A SOCIOLINGUISTICS ANALYSIS OF WOMEN’S LANGUAGE FEATURES USED BY DIANA IN SPENCER’S FILM

ATIKAH, FATU RAHMAH (2025) A SOCIOLINGUISTICS ANALYSIS OF WOMEN’S LANGUAGE FEATURES USED BY DIANA IN SPENCER’S FILM. Diploma thesis, UIN RADEN INTAN LAMPUNG.

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Abstract

ABSTRACT Language is a crucial tool for expressing identity and navigating social dynamics. This research aims to investigate how women’s language features are utilised by Diana, the central character in the film Spencer, to portray her emotional struggles and her attempts to assert her identity within the restrictive environment of the British royal family. The film, set during the 1991 Christmas holiday, offers a unique opportunity to examine how language reflects and reinforces power dynamics, as well as individual resistance to those dynamics. This study addresses the gap in understanding how women's language is deployed in film representations of historical figures, particularly in contexts of immense social pressure. The research analyses the data using Lakoff's theory of Women’s Language Features. The primary data source for this study is the film Spencer (2021), directed by Pablo Larraín. Secondary data includes the film’s script and scholarly articles related to women’s language and sociolinguistics. Data collection involved a meticulous process: the researcher repeatedly watched the film, carefully reading the script to identify women’s language features in Diana’s utterances. These utterances were then recorded and categorized using Qualitative Content Analysis methods based on the Women’s Language Features. The researcher served as the primary instrument for data collection and analysis. Data analysis followed Krippendorff's content analysis steps, including (a) Unitizing Diana’s utterances as the primary units of analysis (b) Sampling relevant dialogues containing potential instances of women’s language features (c) Recording/coding the identified features (d) Reducing the data to the most frequent and significant features (e) Inferring the meaning and implications of these features within the context of the film and (f) Narrating the findings to answer the research questions. The findings reveal that seven out of ten women's language features proposed by Lakoff are present in Diana's utterances. Emphatic stress emerges as the most dominant used feature, highlighting Diana's attempts to assert her opinions and emotions. Lexical hedges or fillers and intensifiers are also prominent, indicating Diana's nuanced and expressive communication style. Other identified features include superpolite forms, tag questions, rising intonation on declarative, and empty adjectives. However, the features of precise color terms, hypercorrect grammar, and avoidance of strong swear ii words are absent in Diana's utterances. The results suggest that Diana's language use reflects a complex interplay between societal expectations and her desires for authenticity and self-expression. Her use of collaborative and polite language is often mediated by her interlocutors' gender, status, and age, revealing the contextual nature of her linguistic choices. Keywords: Spencer, Princess Diana, Women's Language Features, Sociolinguistics, Content Analysis, Film.

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