Dialects used by the characters in Stephen Crane's novel "The Red Badge of Courage" (A sociolinguistic study)

This study analyzed the dialects used by the characters of “The Red Badge of Courage” a novel by Stephen Crane, in speaking to one another. The data of this study: the utterances of the novel’s characters in communicating with one another were analyzed using the social factors with special reference to the social dimensions as the parameters. The data analysis brought the following findings: (1) the dialects used by the characters in the novel are the standard English and the nonstandard English, of which the nonstandard English is more dominantly used by the characters in the novel; (2) the characters in the novel tend to use the nonstandard English instead of the standard one in speaking to one another because (a) they have an intimate relationship, (b) they have equal social status, (c) the settings of their verbal interaction are informal, (d) the social topic they talk about is informal and (e) the functions of their speaking are mostly referential, emotive, directive and phatic. As the writer realizes that this study is not perfect and there must be several shortcomings, it is suggested that future researches on dialects be done emphasizing on linguistics aspects, such as grammar and vocabulary