A STAGE OF THEIR OWN: A DIACHRONIC ANALYSIS OF ACADEMY AWARD ACCEPTANCE SPEECHES

Date

2026-7-21

Author

Pakkan, Buse

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This study employs a diachronic, corpus-assisted mixed-methods approach to explore how Academy Award acceptance speeches have evolved from 1977 to 2026. It specifically examines the intersection of macro-structural rhetorical design and microlevel interpersonal linguistic features, focusing on how these elements stratify by gender. The research analyzes a balanced corpus of 100 speeches from male and female winners across four historical eras. Methodologically, it synthesizes Swalesian Move Analysis with Hyland’s interactional metadiscourse framework within the broader context of Systemic Functional Linguistics. The results indicate a universal genre shift from isolated expressions of professional gratitude toward global sociopolitical advocacy, a change fueled by industry corporatization and the digital age. Despite this evolution, a deep gender divide persists. Male winners frequently use epistemic boosters and singular self-mentions to project absolute, objective authority. In contrast, female winners manage systemic constraints that force them to perform higher emotional labor through attitude markers and dense epistemic hedging to meet expectations of modesty. Furthermore, women typically utilize inclusive engagement markers and collective pronouns to frame their advocacy as collaborative coalition-building. The research demonstrates that the linguistic execution of power and gratitude on elite stages is heavily gendered, providing critical, data-driven pedagogical insights for L2 English and ESP learners operating in high-stakes professional environments.

Subject Keywords

Corpus-Assisted Discourse Studies (CADS), Move Analysis, Interactional Metadiscourse, Gender Stratification, L2 Pedagogy

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/119972

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis