A SOCIOLINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF TABOO WORDS IN BAD

TEACHER MOVIE

A THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Attainment of

Sarjana Sastra Degree in English Language and Literature

By:

Fika Nur Anggita

10211144029

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE STUDY PROGRAM

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS

YOGYAKARTA STATE UNIVERSITY

2015
A SOCIOLINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF TABOO WORDS IN BAD
TEACHER MOVIE

A THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Attainment of

Sarjana Sastra Degree in English Language and Literature

By:

Fika Nur Anggita

10211144029

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE STUDY PROGRAM

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS

YOGYAKARTA STATE UNIVERSITY

2015

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 DEDICATION

This thesis is dedicated to:

My beloved father and mother

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 MOTTOS

Verily, with every hardship there is ease.

(Surah Inshirah, 94: 5-6)

Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to

become a person of value. (Albert Einstein)

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
TITLE PAGE .................................................................................... i
APPROVAL ...................................................................................... ii
RATIFICATION SHEET ................................................................ iii
SURAT PERNYATAAN ..................................................................... iv
DEDICATION ................................................................................. v
MOTTOS .......................................................................................... vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................. vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................. viii
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURE ………………………………... x
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................... xi
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Research Background ............................................................... 1
B. Research Focus ...................................................................... 5
C. Objectives of the Research ........................................................ 7
D. Significance of the Study .......................................................... 8
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL
FRAMEWORK
A. Literature Review .......................................................................... 9
1. Sociolinguistics .......................................................................... 9
2. Taboo…………………………………………………………..... 12
a. The Definition of Taboo Words ............................................. 14
b. The Concept of Taboo Words ................................................ 15
c. Taboo Words in Western Society ........................................... 18
d. Types of Taboo Words ........................................................... 19
3. Functions of Taboo Words ......................................................... 22
4. Bad Teacher Movie .................................................................... 25
B. Previous Research ........................................................................... 27
C. Conceptual Framework ..................................................................... 28
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD

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A. Type of Research .............................................................................. 32
B. Form, Context, and Source of Data .................................................. 33
C. Research Instrument ......................................................................... 33
D. Techniques of Data Collection ......................................................... 35
E. Techniques of Data Analysis ........................................................... 36
F. Data Trustworthiness ......................................................................... 37
CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
A. Findings .............................................................................................. 39
B. Discussion .......... ................................................................................ 42
CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
A. Conclusions ........... ............................................................................. 65
B. Suggestions ...... ................................................................................... 67
REFERENCES ........................................................................................... 69
APPENDICES
Appendix A. Data Sheet of Types and Functions of Taboo Words in Bad 72
Teacher Movie ...........................................................................................
Appendix B. List of Taboo Words in the Researh……………………….. 82
Appendix C. Surat Pernyataan Triangulasi ............................................. 83

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 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURE

Tables

Table 1 : Sample Data Sheet of Types and Functions of Taboo Words in Bad Teacher

Movie……..………………………….......................................... ……….......34

Table 2 : Frequencies of Occurrence of Types and Functions f Taboo Words in Bad

Teacher Movie………………………………………………………................40

Figure

Figure 1 : Analytical Construct……………………………………………………........31

x
 A SOCIOLINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF TABOO WORDS IN BAD TEACHER
MOVIE

