions are sought out: What are the linguistic features of American English in characters' utterances in Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer? To what extent the characters in the novel share these linguistic features? Scope of the study For the limitation of the time, reference books and other constraints faced by the author, this thesis cannot cover all linguistic features of American English in Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer This study, therefore, will focus on analyzing and identifying certain linguistic features of Southwestern American-English presented in the novel including phonological, grammatical and lexical features of Southwestern American- English Additionally, within this M.A thesis, only characters' utterances are investigated to find out the linguistic features of American English in the novel without concerning the variety used by the narrator Methodology First of all, it is noticeable that in the process of the study, both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed The former is used in the form of listing and the latter is used in the form of analyzing the linguistic features Additionally, the theoretical background in chapter relies on the published literature on the concepts of standard language, dialect and levels of dialect, American English together with a brief introduction to Mark Twain and his novel "The adventures of Tom Sawyer." Last but not least, the analysis of linguistic features of American English is merely based on Wolfram W& Schiling-Estes, N.'s framework (1998) about linguistic features of Southwestern American English stated in 1.4 in the first chapter "Theoretical background" of part II In this main part, the author starts with the analysis of linguistic features of American English in terms of phonology, grammar, and lexis in characters' speech in the novel with the application of idealisation Then the author attempts to investigate whether there are differences among the characters of the novel as far as their use of language is concerned to look for a possible correlation between the characters' social background and their use of language 10 Design of the study The study consists of three main parts Part 1: Introduction This part comprises the rationale, scope, aims, methodology, and design of the study Part 2: Development This is the main part consisting of two chapters Chapter 1: Theoretical background This chapter is preserved to give the basic theoretical background of the study It includes an overview about standard language, dialects, American English, and Southwestern American English Additionally, certain information about Mark Twain, his works and specifically the novel "The adventures of Tom Sawyer" is included Chapter 2: Linguistic features of American English in Mark twain's Tom Sawyer Chapter is the heart of the thesis which investigates American English dialects in "The adventures of Tom Sawyer." in terms of phonology, grammar and lexis The analysis is attached to the theory about Southwestern American English of Wolfram W& Schiling-Estes, N (1998) to realize the aims of the study Part 3: Conclusion This part summarizes the main findings; draw important conclusion and offers implication for language teaching and learning as well as suggestions for further studies At the end of the study, one can find the appendices including tables dealing with related issues and references used in the study to help the analysis of the author clearer and easily accessible 11 PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND To provide a theoretical background to this study, this chapter will be devoted to a review of issues most relevant to the thesis's topic: standard language, dialect, American English, Southwestern American English, the writer Mark Twain and his novel "The adventures of Tom Sawyer." 1.1 Standard language 1.1.1 Definition of standard language Language is a communicative means and also a social phenomenon of human A language, as Wolfram (1991) stated, is not realized in only one but in a variety of forms among which one form can be considered the standard one while others are the non-standard or dialects of the standard one Consequently, there have been quite a number of attempts to define what a standard language is Finegan, Edward (2007) defines a standard language as "a particular dialect of a language that has been given either legal or quasi-legal status It is said to be the most correct language of a nation." Wolfram W& Schiling-Estes, N (1998) believe that "a standard language is a language variety used by a group of people in their public discourse Alternatively, varieties become standard by undergoing a process of standardization, during which it is organized for description in grammars and dictionaries and encoded in such reference works " It is noticed that the above definitions share the same idea that a standard language is a variety of a language used by a group of people and it is normally considered the ' correct' or 'formal' form of a language 1.1.2 Features of standard language According to Wolfram W& Schiling-Estes, N (1998), standard languages usually are established upon the following features Firstly, it may be formed by a recognized dictionary (standardized spelling and vocabulary) Secondly, a recognized grammar is also a basis for establishing a standard language 81 Analysis of Tom's utterances Lexical features Features Non-standard form of to be (ain't) hain't warn't Slangs: gemminy by jingoes gal lam chap sass bully taw 82 slather Doodle Goner Heap Harum-scarum slather Nobby flinder Lexical features Features Non-standard form of to be (ain't) hain't warn't Slangs: 83 by jingoes gal chap goody 84 Analysis of Aunt Poly's utterances Lexical features Features Non-standard form of to be (ain't) warn't Slangs: Harum-scarum evening spile 85 Analysis of becky's utterances Lexical features Features Non-standard form of to be (ain't) Slangs: pard Lexical features Features Non-standard form of to be (ain't) hain't pard Slangs: 86 Analysis of Mr Welshman's utterances Lexical features Features Non-standard form of to be (ain't) warn't Slangs: chap Analysis of stranger's utterances Lexical features Features 87 Analysis of Sid's utterances Lexical features Features Non-standard form of to be (ain't) Analysis of Injun's partner's utterances Lexical features Features Non-standard form of to be warn't 88 10 Analysis of one of the boy's utterances Grammatical features Features Special aux (a pre-fix) S-V agreement Two subjects 11 Analysis of Mary's utterances Lexical features Features Non-standard form of to be (ain't) 89 12 Analysis of Ben's utterances Lexical features Features Non-standard form of to be (ain't) Slangs: chap 13 Analysis of Widow's utterances Lexical features Features Non-standard form of to be (ain't) 90 14 Analysis of villager's utterances Features Past form of verb 15 Analysis of Judge Thatcher‟s utterances Phonological features Features Contraction 91 Grammatical features Features Irregular verb 92 Lexical features Features Non-standard form of to be (ain't) 93 20 Analysis of billy's utterances Lexical features Features Lexical features Features Non-standard form of to be (ain't) Slangs: cuss pard 94 LIST OF SLANGS IN THE NOVEL Words entered in the dictionary as slang words Word Blab Bully Bust Chap Chaw Conned Cuss Dander Den Doodle Gal Goner Goody Granny harum-scarum Heaps Howling jiffy By jingo Lam Nobby 95 Slicked slosh Snifter Swag Tote Wow Total ... novel "The adventures of Tom Sawyer" is included Chapter 2: Linguistic features of American English in Mark twain' s Tom Sawyer Chapter is the heart of the thesis which investigates American English. .. for the author to investigate Mark Twain' s Tom Sawyer with the hope of revealing the linguistic th features of American English spoken in the Southwest of America in the 19 century Aims of the. .. are the linguistic features of American English in characters' utterances in Mark Twain' s Tom Sawyer? To what extent the characters in the novel share these linguistic features? Scope of the