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Description
This study examines the binary oppositions—contrasting semantic pairs—present in Taylor Swift’s discography and investigates how fans transform the media they consume into linguistic resources that impact their learning. Findings indicate that the artist’s language facilitates empathetic comprehension and vocabulary acquisition by framing emotional and narrative contrasts in accessible lexical forms. Taylor Swift’s use of language not only structures thematic coherence across her discography but also enables fans to co-construct meaning across linguistic boundaries.
Short summary
This study examines the binary oppositions—contrasting semantic pairs—present in Taylor Swift’s discography and investigates how fans transform the media they consume into linguistic resources that impact their learning. Findings indicate that the artist’s language facilitates empathetic comprehension and vocabulary acquisition by framing emotional and narrative contrasts in accessible lexical forms. Taylor Swift’s use of language not only structures thematic coherence across her discography but also enables fans to co-construct meaning across linguistic boundaries.
Keywords
fandom, binary oppositions, participatory culture, semantics
Abstract
One of the defining artists of her generation, Taylor Swift cements her status in popular media as an artist and songwriter. Her lyrics, commonly studied and scrutinized with biographical references, are like codes: meaningful and symbolic. This study examines the binary oppositions present in her lyrics and investigates how fans transform the media they consume into linguistic resources that impact their learning.
Drawing on the scholarship of anthropologist Sherry Ortner and media scholar Henry Jenkins, the study identifies binary oppositions in selected singles from Swift’s discography to examine how contrasting semantic pairs function as repeatable linguistic patterns that support meaning-making within fan practices.
The lyrics were coded to identify the recurring oppositions, and English language students and fans from the Philippines, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand were interviewed to determine how they shape interpretations from the music, engage in language learning through the lyrics, and participate in a larger fandom.
Findings indicate that binary oppositions, as a major example, facilitate empathetic comprehension and vocabulary acquisition by framing emotional and narrative contrasts in accessible lexical forms. Fans repeatedly reference these oppositions in multilingual discourse practices, especially on social media through memes, translation glossaries, fan annotations, and shared interpretive posts.
Conclusions show that Swift’s use of language not only structures thematic coherence across her discography, but also enables fans to co-construct meaning across linguistic boundaries. The study argues that integrating fandom practices into formal language education could harness community-based interpretive activities for enhanced learner motivation, critical literacy, and translingual competence.
Special scheduling requests
Saturday afternoon would be perfect, just in case I get held back from traveling from Gunma
| Scheduling preference | Anytime on Saturday |
|---|---|
| Title | Lyrics to literacy: Binary oppositions in Taylor Swift's discography |