Fika Nur Anggita

10211144029

ABSTRACT

The researcher investigates taboo words uttered by the characters in Bad Teacher
movie using sociolinguistic approach. The movie is about a very bad teacher who wants
to change her social status by looking for a rich man to achieve her goal. The objectives
of this research are to identify the types and functions of taboo words uttered by the
characters in the movie.
This research employed descriptive qualitative as the method for describing the
existing condition in the movie. In addition, this research also used quantitative method
to support the interpretation of data by presenting fixed percentages in numerical form.
The data were in the form of utterances, while the contexts of the data were the
dialogues uttered by the characters in the movie. The sources of the data were the video
of Bad Teacher movie and its transcript. The data were collected by selecting dialogues
containing taboo words after watching the video and matching the transcript with the
video carefully. The primary instrument of this research was the researcher, while the
secondary instrument was a data sheet.
The results of this research are stated as follows. Firstly, four types of taboo
words occur in the characters’ utterances in Bad Teacher movie. They are obscenity,
profanity, vulgarity, and epithet. From 32 data found in the movie, obscenity has the
biggest number of occurrence. Obscenity is the most appearing type in this movie
because it is considered to be the most effective way to insult someone. The characters
in Bad Teacher movie frequently utter obscenity to show their disrespect toward the
addressee. Moreover, obscenity is used by the characters in the movie to debase other
people’s pride. The smallest number of taboo words’ type is epithet. Epithet becomes
the least to occur in the movie because the characters do not find that epithet can
effectively hurt other people’s pride. The characters tend to use epithet to draw
someone’s attention by calling one’s name with a certain taboo word. Secondly, four
functions of taboo words are found in the series namely to show contempt, to draw
attention to oneself, to be provocative, and to mock authority. The most appeared
function is to show contempt and the last is to mock authority. Most of the characters
use taboo words when they want to show their disrespect toward others. To mock
authority function only occurs once because the main theme of the movie is a romantic
comedy which is not concerned in criticizing governmental stuffs.

Keywords: sociolinguistic, taboo words, Bad Teacher movie

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 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter describes the background of the research. It also explains the
research focus, the research objectives, and the theoretical and practical research
significance.

A. Research Background

Communication plays an important role in human’s life. Without

communication, people in the society will not be able to understand each other since

they do not have any social contact. Social contact is very essential for human being

because it is the foundation to build strong connection among people in the society.

According to Goodwin and Heritage (in Liddicoat, 2007:01), social interaction is a

means to transact the business of social world which can also affirm participants’

identities and also transmit cultures to others. Therefore, to make a social contact

functioned and transmitted properly; people need to have language as a means of

communication.

As a means of communication, language has several functions. Generally,

people use language to communicate their intention to others. Specifically, language

is used by people to convey messages or to send information in order to make the

conversation activities run smoothly. In other words, language is functioned

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as a means to share information such as recent news, interesting activities and gossip.

Moreover, Chaika (1982: 2) also states that people use language to reveal or conceal

personal identity, character, and background without realizing that they are actually

doing so. Therefore, every person has their own way to choose the language variation

which can confirm one’s identity. Some people may prefer to use language that has a

strong impact when they are sad or angry. For instance, people sometimes use certain

kind of words that are considered as bad language which is actually inappropriate to

use. One of the ways to express their feeling is by producing taboo words. People

usually produce taboo words to swear because they are the strongest way to express

their dissatisfaction. They sometimes emphasize people’s real intention.

Taboo terms were firstly introduced by Captain Cook in the late 18th century

when he was sent to Tahiti. According to Allan and Burridge (2006: 2-3), taboo or

known as tabu is a Tongan term that denotes a person, object or act which is

dangerous and therefore it must be avoided. The example of this case can be seen in

Nguni societies of Southern Africa. In Nguni, it is forbidden for a woman to mention

her husband and father-in-law’s name directly. If she violates this rule, she will be

punished by the rule in the society. In every culture, there are both taboo acts which

are things that are not supposed to do and taboo words which are things that are not

supposed to say. Both are related to each other because some taboo act have

corresponding taboo words, while others do not (Fairman, 2009:27). The example of

this case is the act of incest which is known as taboo so is the motherf**ker that
 3

denotes incest activity. However, there are other words that are considered as taboo

while the action they denote is not considered as taboo. When people talk about sex,

it is often considered as taboo while the act itself is not forbidden if it is done by the

appropriate person in suitable place and time. Therefore, words that are related or

linked to taboo act will automatically become taboo words (Allan and Burridge,

2006: 2)

Taboo words are always associated with inappropriate language and it cannot

be used in daily conversations. Therefore, taboo words still manage as offensive and

savage words in most languages, such as English. Long time ago in America, there

were strict rules to avoid the use of taboo words in public such as in printed media.

The use of taboo words such as fuck and cunt would lead to prosecution and

imprisonment so that they were not used in printed media such as newspaper.

