Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

A Corpus Linguistic Analysis of Domestic Violence in Law and Cinema

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/3x816v83w

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  • Domestic violence (DV) is pervasive worldwide and has negative psychological effects that last a lifetime. Although DV is a problem that affects all societies, it is addressed through varied legal responses and with gaps in comprehension when examined through a cultural lens. The findings of these studies have the potential to assist helping professionals in two ways: (a) providing a greater understanding of the language and cultural perception of DV to guide the development of successful interventions for victims and survivors, and (b) determining recommendations for targeted legal advocacy to address DV more effectively. The objective of this dissertation research project was twofold. First, it uses a corpus linguistic design to analyze the keyness and collocation of laws in the United States for the purpose of assessing the relationship between linguistic differences in law and differing rates of DV. The frequency of words was examined, as was the phrasing surrounding the key terms "child*," "juvenile*," and "minors" in the laws of the 10 states with the highest and lowest rates of DV using the software tools Antconc and #Lancsbox. Results indicated that the statutory state law, of the states with the highest and lowest rates of DV, differ significantly from one another. While the legislation in states with lower rates had broader definitions of DV and contained supportive measures for victims, the laws in states with higher rates tended to concentrate largely on physical acts of abuse. Second, using the software Sketch Engine, a diachronic linguistic study was conducted to evaluate single and multiword keywords to examine the evolution of language. An English speaking, DV themed film corpus was created, and its results were compared with those of a broader movie corpus. The research revealed that, in comparison to the general corpus, the language used in DV movies most conveyed sex, violence, dominance, and mental health symptomology. Also, there were sharp increases and decreases in the usage of specific words over time. Helping professionals can use the findings of these two research studies to understand the experiences of victims and offenders and to advocate for changes to laws and policies related to DV.
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