“Better In English”: Exploring the Relationship Between Anglophone Media, the Internet and Language Preferences and Uses in Czech-English Speakers

• Název práce v češtině: "Je to lepší v angličtině”: Zkoumání vztahu anglofonních médií a internetu s jazykovými preferencemi u česko-anglických mluvčích
• Název v anglickém jazyce: “Better In English”: Exploring the Relationship Between Anglophone Media, the Internet and Language Preferences and Uses in Czech-English Speakers
• Klíčová slova: angličtina|čeština|bilingvismus|emoce|digitální generace|mateřský jazyk|internet|média
• Klíčová slova anglicky: English|Czech|bilingualism|emotions|digital natives|native language|Internet|media
• Akademický rok vypsání: 2022/2023
• Typ práce: bakalářská práce
• Jazyk práce: angličtina
• Ústav: Ústav anglického jazyka a didaktiky (21-UAJD)
• Vedoucí / školitel: doc. Dr. phil. Eva Maria Luef, Mag. phil.
• Řešitel: skrytý - zadáno a potvrzeno stud. odd.
• Datum přihlášení: 19.10.2022
• Datum zadání: 19.10.2022
• Schválení administrátorem: bylo schváleno
• Datum potvrzení stud. oddělením: 29.04.2023
• Datum a čas obhajoby: 13.06.2023 00:00
• Datum odevzdání elektronické podoby: 21.05.2023
• Datum proběhlé obhajoby: 13.06.2023
• Odevzdaná/finalizovaná: odevzdaná studentem a finalizovaná
• Oponenti: Mgr. Veronika Raušová, Ph.D.

Zásady pro vypracování

Language is a powerful tool that not only allows humans to communicate with one another, but it also enables the ability to express oneself and connect with other human beings on a deeper and more emotional level. In the case of the bilingual, the ability to communicate and express emotion is enhanced, due to the privilege of expressing oneself in two languages. Thus, having the option and space to think in two languages, the bilingual speaker is able to use words from both depending on the ability of the word to properly capture the emotion that they want to express. Owing to the significant global rise of the use of English (due to the Internet and the majority of mainstream media being in English), many, whose mother tongue is different, have become very adept and almost bilingual speakers of the language, causing them to often use English as their preferred means of communication, as it seems to express their feelings more appropriately. Through a survey made to examine this phenomenon, this thesis will focus on Czech native speakers with an above average English proficiency ranging in ages from 18 – 25 and their use of both their mother tongue and the English language. The survey features questions about which language the participants would use in certain contexts (for example when speaking of private and emotional matters versus casual small-talk), and which words from either language they find more appropriate in a certain situation. The survey also features questions regarding the participants’ Internet usage and online culture knowledge, as this thesis is an attempt to prove that the language preferences of Czech-English bilinguals are directly related to how much time they spend on the Internet and how well-versed they are in the online world, arguing that the more time they spend using English online, the more likely they are to use English terms for expressing emotions. It is often the case that when speaking Czech, these bilinguals exhibit signs of preferential use of English terms when talking about emotions, meaning that they insert English loanwords into conversation – this is as a result of the fact that English (specifically English on the Internet) contains a wide variety of terms for emotional expression far larger than Czech and non-internet English. Given these points, this thesis is an endeavor to prove that due to the presence of English in media and the Internet, the majority of Czech-English bilingual participants is inclined to use English in a majority of situations, often to the point where it pervades into native language territory.
Práce bude vypracována v anglickém jazyce.

Seznam odborné literatury

Dewaele, J.M. (2013). Emotions in Multiple Languages. Palgrave Macmillan.
Bamberg, M. (1997). Language, concepts and emotions: The role of language in the construction of emotions. Language Sciences, 19(4), 309-340.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0388-0001(97)00004-1.
Dewaele, J.M. (2004). The Emotional Force of Swearwords and Taboo Words in the Speech of Multilinguals, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 25:2-3, 204-222, DOI: 10.1080/01434630408666529.
Dewaele, J.M. (2008). The emotional weight of I love you in multilinguals’ languages, Journal of Pragmatics 40 (10), 1753-1780.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2008.03.002.