However, it seems that nowadays the attitude towards the function of taboo words has

already changed. The changes happened because the legal sanctions were

disappearing and there were tendency that now people are getting more relaxed to

accept taboo words. As a result, taboo words are now commonly found when

someone expresses the emotive feeling.

The existence of taboo words can be seen from various sources such as in

movies, song lyrics, and television shows. The existence of various taboo words in

those sources is caused by the fact that some people believe that employing taboo

words is an appropriate way to express a strong feeling and emotion, especially in the
 4

form of swearing. Taboo words in the form of swearing are not only uttered to

express anger and emotive feeling but also uttered to express friendliness, familiarity,

or identity among communities. In the sentence “Hey you b*st*rd!” the word b*st*rd

means “friend”. It is usually uttered by American Negroes to call their close friend or

their family. Therefore, nowadays people can accept the use of taboo words because

it is considered as the best way to deliver their strongest feeling.

There is an assumption that taboo words are mostly uttered by lower class

people with lower educational background since it is believed that educational

background affects the way people speak. The way people speak is an indicator of

their social background. On the other hand, the assumption is somehow not true

because people with good educational background in some occasions still use

indecent and offensive language in their conversation. When people utter taboo words

whether they are educated or uneducated, there must be reason that lies behind it.

Some people are not merely uttered taboo words because they want to do so.

Sometime they speak taboo words for certain goal such as attracting attention from

other people or to show their contempt. Based on this consideration, the researcher is

interested to analyze taboo words phenomenon in a movie especially on the types of

taboo words used and the functions of taboo words uttered by the characters in the

movie. In conducting the research, the researcher chooses a movie as the source of

data rather than conducting a kind of field study. Moreover, since movie is the
 5

representation of human real life, the researcher thinks that it is acceptable to use a

movie as source of data.

The researcher uses a movie entitled Bad Teacher as the source of her

research. In Bad Teacher movie, the characters frequently use taboo words in their

conversations so that the utterances can be analyzed easily. Moreover, the characters

in Bad Teacher movie mostly come from people with higher educational background.

Therefore, it is interesting to analyze the use of taboo words by the characters that

have a good educational background. Hence, it can provide a good example of the

occurrence of taboo words in well-educated society.

B. Research Focus

Using taboo words will create a problem for many people if they do not

understand the meaning and the functions why others utter taboo words. Therefore,

the researcher is interested to analyze the problem that may happen through a movie

which is a representation of human life in society. In this case, the researcher uses

Bad Teacher movie. This movie is very interesting to be analyzed since it has so

many uncensored taboo words so that it can be easily analyzed.

In accordance with the short explanation above, the researcher finds some

problems which are very interesting to be explored. The first problem is related to the

types of taboo words which are used to swear. Since the characters in Bad Teacher

movie frequently produce taboo words in their conversations such as fuck and shit it

is very interesting to analyze the types of taboo words.

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The second problem that is important to be explored is about the functions of

taboo words. The functions of taboo words used by the characters may vary in

different context. Therefore, analyzing the functions of taboo words from the

characters’ conversation is very interesting.

Then, the third problem is related to the social factors that influence the

occurrence of taboo words uttered by the characters in Bad Teacher movie. It is

interesting to analyze the social factors such as the participants, the setting, the topic

and the function that can describe all kinds of interaction that happen among the

characters.

Next, the fourth problem that can be identified related to the use of taboo

words in Bad Teacher movie is about social status. There is an assumption that taboo

words are mostly uttered by lower class people with a lower educational background.

However, in Bad Teacher movie, the characters that have good educational

background still use taboo words. Therefore, it is interesting to analyze the

occurrence of taboo words uttered by those people who have good educational

background.

In addition, the fifth problem that is worth-examining in this movie is whether

gender influences the use of taboo words. As already known, there are opinions that

women swear less than men, and men speak more forcefully than women. In Bad

Teacher movie, taboo words are not only uttered by men but women characters do so.

Therefore, it is interesting to know the factors behind it.

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Knowing that there are many problems arising dealing with taboo words

analysis, there are many possibilities of problems that can be analyzed. However, due

to the limited time and knowledge of the researcher, the research only focuses on the

first and the second problems. The first problem is essential to analyze because it will

help the researcher understand the types of taboo words that mostly occur in Bad

Teacher movie.

