Adjective intensification as a means of characterization: Portraying in-group membership and Britishness in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Reichelt, Susan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4183-6413 and Durham, Mercedes ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9819-0687 2017. Adjective intensification as a means of characterization: Portraying in-group membership and Britishness in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Journal of English Linguistics 45 (1) , pp. 60-87. 10.1177/0075424216669747

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Abstract

This paper examines the use of intensifiers on the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer in order to establish the ways in which they can be used for characterization. We found that the male and female characters used intensifiers differently (similarly to what is found in natural speech), but also that intensifier choice was related to changes in social networks for several of the female characters on the show (so and totally). Furthermore, intensifiers were also used to distinguish the British characters on the show from the American ones (extremely, terribly, and bloody). By comparing our results to findings for other television shows (Friends) and for natural speech, we were able to establish the extent to which the show makes use of (then) innovative linguistic features for characterization. These findings underline the extent to which scriptwriters and/or actors were able to use linguistic features to index specific types of character.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	English, Communication and Philosophy
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	intensifiers, television, sociolinguistics, gender, British English, American English
Publisher:	SAGE
ISSN:	0075-4242
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	13 May 2016
Date of Acceptance:	12 May 2016
Last Modified:	08 Nov 2023 08:10
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/90840

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