| Issue No. |
Vol.19 |
| Title |
Visual Representation of Taiwanese and an Analysis of Language Use: A Case Study of Movie Trailers in 2015 |
| Author |
Pan, Yi-hsien; Liu, Cheng-yuan |
| Page |
91-127 |
| Abstract |
How is the language Taiwanese represented and constructed in cinemas? How are its language status and language attitude in social context represented? Are speakers of Taiwanese represented as ＂the Other＂? This study aims at answering the above three questions by selecting 12 movie trailers and conducting textual analysis with the semiotic approach. Results reveal that code-switching of Taiwanese speakers from Taiwanese to Mandarin reflects the status of Taiwanese having low language vitality. Among all Taiwanese speakers, over 80% are middle-aged and elderly people, and over 70% are male. Taiwanese is often used in vulgar or informal context, which may reflect people's language attitude towards it in Taiwan's culture. In addition, people speaking Taiwanese or Mandarin with Taiwanese accent are often portrayed as ＂the Other＂ and stereotyped as low-class, funny, ignorant or violent. This study also finds that characters who speak Taiwanese in comedies are often either old-fashioned or less elegant. In thrillers that highlight the opposition between the good and the evil, Taiwanese is the main language code used by gangsters and villains. Given a certain code as a symbol of certain characters, Taiwanese continues to be stereotyped negatively under the influence of mass media. |
| Keyword |
Taiwanese, visual representation, code-switching, language attitude, the Other |
| Attached File |
File download |
