APJCR_2022_3_1_21

Asia Pacific Journal of Corpus Research Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 21-34
Abbreviation: APJCR
e-ISSN: 2733-8096
Publication date: 31 August 2022
Received: 15 April 2022 / Received in Revised Form: 10 August 2022 / Accepted: 21 August 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22925/apjcr.2022.3.1.21

A Corpus-Based Study on Language Features and Literary Themes in the Yellow Wall-Paper and Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Hui-Chuan Lu (National Cheng Kung University), Kai-Ling Liu (National Cheng Kung University), Chien-Ting Yeh (National Cheng Kung University), Ya-Jie Chen (National Cheng Kung University)
Copyright 2022 APJCR

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

This study aims to apply corpus-based approach to analyze The Yellow Wall-Paper and Herland written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a women’s rights activist in the late nineteenth-century America. Although both works have attracted feminists’ attention to the woman question that concerned Gilman, discussion on her language features and their relation to the literary themes of these two works is still in need. In this corpus-based analysis, we argue that the main themes of different literary works can be revealed through linguistic patterns identified by number and gender features of nouns and pronouns in the contrast of two works and a balanced corpus. The linguistic features (number and gender) have been related with two themes, the ‘group and individual’ and the ‘feminine and masculine’, and are further interpreted in terms of mothering and feminine consciousness. By adopting linguistic approach, our study provides quantitative and qualitative evidence to verify the established themes and arguments of these literary texts.

Keywords

Corpus-Based, Mothering, Gilman, Number, Gender

References

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The Authors

Hui-Chuan Lu is currently a full professor at Department of Foreign Languages & Literature, National Cheng Kung University, with emphasis in Spanish linguistics, corpus linguistics and syntax studies.

Kai-Ling Liu is a researcher the Department of Foreign Languages & Literature, National Cheng Kung University, with emphasis in 19th century American Literature and women’s studies.

Chien-Ting Yeh completed Master’s degree at the Department of Foreign Languages & Literature and was a member of Multilingual Corpora Team at National Cheng Kung University.

Ya-Jie Chen completed Master’s degree at the Department of Foreign Languages & Literature and was a member of Multilingual Corpora Team at National Cheng Kung University.

The Authors’ Addresses

First and Corresponding Author
Hui-Chuan Lu
Professor
Foreign Languages and Literature
National Cheng Kung University
No.1, University Road, Tainan City, 70101, TAIWAN
E-mail: huichuanlu1@gmail.com

Co-authors
Kai-Ling Liu
Researcher
Foreign Languages and Literature
National Cheng Kung University
No.1, University Road, Tainan City, 70101, TAIWAN
Email: kailing@mail.ncku.edu.tw

Chien-Ting Yeh
MA Student
Foreign Languages and Literature
National Cheng Kung University
No.1, University Road, Tainan City, 70101, TAIWAN
Email: ctyeah1020@gmail.com

Ya-Jie Chen
MA Student
Foreign Languages and Literature
National Cheng Kung University
No.1, University Road, Tainan City, 70101, TAIWAN
Email: ctyeah1020@gmail.com

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