Language, Media, and the Digital Self
Abstract
Popular culture media products contain a wide range of linguistic variation, making use of linguistic features that are uncommon elsewhere. As a result, research on mediatized linguistic phenomena can provide insight not only on the possibilities of linguistically conveyed social meaning, but also on the question of what relationship consumption of popular media has with linguistic creativity, linguistic perception, and broader social practices on the part of media consumers.
Building on previous research on language use in media, this project seeks to explore how people relate to the media they consume, how that media affects their linguistic choices in social interaction, and how media language is used for the performance of novel, playful identities. Using a multi-faceted approach that incorporates textual analysis, sociolinguistic interviews, and participant observation, this project expands the scope of research on language in media by analyzing not only the media in which a fictionalized language variety occurs, but also its broader life cycle in popular media forms, providing a more holistic perspective on the interaction between language, media, and consumer.