Then, for the second problem, it is important to analyze the functions of taboo

words uttered by the characters in Bad Teacher movie. Analyzing the functions of

taboo words will help the researcher to find the significance of producing taboo

words.

Therefore, based on the research focus above, the problems of the research

can be formulated as follows:

1. What types of taboo words are used in Bad Teacher movie?

2. What are the functions of taboo words uttered by the characters in Bad

Teacher movie?

C. Objectives of the Research

The objectives of the research are stated as follows:

1. to identify and describe the types of taboo words uttered by the characters of

Bad Teacher movie, and

2. to describe the functions of taboo words uttered by the characters in Bad

Teacher movie.
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D. Significance of the Study

Regarding the background and the objectives of the research, the researcher

expects that the research will contribute a great significance both theoretically and

practically. Theoretically, the research finding will give additional information to the

other linguistic researchers. Practically, the research will give some benefits for

certain parties.

1. To the university: this research can be used as a supplementary material for

teaching activities especially in sociolinguistics subject.

2. To other researchers: this research can be used as a valuable reference in

investigating the same subject.

3. To readers in common: through this research, the readers will have new

knowledge about taboo words especially about the types of taboo words and

the functions of taboo words in conversation. Moreover, the readers will be

able to understand that taboo words are bad forms of language that cannot be

spoken in any situation.

 CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

This chapter explores the literature review containing several theories that are

used to guide the process of this research. The discussion covers sociolinguistics,

taboo, taboo words, and the functions of taboo words. This research also describes the

story of Bad Teacher movie as the object of the research and previous studies that

have been conducted related to the topic of this research. Moreover, the conceptual

framework and analytical construct of the research are also provided.

A. Literature Review

1. Sociolinguistics

The existence of language cannot be separated from the society. This

phenomenon is studied in Sociolinguistics. According to Yule (2010:254),

sociolinguistics is a part of sociolinguistics study which focuses on language which is

dealing with social and cultural phenomenon in one society. It usually explores the

field of language, society, and things which are related to social sciences, especially

psychology, anthropology, and sociology. The idea proposed by Yule is also in line

with Trudgill. He states that the study of sociolinguistics is related to cultural

phenomenon so that it can affect the way people speak or talk since it is determined

by the social context (Trudgill, 2000: 32).

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In accordance with those two linguists, Holmes (2013: 01) also says that

people who study linguistics will probably concern on describing people’s different

ways of speaking in different social contexts. Moreover, Holmes argues that

sociolinguists also try to investigate the use of language to convey messages. As

language functions to convey messages, there must be social interactions between the

members of community. Those social interactions can indicate the relationship of the

people who are involved. Thus, sociolinguistics is essential in explaining the

interaction between the members of the society.

Being more detail, Chaika (1982: 2) states that sociolinguistics is a study in

which people use language in social interactions. Moreover, she also proposes the

idea that language can maintain every social institution in human life. People use

language for different purposes; it can be used to “carry on” love, to “carry out” hate

and reveal their identity, characters, and background without realizing that they are

actually doing so. In other words, since communication uses language as its main

means, of course it will involve the distinctive personality, attitudes, and beliefs, and

emotions of the speakers in the society. Therefore, in sociolinguistics, there are two

important objects to be identified. They are the language used and the society that

uses the language.

As cited in Wardaugh (2006: 221), one of the most popular hypotheses that is

proposed by Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee and known as Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

says that the structure of language can affect the society by influence or even control

them. In other words, Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is concerned with the possibility in

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which human’s view is influenced by the language. According to them, there are

three effects of society on language and the way in which the environment is reflected

in language.

First, the physical environment in which a society lives is being reflected in its

language. For example, in English there is only one word for any kind of snow.

However, Eskimo has several names for the word “snow” since their environment is

mostly surrounded by the existence of snow. Another example that can be presented

is people who live in Indonesia who mostly eat rice as the main food. They have

several names for the word “rice” like padi, beras, gabah, and nasi. Second, the

social environment can also be reflected in the language and often it has an effect on

the structure of the vocabulary. An example of this effect is the characteristic

vocabulary of a coast tribe, such as the Nootka Indians, with their precise terms for

many species of marine animals, vertebrate and invertebrate.

