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Title: Breaking the rules: An analysis of grammatical deviations in Bob Dylan’s lyrics
Vol. 13(2), 2025, pp. 58-76.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46687/DGQH2417
Author: Tsvetalina Georgieva Aneva
About the author: Tsvetalina Georgieva Aneva, PhD, is a Senior assistant professor at the Department of English Studies at Konstantin Preslavsky University of Shumen, Bulgaria. Her academic interests are in the field of Cognitive Linguistics, Comparative Studies and Second-language acquisition research. She teaches grammar and vocabulary practice, academic reading and writing skills.
е-mail: c.aneva@shu.bg
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1193-420X
Link: http://silc.fhn-shu.com/issues/2025-2/SILC_2025_Vol_13_Issue_2_058-076_19.pdf
Citation (APA): Aneva, T. (2025). Breaking the rules: An analysis of grammatical deviations in Bob Dylan’s lyrics. Studies in Linguistics, Culture, and FLT, 13(2), 58-76. https://doi.org/10.46687/DGQH2417
Abstract: The present research examines the deviations from standard grammar that appear throughout Bob Dylan’s lyrics. The study applies qualitative and quantitative analysis to analyse eleven types of errors, such as subject-verb agreement, double negation, noun followed by a personal pronoun, omission, using an adjectival form instead of adverbial form, etc., that appear in his lyrics and to determine their possible purpose and impact. The analysis reveals that being one of the most influential and innovative songwriters in history, Dylan has frequently challenged traditional language structures, often bending grammatical rules to enhance the artistic impact of his music.
Key words: language in music, grammatical deviations, error analysis, Bob Dylan’s lyrics, qualitative and quantitative analysis
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