The Language of Attitude in I Am Sam and Big Daddy: An Appraisal Analysis

Abstract

Attitudinal language plays a crucial role in shaping narratives and character relationships in cinematic discourse, yet little research has explored its function in family-centered films. This study examines the attitudinal language in I Am Sam (2001) and Big Daddy (1999) through the Appraisal Framework (Martin & White, 2005), focusing on the distribution and lexico-grammatical realization of Affect, Judgment, and Appreciation. Using a corpus-assisted qualitative approach, the study analyses how emotional expressions, moral evaluations, and value assessments are embedded in cinematic dialogues. The findings reveal that Affect is the most dominant attitudinal resource, with desire-related expressions shaping the films' emotional intensity. Judgment is particularly prevalent in evaluations of capacity (competence), with Big Daddy featuring a higher proportion of negative judgments than I Am Sam. Appreciation primarily revolves around quality rather than structural or aesthetic assessments. Additionally, verbs and adjectives serve as primary linguistic carriers of evaluation, while rhetorical questions, repetition, and imperatives contribute to implicit attitudinal meanings. This study sheds light on the linguistic construction in family-focused film and expands the discourse on appraisal in media narratives and offers insights into how attitudinal language functions within cinematic storytelling.