Think of a movie where the actors have portrayed somebody from a different dialect area and either succeeded so well that they fooled you or failed miserably. What about linguistic stereotypes? Can you think of any linguistic stereotypes you noticed in a movie?
Your answers should not be more than a paragraph. Simply think of linguistic stereotypes of a particular accent or dialect in a movie. Ensure to include the film's name and character(s).
Here are two sample responses:
Response#1: In Deadpool and Deadpool 2, a character named Dopinder is an Indian cab driver. He only appears in the films briefly, but his role is a stereotype in that one of the few jobs Indians do is drive cabs. Although, that may be the only or one of the few stereotypes portrayed about this character. In the first film, he is only in a quick scene, while in the second film, his character develops a story arc, which is rare for these types of roles. Dopinder is played by Karan Soni, who is of Indian descent but born in America. Therefore, Soni has no Indian accent in his regular speech. However, when he plays Dopinder, his character has an Indian accent, which is done well. It sounds like he uses the retroflex ‘t’ and ‘d’ instead of alveolar ‘t’ and ‘d’, a noticeable and well-known marker for the Indian accent.
Response#2: In the movie Titanic, a character named Rose Dewitt Bukater is portrayed as a wealthy American Socialite. Rose, the film's main protagonist, is played by Kate Winslet, a British actress. Kate Winslet was born in England and, therefore, acquired English with a British accent, showing different pronunciations, grammar, vocabulary, etc. One of the most common differences between American and British accents is the pronunciation of /r/ in the middle or ending of a word. British people typically pronounce /r/ when it appears at the beginning of words. However, American people tend to pronounce /r/ throughout the term. This is demonstrated as Kate plays the upper-class, all-American character Rose; she can produce a compelling American accent due to the pronunciation of /r/ in words like “nerve.” The upper-class status of Rose is reflected through her dialogue speech. Rose uses standard and sophisticated language in all contexts; she even uses formal vocabulary when referring to other people. This is evident in her conversation with Jack:
Jack: “Well, it's a simple question. Do you love the guy?”...
Rose: “You are rude and uncouth, and presumptuous…Jack... Mister Dawson, it's been a pleasure.”
As seen in the conversation, when Rose refers to Jack by his first name, she corrects herself and calls him “Mister Dawson.” Instead, Jack (a lower-class artist) refers to the other person as a “guy.” In addition, Jack utilizes informal language, such as pronouncing “you” as /ja/, contrasting Rose’s formal speech. Lastly, Rose uses super polite forms such as “forgive me” when she disagrees with other men, then explains her reasoning. This presence of euphemism aligns with Lakoff’s claim on women’s speech, where women’s speech reflects their subordinate status in society.
