This investigation will focus on accent and dialect, placing particular focus on the language of celebrities and how their accents may have changed over
time due to exposure of ‘fame’. I will be looking at celebrities such as Alex
Turner (Arctic Monkeys, Iggy Azaleia etc.. and how they have changed their accent over time,
perhaps as a marketing move or to adopt a certain meta-persona. I will
investigate this by watching interviews and TV appearances of the celebrities,
by looking at old and new interviews to provide comparisons. The celebrities I am going to look at are; Alex Turner, Noel Gallagher and Iggy Azaleia. I will then do
this by putting the interviews into transcripts, and analysing their accents
over a 5 year period, which I will then compare and contrast, and also consider contextual factors which may have influenced this. I will challenge Lesie Milroy's Belfast study, and see how celebrities perhaps have changed their accents due to the prevalent travelling, which may have led to a shift in accent.
. I will also look at divergence, with people emphasising
their accents to embellish their social status and to isolate themselves from others, a key example being Noel Gallagher with his exaggerated Mancunian accent.. I will look
at convergence and divergence in my piece, looking at how celebrities perhaps
change their accent to gain a bigger following, or to elevate their social
status. By doing this, I will challenge certain accent theories such as Leslie Milroy, Labov's Vineyard test and Peter Trudgill. I may also apply some gender theory such as Deborah Cameron, to justify my findings.
Comparability
Although I am making the concept of 'celebrities' my focal point, the individuals I will be looking at may be very different in terms of commercial success and how they are percieved in the public eye. However, the celebrities I am looking at are all involved within the music industry therefore they may share similar jargon. Age is also an important factor to look at here, as the three celebrities I am focusing on are in a wide age range (Iggy Azelea (26 years), Alex Turner (30 years), Noel Gallagher (49 years). The main focus that I will be comparing here is how their accent has changed, if at all, and how this may have been influenced due to fame and if they are doing it to appeal to a wider market.
Reliability
Due to the concept of 'celebrity', this has meant that an eclectic range of journalistic pieces have been produced basing around these celebrities. Due to the magnitude of media texts constructed around these well known celebrities, this means that not all sources would be reliable, therefore I will look at videos on Youtube of interviews and TV appearances. This may be a better method than looking at a transcript online, as this may exhibit the individuals use of phonetics and how they actually pronounce words. For this reason, I will transcribe the interviews/appearances myself, as I will be able to identify the actual pronunciation of their speech. Also, because the interview/appearance has already been conducted, this can mean that the observers paradox cannot be applied as they have already been filmed. However, because the interview will be watched by many people, this may change the celebrities use of accent to fabricate a certain persona.
Ethics
Due to my focus being on celebrities, who are aware that they are being filmed, this means that it is not necessary to ask for permission, as they would already be aware that they are being filmed for the interview.
Theories to look at: convergence/divergence, Labov’s Martha’s
Vineyard, Peter Trudgill, Leslie Milroy
Yes that's an interesting area - be prepared to invest a great deal of time transcribing the phonetics accurately (use IPA symbols). You could narrow it to one celebrity but find a rationale for picking whoever you choose rather than cherry picking them because you know they've changed their accent - unless you pick them because it is 'well-known' (find sources) that they have changed it and you want to look at whether/how.
ReplyDeleteThe observer's paradox is in effect because they know they are being filmed and therefore will necessarily alter their speech from private, unrecorded contexts... but this is the kind of talk you are interested in, presumably, as you want to look at the public persona they are creating through their accent.
You should consider comparability aspects in more detail if you want to look at how their accent has changed over time e.g. with the same interviewer if possible to mitigate accommodation factors, formality disparities etc. If you are choosing more than one subject still, consider how you will use data to contrast them - what comparablity factors will be key?