Gen Z Language & Harry Potter

In-class presentation

Transcript

1. By Laura Dilz, Yen Nhi Nguyen & Julia Kruzel GEN Z LANGUAGE & HARRY POTTER
2. Outline 01 RQ & Method Examples 02 Comparison & Analysis Conclusion 03 Future Outlook 04 TABLE OF CONTENT Sources 05
3. 01 Project Outline
4. OED: ‘Generation Z’ Generation Y/Millennials: early 1980s and mid 1990s Generation Z: “The generation of people born between the late 1990s and early 2010s and following Generation Y, noted in particular as the first generation to grow up in the era of widespread use of digital technology (esp. the internet and social media)” Generation Alpha: from 2010 (McCrindle, 2009)
5. Project Goal ➔ What kind of linguistic changes is YL going through today? Use of abbreviations New vocabulary Changes in grammar Spelling distortion ➔ Where did those changes originate from?
6. Research Question How does ‘literary standard language’ and its linguistic features in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone change under the influence of Generation Z’s internet culture?
7. Method Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Gen Z Adaptation
8. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Gen Z Adaptation close reading side-by-side comparison Method
9. TEXT EXAMPLES 02 Comparison & Analysis
10. Text Examples ‘At half past eight, Mr Dursley picked up his briefcase , pecked Mrs Dursley on the cheek and tried to kiss Dudley goodbye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. “Little tyke,” chortled Mr Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four’s drive. At half past eight, Mr. Dursley snatched his briefcase, pecked miss girl on the cheek and took a fat L tryna kiss Dudley goodbye cause he was too busy bitching and yeeting his cereal at the walls. "Little tyke," loled Mr. Dursley as he got tf outta there. He got in his car and skirrted out the driveway.
11. Abbreviations Reasons why Abbreviations are so common in Gen Z language: (Squires, 2010) 1. Efficiency 2. Imitating face-to-face interactions 3. Group identity 4. Challenge traditional norms Tf → the fuck LOL → laughing out loud Abbreviation: Initialism Abbreviation: Acronym/Initialism "Little tyke," loled Mr. Dursley as he got tf outta there.”
12. Use of New Vocabulary Bitching Urban dictionary: Excessive complaining without a specific reason and without the will to change something. Word Formation: Noun "bitch" → Derogatory term for a woman Suffix "-ing" → Verbing = Creation of a verb from a noun Swear Words: a) Offend and abuse, b) entertain and create humour, c) can function as intensifiers. Trends: → Gendered language gets replaced with gender- neutral language (WP Company, 2019) → Swearing is becoming more common in English literary language because of the influence of youth language (Love, 2021) "(...) he was too busy bitching and yeeting his cereal at the walls.”
13. Use of New Vocabulary: Swear Words
14. Use of New Vocabulary: Yeet
15. Use of New Vocabulary Yeeting Merriam-Webster Dictionary: 1) Interjection: used to express surprise, approval, or excited enthusiasm 1) Verb: to throw especially with force and without regard for the thing being thrown Popularized through social media: → interconnectedness of youths allows for faster creation and spreading of new vocabulary Conversion / Zero-Derivation - common process in youth language (Valera, 2023) - word changes its grammatical category without any changes to its form Noun “yeet” → Verb “to yeet
16. TEXT EXAMPLES ‘Mr. Dursley was adulting at a firm called Grunnings that made drills. He was a dummy thiccc (w/ three Cs) man with basically no neck, tho he had an absolute unit of a mustache. Mrs. Dursley was a Karen with zero chill and had hella neck, which was real useful for highkey stalking her neighbors and not minding her own.The Dursleys had a lil son called Dudley who they really thought was the main character.’ ‘Mr Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large moustache. Mrs Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbours. The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.’
