‘The more you open your mouth, the more you’re forcing performance’: Alex Turner, style-shifting, and sociolinguistic norms in popular music.

Linguistics Circle

Dr Paul Flanagan - Chester University

This talk examines style-shifting patterns in the performed language of Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner, whose notable use of his vernacular Sheffield accent and dialect made him a linguistic curiosity to academics and music critics alike when they topped the charts with their debut album back in 2006. Over time, Turner has been observed to have shifted towards a more Americanised style in his singing. Flanagan investigates changes in grammar, lexis and phonology across the band’s six albums to date, correlating this with shifts in musical and lyrical style, as well as geographical location, popularity, and target audience. Reflections shed light on methodological complexities, and on the nature of popular music as a site for linguistic inquiry, as well as providing some insight on Turner’s latest work, their recent release ‘The Car’.