As dimensões da moda: um estudo multidimensional

Abstract

Fashion influences global society in several ways; however, the verbal language of fashion has received little attention. According to Moeran (2004), fashion "could not exist without language." Most studies on the verbal language of fashion focus on topics such as terminology (Koester & Bryant, 1991), language borrowing (Balteiro & Campos, 2012), and social semiotics (Barthes, 2013 [1983]). There is a lack of discourse-based studies on fashion. The objective of this research is to detect the main discourses in the domain of fashion. To achieve this, the ELF corpus (English language corpus) was created, collected, and composed of 18 registers, such as academic texts, blogs, books, fiction books, documentaries, social media posts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), magazine and newspaper articles, songs, tutorials, vlogs, TV and radio programs, TV series, reality TV shows, documentaries, and films. The main aim of this study was to identify thematic patterns through statistically relevant lexical cooccurrences present in fashion texts. To achieve this purpose, a methodological approach based on multidimensional analysis developed by Biber (1988, 1995) was adopted, along with a proposal by Berber Sardinha (2019) known as AMD Lexical. The corpus was analyzed using multidimensional lexical analysis (MDL; Berber Sardinha, 2019), which derives from MD analysis (Biber, 1988). MDL analysis allows the identification of lexical parameters of variation among texts, which are statistically detected using Factor Analysis. The factors are interpreted in terms of underlying discourses (e.g., Berber Sardinha, 2020). The corpus was tagged with the Treetagger lexical tagger. Five (5) factors/dimensions were identified, with five themes contained in their positive poles. The dimensions show that it is possible to affirm that fashion is a cultural phenomenon that involves both clothing and accessories as well as lifestyles, while emphasizing an analytical perspective. Fashion manifests itself through oral and specialized language, enabling the communication of trends, styles, and concepts within the fashion industry. This proposed definition aligns with the definitions mentioned in this study, as opposed to the concepts of frivolity, triviality, and the notion that fashion is something fleeting. What changes are the trends, attitudes, ways of thinking, just like human beings. Fashion has accompanied humanity since its beginnings and undergoes every transformation of humanity. The results also show that fashion is intrinsically linked to beauty and self-esteem, encompassing skincare and the appreciation of physical appearance, but is primarily related to academic studies and market research