Master’s Thesis on Socio-Linguistic Analysis in British and Iraqi Television Drama
The Department of English at the College of Languages, University of Baghdad, examined the master’s thesis titled “A Socio-Linguistic Analysis of Awkwardness and Affectedness in British and Iraqi Television Drama,” submitted by Zainab Abdul-Munim Saleh, in the presence of a specialised academic committee and several faculty members and scholars in linguistics and media studies.
The thesis explored representations of linguistic awkwardness and affectation in selected British and Iraqi drama series through a comparative socio-linguistic approach combining qualitative and quantitative methods. The study drew on the Third Wave of Sociolinguistics proposed by Penelope Eckert, particularly the concepts of community of practice, indexicality, and stance-taking. It also incorporated Joshua Fishman’s model of diglossia, with emphasis on functional allocation between high and low linguistic varieties, linguistic prestige, and mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of linguistic patterns.
The committee recommended accepting the thesis after making the required academic revisions.
Committee Members:
– Prof. Mahdi Inayah Kareem – Chair
– Asst. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Sultan Hussein – Member
– Asst. Prof. Dr. Ibtehal Mahdi Abdul-Kareem – Member
– Prof. Rehab Abdul-Jalil Saeed – Supervisor