17. TEXT EXAMPLE - ‘DUMMY THICC’ ‘He was a dummy thiccc (w/ three Cs) man (...)’ Urban Dictionary: ‘when your thick with three c's, you know you really got them curves, referring to a usually black female with curves’ ‘Dummy thicc’ → ‘When it’s thicc but, like more than just regular thicc, like really really thicc’ Slang Dictionary: ‘Thicc is a slang term for a full-figured body, specifically a big butt and curvy waist. It is both used sexually and humorously.’ ➔ derived from the English noun ‘thickness’ ➔ Originated from the 1990’s black culture ➔ black slang for describing a sexually attractive, curvaceous woman ➔ since early 2000s: deliberately misspelled online as thicc ➔ Clipping to simplify expressions (Hoffman, 2021) Type of slang Occurrences Percentage Acronym 14 28% Imitative 12 24% Flippant 9 18% Clipping 8 16% Fresh & Creative 7 14% Total 50 100%
18. TEXT EXAMPLE - ‘ADULTING’ ’ ‘Mr. Dursley was adulting at a firm called Grunnings that made drills.’ Cambridge Dictionary: noun [ U ], informal actions and behaviour that are considered typical of adults, not children young people: ‘Why is adulting so hard?’ ‘Adulting includes things like keeping your home clean and paying bills.’ ➔ Here: Substitute for working ➔ not particularly a youth language but usage has increased
19. TEXT EXAMPLE - ‘ADULTING’ ’ ‘Mr. Dursley was adulting at a firm called Grunnings that made drills.’
20. TEXT EXAMPLE - ‘KAREN’ & ‘ZERO CHILL’ ‘Mrs. Dursley was a Karen with zero chill (...).’ Urban Dictionary: Karen Middle aged woman, typically blonde, makes solutions to others' problems an inconvenience to her although she isn't even remotely affected. ‘Karen refuses to wear a face mask for her 5 minute trip to the supermarket during a pandemic. She harasses the workers, asks to see the manager and threatens to sue.’ Urban dictionary: Zero chill 1. When one looses the ability to look calm. 2. When one doesn't care about anything. Go talk to him, Jo. I can't Naomi, I have zero chill ‘Did you just punch that old man? I swear, you have zero chill, bro’
21. TEXT EXAMPLE - ‘KAREN’ & ‘ZERO CHILL’
22. TEXT EXAMPLE - ‘LIL’ & ‘MAIN CHARACTER’ ‘The Dursleys had a lil son called Dudley who they really thought was the main character.’ Slang Dictionary: li’l (or lil or lil’) ‘Li’l is an abbreviation of the word little. It’s often used in names or titles to emphasize youth or physical size.’ Main character (syndrom) Urban Dictionary: ‘When someone thinks they are the main character of their life. Usually comes with a side of individuality complex, quirky style and a self centered point of view.’ Psychology today: ‘Main character syndrome is when somebody presents, or imagines, themself as the lead in a sort of fictional version of their life.’
23. Urban Dictionary: ‘Hard to define, it's a complimentary or derogatory term depending on usage. It can refer to a person as someone that is cool, tall, muscular, strong, or a friend (synonym: dude). It can also refer to a penis or someone that is negatively referred to as a penis’ TEXT EXAMPLE - ‘UNIT’ ‘(...) tho he had an absolute unit of a mustache.’ Cambridge Dictionary: ‘a single thing or a separate part of something larger: “Each unit of the text book focuses on a different grammar point.”’ informal: a person or thing that is very large and impressive: ‘I'm delighted he's playing. He's definitely a unit.’
24. TEXT EXAMPLE ‘And some lowkey tea, tea abt the Potters. Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of actual tea. This ain't it. He'd have to spill the tea. He cleared his throat, all nervous. "Er - Petunia, dear - ur still ghosting your sister, right?”’ ‘And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters. Mrs Dursley came into the living-room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He’d have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. “Er – Petunia, dear – you haven’t heard from your sister lately, have you?”’
25. TEXT EXAMPLE - ‘LOWKEY’/’’HIGHKEY’ & ‘ABT’ ‘highkey stalking her neighbors’ ; ‘And some lowkey tea, tea abt the Potters.’ ABT ‘ABT is an abbreviation of the word about.’ Urban dictionary: ‘abt’ • Abbreviation of the word about • Acronym • Used in online chatting context Cambridge dictionary: ‘Low-key’ (Adjectiv) A low-key event is quiet and without a great show of excitement: The wedding was a low-key affair, with fewer than 30 people attending. Urban dictionary: ‘Lowkey/Highkey’ Lowkey: to express a feeling or desire without coming on too strong He’s low-key cute, but I’m keeping my options open Highkey: opposite of lowkey I high-key want to buy these shoes Type of slang Occurrences Percentage Acronym 14 28% Imitative 12 24% Flippant 9 18% Clipping 8 16% Fresh & Creative 7 14% Total 50 100%
26. Text Example - ‘Tea’ Urban Dictionary: when one tells an especially juicy bit of gossip "Girl, did you know Renee is having ANOTHER baby? And the baby daddy is the same guy who she found out has been cheating on her!" "OMG, spill the tea on that drama!" • originates from Black American drag culture • popularized by the TV show • contains a double meaning (Yusuf, 2023) ‘And some lowkey tea, tea abt the Potters. (...) He'd have to spill the tea.’
