For my language
investigation, I am going to explore how language has changed and adapted over
time in fairy tales. This is clear by my hypothesis: ‘how has language changed
and adapted over time between the original Grimm’s version of Rapunzel compared
to the Disney version ‘Tangled’?’
I will focus on the
original written stories by the Grimm’s brothers as well as the story used for
the animated Disney movie. I will look at the differences between the two
storylines and also focus on specific frameworks as part of my textual analysis
such as lexis, semantics and grammar. By looking at frameworks such as lexis I
will be able to discover if any new words have been created within the Disney
version and what type of methods were used to form these words such as
borrowing, through scientific process or compounding. I have chosen this
particular fairy tale as there are clear differences between the two versions,
for example the Grimm’s version of Rapunzel is a lot darker and less suitable
for children compared to the Disney version which is more appropriate. As there
will also be a significant difference between the types of language used when
writing these stories, I believe there will be a lot to discuss in my
investigation.
As my investigation
is focusing on language change over time, I will be able to use the opinions
and views of certain theorists such as James Millroy, Peter Trudgill and Jean
Aitcheson. I will also be looking to try
and prove or support these existing theories as to why the English language has
and still is changing. Some of their views describe how the change is
inventible yet others discuss how the language may be developing for the better
as part of a progress or in fact decaying. As I am interested in Disney Films
and the way our language is constantly developing, I thought this type of
investigation was appropriate for both my interests and the relevance it has
towards the English language today.
My investigation will
be part of empirical research as the data I gather will be from direct
observation. My investigation will also be objective as the results I collect
will not be from my own opinion. Furthermore, my study will be diachronic as I
will be specifically looking at language across a period of time to understand
how and why it has changed.
