An analysis of the formality of English in Star Wars episode

Yi, Cha Hoon

Article

Journal of English Teaching through Movies and Media 2005;6(1):109-130.
Published online June 30, 2005.

An analysis of the formality of English in Star Wars episode

Cha Hoon Yi

영화 스타워즈 2

이차훈

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the formality of English in Star Wars Episode Ⅱ: Attack of the Clones, and to show that there are various levels of formality in English and that formality has a great influence on the meaning of each sentence. Following Quirk et al. (1985), I divide the formality into 5 levels; very formal, formal, neutral, informal, and very informal. With these 5 levels of formality, I analyzed Star Wars Episode Ⅱ. This analysis shows that there are at least 5 levels of formality in English, and the formality of each sentence varies according to what situations the speakers are in, who the speakers are talking to, and what psychological attitudes the speakers have. Therefore, observing formality carefully enables us to capture the hidden meaning of what speakers say, and the attitudes of the speakers. I insist that it is important to teach formality in English education, and suggest that letting students practice distinguishing the formality by analyzing movies helps them to use various levels of expression appropriately.

Key Words: formality;formal;neutral;informal;language function;situations;social relationship;psychological attitude