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Language and Characterisation in Television Series
A corpus-informed approach to the construction of social identity in the media
This book explores how language is used to create characters in fictional television series. To do so, it draws on multiple case studies from the United States and Australia. Brought together in this book for the first time, these case studies constitute more than the sum of their parts. They highlight different aspects of televisual characterisation and showcase the use of different data, methods, and approaches in its analysis. Uniquely, the book takes a mixed-method approach and will thus not only appeal to corpus linguists but also researchers in sociolinguistics, stylistics, and pragmatics. All corpus linguistic techniques are clearly introduced and explained, and the book is thus accessible to both experienced researchers as well as novice researchers and students. It will be essential reading in linguistics, literature, stylistics, and media/television studies.
Winner of the Screenwriting Research Network 2023 Best Monograph award!
[Studies in Corpus Linguistics, 106] 2023. xii, 265 pp.
Publishing status: Available
Published online on 8 February 2023
Published online on 8 February 2023
© Monika Bednarek
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments | pp. ix–x
- Language notes | pp. xi–xii
- Chapter 1. Televisual characterisation | pp. 1–25
- Chapter 2. Corpus linguistic analysis of televisual characterisation: Data and approach | pp. 27–43
- Chapter 3. Character differentiation and character stability | pp. 45–72
- Chapter 4. Characters and stereotypes | pp. 73–104
- Chapter 5. Flawed female characters | pp. 105–131
- Chapter 6. Characterisation and the use of marginalised varieties of English | pp. 133–165
- Chapter 7. Beyond individual series: Analyses of US and Australian television dialogue corpora | pp. 167–201
- Chapter 8. Conclusion | pp. 203–210
- List of TV series (and movies) | pp. 211–219
- References
- Appendix | pp. 243–259
- Index of TV series (and movies) | pp. 261–262
- General index
“Overall, this book is a thought-provoking and insightful read that adds to our understanding of how the media constructs, reinforces, and challenges social identities through language and characterization strategies. The author's use of corpus linguistics has helped to provide a rigorous and systematic analysis of the language used in popular television series, and her examination of different characterization strategies adds depth and nuances to our understanding of how these series construct and negotiate social identities. In addition, the style of the book is extremely reader-friendly without any obscure terminology or needlessly complicated diction. The book is highly recommended for scholars and students interested in media studies, linguistics, and cultural studies. As the use of audiovisual products, where different semiotic codes contribute to the construction of meaning, has proved to be a valuable tool in language teaching, this publication is also of vital importance for using films and television series for pragmatics and ESP teaching.”
Jingyan Zhang, NingboTech University, in Journal of Pragmatics 212 (2023).
“Overall, this book sheds new light on the complex interplay of language and social identity in telecinematic discourse, thereby making it a valuable resource for scholars, researchers, and students in linguistics, media and communication, and cultural studies.”
Yumin Chen and Chang Yan, Sun Yat-sen University, in Functions of Language 31:3 (2024).
“Bednarek presents us with an essential guide for everyone wishing to explore how fictional characters come alive through television dialogues. The clear and elegant diction of the book makes it an accessible and relevant read for both students and scholars of linguistics. Its careful explanation of concepts and methods enables readers to follow and comprehend how the studies on which the book is based were conducted and designed. Bednarek’s critical and reflective stance on aspects of ethnic and cultural representation of television characters should resonate with critical discourse analysts, literary scholars and linguistic anthropologists. Finally, the monograph may well be attractive for film creativesseeking to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the ways in which char-
acters’ consistent (or diverging) speaking style can path the way toward stable, complex and multi-layered fictional characters on television.”
acters’ consistent (or diverging) speaking style can path the way toward stable, complex and multi-layered fictional characters on television.”
Christian R. Hoffmann, University of Augsburg, in Journal of Language and Pop Culture 1:2 (2025).
Cited by (15)
Cited by 15 other publications
Bednarek, Monika & Tracey-Anne Cameron
Bednarek, Monika & Barbara A. Meek
Bednarek, Monika & Barbra A. Meek
Castro, Adrián
Wang, Ruonan & Yuchen Viveka Li
Alyunina, Ya. M.
Bartley, Leanne & Piergiorgio Trevisan
Caple, Helen
Chen, Yumin & Chang Yan
2024. Review of Bednarek (2023): Language and characterisation in television series: A corpus-informed approach to the construction of social identity in the media. Functions of Language 31:3 ► pp. 368 ff.
Clews, Madeleine
Platitsyn, Aleksandr Vladimirovich, Andrei Valentinovich Arepjev & Aleksandr Nikolaevich Golovanov
Cornillon, Claire, Monica Michlin & Sandrine Sorlin
Flesch, Marie
Montoro, Rocío & Valentin Werner
2023. Interdisciplinary approaches to the language of pop culture. English Text Construction 16:2 ► pp. 109 ff.
Schubert, Christoph
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 3 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.