Projects per year
Abstract
In this paper our focus is on analyzing register variation within fiction, rather than between fiction and other registers. By working with subcorpora that separate text within and outside of quotation marks, we appromixate fictional speech and narration. This enables us to identify and compare linguistic features with regard to different situational contexts in the fictional world. We focus in particular on the novels of Charles Dickens and a reference corpus of other 19th-century fiction. Our main method for the register analysis is Multidimensional Analysis (MDA) for which we draw on altogether four dimensions from two previous MDAs. The linguistic distinctions we identify highlight similarities between fictional speech and involved registers such as face-to-face communication, and between narration and more informational and narrative prose. In addition to the detailed information on register features that characterize speech and narration, the paper raises more general questions about the ability of register studies to deal with situational contexts within fiction.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 72-101 |
Number of pages | 30 |
Journal | Register Studies |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 10 Apr 2020 |
Keywords
- register variation
- corpus stylistics
- fictional speech
- narration
- 19th-century fiction
- Charles Dickens
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Fiction—One Register or Two? Speech and narration in novels'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
-
CLiC Dickens - characterisation in the representation of speech and body language from a corpus stylistic perspective
Arts and Humanities Research Council
1/02/17 → 7/12/17
Project: Research Councils