Within my language
investigation, I have compared written data over a period of time as I have
looked at both the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale of Rapunzel and the script used
for the animated Disney film ‘Tangled’ based on the same character. By
comparing these two sets of data, I have focused on three main frameworks:
lexis, semantics and grammar.
Lexis
It is clear that
lexis was one of the most important frameworks within my investigation as not
only was I able to identify the neologisms from the Disney script, I was also
able to identify what words had become obsolete or less used in the story
written by the Grimm Brothers. From my introduction and methodology, I assumed
that neologisms would have been formed using a variety of ways. This proved to
be significantly correct from the data I collected as the words I recorded from
the Disney script were created by methods including compounding and scientific
progress. Some of the examples of compounding I discovered were ‘line-up’,
‘fleabag’ and ‘overprotective’. Scientific progress through the means and
advances in medicine and technologies have also caused some new words to be
created which made an appearance in the ‘Tangled’ version such as ‘hay fever’
and ‘interior design’. All of these words did not exist before the early 1800s
when the Grimm’s version of Rapunzel was published. Another method, regarding
how new words are created, is borrowing. Yet, some of the words I discovered
may have not been exactly borrowed by other countries but instead were influenced
by them. For example, the noun ‘blah’ may have perhaps been influenced by the
French term ‘blasé’ meaning bored and indifferent. The use of this word was
perhaps used in the Disney film as it can be easily understand by children.
Conversion is another method to explain the lexical change; however I
previously didn’t mention this in my introduction and methodology. The word
‘wax’ which primarily started off as a noun became the verb ‘to wax’ in
Disney’s tangled, clearly displaying the use of conversion. Further examples of
neologisms I have discovered can be seen in Table 1 below. From this part of my
investigation, I can see that examples of slang have already started to appear
in the newer version of the fairy tale which will later be discussed in more
detail in the semantics section.
|
Alteration
|
Compounding
|
Scientific Process
|
Contraction
|
Conversion
|
After a Person
|
Other
|
|
Mommy
|
Line-up
|
Hay Fever
|
C’mon
|
Wax
|
Sideburns
|
Blah
|
|
Gotcha
|
Overprotective
|
Interior Design
|
|
|
|
Cupcake
|
|
Yay
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As well as finding
relevant examples of lexis in Disney’s script for ‘Tangled’, the type of lexis
used in the Grimm’s ‘Rapunzel’ was also important to analysis. Archaisms like
‘thus’, ‘tresses’ and ‘ells’ which were used in this version yet are no longer
used in modern English, therefore would be inappropriate to use in a Disney
fairy tale in this present day. The adverb ‘thus’ which originated from Old
English back in the year 900 has various meanings including ‘in this way’ and
‘consequently’ but has now gone out of fashion. ‘Tresses’ was a noun to
describe ‘plaits’ or ‘braids’ yet these alternatives are nowadays more commonly
used by children. As a result ‘plaits’ was used for ‘Tangled’ instead. ‘Ell’
was a former measurement of length but is no longer used in the English
language. Trudgill says changes such as these are an inevitable process and as
society and people change, so does the language. Moreover some terms may still
be used, just not as much. At the beginning of the Grimm’s version the noun
‘God’ is used. As the type of generation they lived in was perhaps more
religious than it is nowadays, it would explain why ‘God’ is only mentioned in
the original story.
Semantics
I also focused on
this particular framework as I wanted to know if the meanings of the words had
changed over time. First of all I looked at the Grimm’s version to see if any
of the words had been used differently. The noun ‘enchantress’ was used to
describe a woman who practises magic. Clearly this word is still used for this
meaning today, however the meaning may have broadened as it can now also mean
an irresistible or charming woman. Although this meaning hasn’t expanded
enormously and completely differed, it is still an example of how English is
developing. I then looked at the Disney
script to see if these words in the present have new meanings than before. I
discovered that words that were nowadays used as slang obviously had more
meanings. The nouns ‘pet’ and ‘flower’ are used by Mother Gothel when she talks
to Rapunzel to express fondness or affection. As these terms are so widely used
today, even younger audiences which are who this film is aimed at will be able
to understand that the character doesn’t mean the literal meaning. However,
these changes are not considered positive by some theorists. Guy Deutscher, a
prescriptivist, believes language changed is bad as it is leading children in
today’s generation to not being able to speak or write correctly. By watching
movies such as those created by Disney could therefore be worrying for children
because of the slang they include as they are not sticking to the standard form
of the language.
Not only have I analysed the meaning of the words, I have
also looked at figurative language. It is clear that figurative language was
more apparent in the original story compared to the Disney version. In the Grimm’s version of Rapunzel figurative
expressions including the metaphors ‘touched his heart’ and ‘his heart had been
so stirred’ were used. This type of figurative language is still used today,
especially in literacy and poetry. However it may be less common to find in a modern
children’s fairy tale. The only example of figurative language found in the
Disney script was the idiom ‘leave the nest’.
This could also explain how the English language is becoming less
complex.
Grammar
Grammar has been one
of the main changes in the English language over time, whether it be syntax,
word order or spelling. While reading
the Grimm’s story of Rapunzel, it is clear to see how word order has changed
significantly over the past two centuries. Some interrogatives didn’t include
auxiliary verbs and were formed with a verb at the start. This can be seen in
the examples ‘said she with angry look’ and ‘answered he’ which put the subject
after. On the other hand, it is more common to put the subject first in Present
Day English. Since 1700, sentences have also become shorter – another example
of the language becoming simpler. Although Grimm’s Rapunzel was written and
published in 1812, there is still evidence within the story to show more
complicated sentences. For instance this sentence ‘It was, however, surrounded
by a high wall, and no one dared to go into it because it belonged to an
enchantress, who had great power and was dreaded by all the world’ includes
subordinate clauses which are less commonly used today.
Another grammatical
issue is contractions. By the early 18th century contractions became
common in written and spoken in English and it would seem some are still on the
rise. Others however, have become completely out of fashion. These include
‘twas’, ‘o’er’ and ‘e’en’. There is an example of the contraction ‘can’t’ used
in the Grimm’s version yet there were significantly more recorded in the Disney
script such as ‘you’ve’, ‘don’t’, ‘aren’t, ‘you’re’ and ‘we’re’. In some ways this is becoming alarmingly
similar to the type of views expressed within the language decay theory. This
theory suggest that more and more people are becoming careless about their
speech and are therefore becoming lazy, resulting in a much more ‘simple’
language. Writers including Jonathan Swift have also said that contractions
like these are corrupting the language so people in the future are less likely
to understand. These are all negative views towards the way this language is
changing.
The Story
Regarding the
storyline, there have also been obvious changes between the two versions of
‘Rapunzel’. Some of the plots which occurred in the Grimm’s version may have
now been inappropriate for younger audiences. For example, the father agrees to
exchange his own daughter for rampion which is different to ‘Tangled’ where
Rapunzel actually gets stolen. This was perhaps altered as in today’s society
it may be hard to understand why any parent would give up their child and would
prove to be morally inacceptable to show to young children. Rapunzel becoming
pregnant and the prince (who was known as ‘Flynn’ in ‘Tangled’) being blinded
by thorns was also eliminated. Again, as these situations may have been
inappropriate. However both have a happy ending therefore this may be
considered the most important aspect over both time periods.
