Relationships Reflected in Address: A Linguistic Analysis of Letters in Jane Austen’s Novels

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Engelse taal en cultuur (BA)

Frissen, C.A.J. (2019)

Relationships Reflected in Address: A Linguistic Analysis of Letters in Jane Austen’s Novels

Bachelor thesis | Engelse taal en cultuur (BA)

In this thesis, I will study formulaic language use by applying the linguistic model as applied to Jane Austen's own letters in Tieken-Boon van Ostade's (2014) In Search of Jane Austen: The Language of the Letters, section '3.3. Letter-Writing Formulas' to Jane Austen's fictional letters as part of her novels. By looking at the opening and closing formulas in the 41 letters that are included in Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), Northanger Abbey (1818) and Persuasion (1818), I aim to determine the implications of the formulaic language use for the relationships. From this analysis, then, it will also become clear what differences and similarities there are between the language in Jane Austen’s own letters and her fictional letters as part of her novels.

Jane Austen

formulaic language use