Formulaic language in Disney animated films: the case of idioms and greetings

This book features a linguistic study of Disney animated films. In particular, it expands on the usage and functions of idioms and greetings, two examples of formulaic expressions in English. The research aims at casting light on how some very recurrent linguistic expressions in everyday English have important narrative purposes; namely, idioms that are markedly repetitive and formulaic figurative language chunks, and greetings, which are fixed conversational routines commonly covering a phatic function. In fact, the analysis carried out throughout the chapters describes both their pragmatic and dramatic functions. The analysis also shows how the high level of accuracy and the attentive stratification of meanings, also conveyed by formulaic expressions, contribute to make Disney animated films appealing not only to children, the main target of the scriptwriters, but also for adults, who especially appreciate the wittiness with which dialogues are constructed.