Dialect in Film and Literature

A thorough, lucid, up-to-date and entertaining introduction to the important ways in which dialect speech - the language that carries our identities - is a challenge and a resource in literature and film.' Michael Toolan, University of Birmingham, UK 'Sophisticated in its theoretical grounding and original in its approaches, Jane Hodson's Dialect in Film and Literature is a clear, accessible, and engaging introduction to mediated language and its functions and meanings within worlds both imagined and real. It offers useful new perspectives and techniques for exploring the language of literary works and films while also providing an abundance of creative activities and exercises to encourage interactive learning. Essential reading for courses in literary linguistics (and recommended for sociolinguistics and language variation courses as well) and an excellent resource for seasoned researchers and scholars.' Lisa Cohen Minnick, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, USA "In this lively and well-informed text, representations of dialect in film and literature receive long-overdue academic treatment. Hodson's comprehensive book illustrates the principles and functions of fictional dialect with admirable theoretical and analytical rigour, and the text is rich with a very engaging range of fictional and filmic examples, both contemporary and historical. Pitched at both undergraduate audiences (for whom well-judged exercises have been provided at the end of each chapter) and scholars keen to understand the range of meanings and effects indexed by dialect in film and literature, Hodson unpacks key concepts (e.g. realism, authenticity, stereotyping, metadiscourse) with clarity and ease, and builds rich layers of understanding about the formal, political and symbolic aspects of dialect representation throughout her text. This looks set to become a landmark text in the field of stylistics and an indispensable guide to the topic for students and scholars alike." Bethan Benwell, University of Stirling, UK

This text draws on ideas and approaches from linguistics in order to investigate the ways in which different dialects of English are represented in a range of films and literary texts. The focus is more on spoken than on written varieties. It contains examples, analyses, exercises and readings in each chapter to help students along the way.What is a dialect? How are dialects represented in film and literature? How can they be analysed?

In the first textbook to cover dialect representation in both film and literature, Jane Hodson explores why and how different varieties of English are used. In order to link the concepts to actual usage, illustrative examples of popular films, classic novels and poems are discussed throughout the text.

Dialect in Film and Literature:
• examines the key differences between the handling of dialect in literature and film
• draws on recent work in linguistics to examine a range of topics, including metalanguage, identity and authenticity
• includes useful teaching resources, such as exercises and suggestions for further reading

Written for students of English language and literature, this is a lively introduction to the fascinating field of dialect representation.