Language Literacy: Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Language Teaching
Vol 9, No 2: December 2025 (In Progress)

EXPLORING LANGUAGE STYLES IN THE FILM UGLIES (2024): A SOCIOLINGUISTICS PERSPECTIVE

Daulay, Olga Adelia (Unknown)
Rosa, Rusdi Noor (Unknown)
Yusuf, Muhammad (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
01 Dec 2025

Abstract

This study investigates the use of language styles in the film Uglies (released in 2024) by applying Joos’ (1967) classification of language styles (frozen, formal, consultative, casual, and intimate) and Holmes’ (2013) framework of social factors influencing the choice of language styles, including participants, setting, topic, and function. Using a qualitative approach with content analysis as the research design, this study took the data from the English subtitled transcripts of the film officially released by Netflix. The findings reveal that the casual style is the most dominant, followed by the intimate and consultative styles, reflecting the film’s focus on adolescent characters and peer relationships in informal and emotionally driven contexts. The formal style appears in institutional interactions, while the frozen style is notably absent, due to the lack of ceremonial or ritualistic settings in the narrative. Analyzing language in dystopian fiction is significant because it reveals how imagined societies construct power, identity, and resistance through communication. This study highlights the close relationship between language styles and social factors, demonstrating how linguistic choices reflect the dynamics of participant relationships and communicative functions in the film.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

languageliteracy

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Education Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Social Sciences

Description

Language Literacy: Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Language Teaching is a double blind peer reviewed international journal biannually published by the Faculty of Literature, Islamic University of North Sumatra, Medan, Indonesia. Publication is issued in June and December. Authors are ...