SOCIO-PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF MALE SPEECH STYLES OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN THE FILM ‘THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION’

Abstract

Language plays a crucial role in shaping social relations, especially in hierarchical environments like prisons. The film ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ depicts interactions reflecting masculine speech styles and the function of speech in constructing social positions and identities. This study aims to determine the types of masculine speech styles and speech functions used by the main characters. The study employed a descriptive qualitative method through sociopragmatic analysis, utilizing Wood’s (2008) theory of masculine speech styles and Holmes’ (2013) speech function theory. The data consisted of 453 excerpts of dialogue and narratives from the main characters. The analysis revealed that all six of Wood's masculine speech styles—established status and control, instrumentality, conversational command, directness and assertiveness, abstractness, and less emotional responsiveness—emerge. The six speech functions identified were expressive, directive, referential, metalinguistic, poetic, and phatic. The highest percentage of speech style occurrence was directness and assertiveness (24.15% with 121 occurrences), and the smallest percentage of speech style occurrence was establishing status and control (3.79% with 19 occurrences). Furthermore, the highest percentage of speech function occurrence was directive (34.44% with 135 occurrences), and the smallest percentage of speech function occurrence was poetic (2.55% with 10 occurrences). This study concludes that the speech styles and functions in ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ reflect the complex social dynamics of prison, where language is a means of communication, a representation of power relations, survival strategies, and the construction of masculinity within the prison culture.