28. Type Freq bitches 13 tea 13 tf 12 sus 10 skirrted 8 yeeted 8 bitch 7 tbh 7 highkey 4 Type Freq bitching 3 ghosting 3 girlboss 3 spill 3 L 2 loled 2 ppl 2 skirrting 2 unit 2 Type Freq adulting 1 bitchy 1 dummy 1 girlbossed 1 girlbossing 1 girlbosss 1 karen 1 thiccc 1 yeeting 1 Statistics - AntConc
29. CONCLUSION 03 Pro and Contra
30. CONCLUSION ➔ Language is always changing, evolving, and adapting to the need of its users ◆ Technological aspect of Gen Z’s upbringing accelerates this process ➔ People are especially creative when it comes to language ➔ Addition of many foreign words ➔ Potential language barrier between generations
31. FUTURE OUTLOOK 04
32. FUTURE OUTLOOK ➔ Prejudices against new varieties have always been around ➔ Code switching ➔ People grow more linguistically conservative as they age Examples: 1. Pronouncing gerunds - Jumping → Jumpin 1. Use of the quotative like declines
33. ““Standard” language and “correct” spelling are collective agreements, not eternal truths, and collective agreements can change.” - McCulloch, 2020 FUTURE OUTLOOK
34. THANKS!
35. sources Abt. (n.d.-a). In Urban Dictionary. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=abt Black, A. (2022, May 17). ’Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (explicit Gen Z edit)’—Hogwarts Library | Hogwarts is Here. Hogwarts Is Here. https://www.hogwartsishere.com/library/book/26702/ BuzzFeedVideo (Director). (2020, September 23). The Origin Of The Karen Meme. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSXoBtmtypg Generation Z, n. (n.d.). In OED Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/86200773? Highkey. (n.d.-b). In Urban Dictionary. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=highkey Hoffman, I. (2021, January 19). THICC meaning & origin. Dictionary.com. https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/thicc/# SQUIRES, L. (2010). Enregistering internet language. Language in Society, 39(4), 457–492. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40925792 Love, R. (2021). Swearing in informal spoken English: 1990s–2010s. Text & Talk, 41(5-6), 739-762. https://doi.org/10.1515/text- 2020-0051 Lowkey. (n.d.-c). In Urban Dictionary. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Lowkey
36. sources Mansor, N. S. (2021). How Advertising Speaks to Consumers: A Case of Youth Language in Local Commercial Discourse. Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics, 6(2), 353. https://doi.org/10.21462/ijefl.v6i2.202 McCrindle, M., & Wolfinger, E. (2009). The ABC of XYZ: Understanding the global generations. UNSW Press. Poláková & Klímová. (2019). Mobile Technology and Generation Z in the English Language Classroom – A Preliminary Study. Education Sciences, 9(3), 203. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9030203 Rowling, J. K. (2009). Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone. Bloomsbury. Unit. (2023). In Cambridge Dictionary. Cambridge University Press. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/unit Valera, S. (2023). The semantics of noun-to-verb zero-derivation in English and Spanish. Zeitschrift für Sprachwissenschaft, 42(1), 153- 180. https://doi.org/10.1515/zfs-2022-2016 WP Company. (2019, December 15). A guide to how gender-neutral language is developing around the world. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/12/15/guide-how-gender-neutral-language-is-developing-around-world/ Yoon, J., Gomez, L., Gonzales, J., Martinez, R., Torres, K., Williams, V., Davis, M., & Cammarota, J. (2021). Spill the Tea. In J. Cammarota (Ed.), Liberatory Practices for Learning (pp. 47–68). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56685-2_3 Yusuf, Y. Q., Fata, I. A., & Aini, R. (2023). “GOTCHUU!”: THE USE OF SLANG IN SOCIAL MEDIA BY GENERATION Z. LiNGUA: Jurnal Ilmu Bahasa Dan Sastra, 17(2), 167–174. https://doi.org/10.18860/ling.v17i2.17756