Young children talk about their popular cartoon and TV heroes' speech styles: media reception and language attitudes

Abstract

Considering the role of popular cultural texts in shaping sociolinguistic reality, it makes sense to explore how children actually receive those texts and what conceptualisations of sociolinguistic diversity they form through those texts. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine Greek young children's views on sociolinguistic diversity in popular cartoons and TV series. Drawing upon a framework of media reception, we explored how attention to the ways children at age six interpret mediated representations of sociolinguistic difference might provide a methodological addition to tools used for investigating language attitudes and ideologies. From the analysis of children's interviews, it was found that they can easily distinguish between different dimensions of sociolinguistic difference, showing an enhanced sociolinguistic awareness. On the other hand, their reading positions seemed to be in acceptance with the meanings conveyed in the texts. Moreover, our findings suggest that children tended to make hegemonic readings of popular cultural texts, premising many of their evaluations on the ways in which sociolinguistic diversity was represented in the text (e.g. plot, characterisation). The implications of these findings for the role of popular culture in the shaping of children's language attitudes are discussed.

Keywords:

• standard language ideology
• feminine style
• masculine style
• geographical dialect
• sociolinguistic awareness

Acknowledgements

This work was conducted in the context of the Operational Program Education and Lifelong Learning, co-funded by the EU (European Social Fund) and by national resources.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Note

Notes

1. ‘Feminine’ and ‘masculine’ styles of talk are within quotation marks throughout the paper, in order to signal that they are treated as symbolic constructs, which inscribe the established normative attitudes of what is considered prototypically ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’, and assume traditional gender roles. Therefore, adopting a constructionist conception of gender through talk, it is possible (and also found in our data) to find cases in which women talk like men, and men speak like women.

Additional information

Funding

This work was conducted in the context of the Operational Program Education and Lifelong Learning, co-funded by the EU (European Social Fund) and by national resources [grant number MIS 375599].

Notes on contributors

Anastasia G. Stamou

Anastasia G. Stamou holds an MA degree in Language in Society from the University of East Anglia, UK, and a PhD degree from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. She is an assistant professor of sociolinguistics and discourse analysis at the Department of Early Childhood Education of the University of Western Macedonia, Greece. She is currently investigating the mediation of sociolinguistic reality in Greek mass cultural texts. She has published her work in international peer-reviewed journals such as Discourse & Society, Critical Discourse Studies, Language & Communication, Language Awareness, Science Communication, and Journal of Applied Social Psychology.

Katerina Maroniti

Katerina Maroniti holds a BA degree in Education and an MA degree in Linguistics and Literature in Education from the University of Western Macedonia, Greece. She is currently conducting doctoral research on young children's engagement with media in the home. She has published her work in international peer-reviewed journals such as Women's Studies International Forum and Studies in Media and Communication.

Eleni Griva

Eleni Griva is an associate professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Western Macedonia, Greece. Her research interests include L2/FL learning and teaching, language learning strategies, bilingualism/multilingualism, and language policy. She has published three books, and she has been author or co-author of over 100 papers in journals, collected editions, and conference proceedings, and she has participated in various projects and international conferences.