Rights statement: The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Journal of English Linguistics, 45 (1), 2017, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2017 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Journal of English Linguistics page: http://journals.sagepub.com/home/eng on SAGE Journals Online: http://journals.sagepub.com/
Accepted author manuscript, 477 KB, PDF document
Available under license: CC BY-NC: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
<mark>Journal publication date</mark> | 1/03/2017 |
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<mark>Journal</mark> | Journal of English Linguistics |
Issue number | 1 |
Volume | 45 |
Number of pages | 28 |
Pages (from-to) | 60-87 |
Publication Status | Published |
Early online date | 30/09/16 |
<mark>Original language</mark> | English |
This paper examines the use of intensifiers on the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer in order to establish the ways in which they can be used for characterization. We found that the male and female characters used intensifiers differently (similarly to what is found in natural speech), but also that intensifier choice was related to changes in social networks for several of the female characters on the show (so and totally). Furthermore, intensifiers were also used to distinguish the British characters on the show from the American ones (extremely, terribly, and bloody). By comparing our results to findings for other television shows (Friends) and for natural speech, we were able to establish the extent to which the show makes use of (then) innovative linguistic features for characterization. These findings underline the extent to which scriptwriters and/or actors were able to use linguistic features to index specific types of character.