Children’s Perceptions of Language Used in Animated Cartoons: A Case of Dodoma City, Tanzania

Mary Saki
St John’s University of Tanzania, Dodoma
Email: maryasaki2@gmail.com

Abstract: In the era of globalization and digital media, animated cartoons have become a major part of children’s daily entertainment and learning experiences. This study investigated how children in Dodoma City, Tanzania, perceive the language used in popular animated cartoons, specifically examining how they categorize such language as “good” or “bad” and the reasons underpinning their judgments. The study was informed by Social Learning Theory (SLT), which posits that children acquire behaviors and attitudes through observation and imitation, and by Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), which explores how language conveys ideologies and power relations. A qualitative case study design was used, involving focus group discussions with 20 children aged 5–10 and semi-structured interviews with 10 children aged 11–14 who regularly watch animated cartoons such as Ubongo Kids, Ben 10, Cinderella, Tom and Jerry, and Adventure Time. Findings revealed that children’s evaluations were shaped by several factors, including language familiarity (preference for Kiswahili), humor and cleverness (sarcasm), catchiness and memorability (slangs), visual and gestural expressions (non-verbal language), and moral conduct of characters. Some children relied more on characters’ actions than verbal expressions, while a few perceived all cartoon language as inherently “good” simply because cartoons are made for children. These results suggest that while many children demonstrate emerging critical thinking in interpreting media language, others lack evaluative filters and may uncritically absorb inappropriate content. The study highlights the importance of parental mediation and media literacy education to foster children’s critical evaluation of media language.