Walt Disney comic's characters' social class as reflected in their speech style

This study is structured to show the phenomena of vocabulary that are used by the characters of Walt Disney comic. Realizing how broad the discussion of vocabulary could be, the writer finds it necessary to limit it into the vocabulary that deviate from the regular pronunciation, which is used in Walt Disney comic, Gladstone edition. The vocabulary that deviate from the regular pronunciation demonstrate casual style. By writing this thesis, the writer intends to gain some knowledge of sound changes. The writer describes the process of sound changes because the spelling of the words shows the pronunciation of Walt Disney's characters. The sound changes can be explained in terms of assimilation. It seems that the more sounds are assimilated or deleted when a person is speaking, the more casual his language, or, perhaps the lower his social status is. The writer needs some theories which could be very helpful in analysing the data. Traugott (1980: 309) states that vocabulary is important to identify our social status in society. O'Donnel (1980: 78) states that vocabulary will be choosen with care to tend people's prestige and a person reveals his educational background through his choice of words. The writer analyses the vocabulary from two points of view: phonology and syntax. From the phonological point of view, the writer analyzes the vocabulary in terms of anticipatory assimilation, progressive assimilation, reciprocal assimilation, deleted sound, addition, -ing suffix. From the syntactic point of view, the writer analyzes the vocabulary in terms of the use of ain't and the absence of copula. The writer uses qualitative research design because it does not concern with any number