Then, the last effect in which the environment is reflected in language is the

values of a society. Different societies may value certain things and do them in a

certain way. However, almost all of the societies that exist in this world have the

same requirements of the categorization of good and bad language. Good language is

usually measured when someone speaks properly and politely on the context. Being

more specific, good language must contain dense meaning which is shown in

beautiful and sweet words. On the other hand, bad language is considered to be non-

standard and wrongly used, which is sometime resulting in annoyance for the other

person who hears it. Jay (1996) in Fakuade et al ( 2013: 121) categorized bad
 12

language into several types such as blasphemy, expletive, slang, and taboo which are

explained below.

According to Jay (in Fakuade et al., 2013: 121) blasphemy refers to the

employment of religious terms to vilify God and religious organization. Expletives

refer to words that contain emotive characteristics which are usually in the form of

interjections and are not uttered for specific purpose since they are used to release

frustration and emotion. Meanwhile, slang refers to those words which are typically

created and used by social groups to give them identity and are used to communicate

among in-group members such as young people, drug dealers, and baseball player.

Then the last is taboo which refers to forbidden phenomena in the specific culture

which also includes the language use in everyday life. Therefore, in the next section,

the researcher tries to present the explanation of taboo phenomenon which includes

the definition of taboo words, the concept of taboo, taboo words in western society,

and the types of taboo words.

2. Taboo

Taboo is actually connected with something that is avoided and forbidden to

talk about. Allan and Burridge (2006: 1) assert that taboo originates from social

restriction on one's behavior which can bring about uneasiness, harm and injury.

Since it is resulting in uneasiness, harm, and injury, people in the society are

supposed to avoid taboo which has a vulgar sense. To give a clearer explanation,

Trudgill (2000: 18) defines taboo in the following way.

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Taboo can be characterized as being concerned with behavior which is

believed to be supernaturally forbidden or regarded as immoral or improper;
it deals with behavior which is prohibited or inhibited in an apparently
irrational manner. In language, taboo is associated with things which are
not said, and in particular with words and expressions which are not used.

In accordance to the statement above, there is a strong relationship between

taboo behavior and taboo language. Both are forbidden because they are regarded as

immoral for certain circumstances. Supporting the idea, Fairman (2009:27) states that

every society has its own particular taboo act and taboo words. Taboo acts related to

any activities that should be avoided, while taboo words related to any words that

should not be uttered. Both are identified with one another since several taboo acts

relate to taboo words while others do not. The popular case of this phenomenon is the

act of incest. Incest is considered taboo because it refers to the sexual activity that is

strongly forbidden in a society. In the same sense, any words which refers to incest

activity such as motherf**ker will also be categorized as taboo because it indicates

the activity. Nonetheless, there is an alternate word that is said as taboo while the

activity it indicates is certainly not. When people talk about excretion, it is often

considered as taboo while the act itself is not forbidden if it is done by the appropriate

person in a suitable place and time. Therefore, words that are related or linked to

taboo act will automatically become taboo words (Allan and Burridge, 2006: 2).

To give an explicit explanation on how taboo act and taboo words are related

to each other, Fairman (2009: 29) in his book Fuck Word Taboo and Protecting Our

First Amendment presents an example of scientific explanation on how taboo acts

transform to taboo words. He presents effluvia taboo as an illustration to support the

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idea. As already known, the disgust response of one individual will be stronger if he

or she is facing or touching effluvia. Moreover, when he or she is thinking about

excretion and the part of human body that are responsible for it, it will invite disgust

reaction. Therefore, when the individual hears the words that indicate the act, he or

she will automatically generate the response. In short, Freud (1983) via Karjalainen

(2002: 15) summarizes the above idea in the following way:

The word ‘taboo’ denotes everything, whether a person or a place or thing

or a transitory condition, which is the vehicle or source of this mysterious
attribute. It also denotes the prohibition arising from the same attribute and
finally it has a connotation which includes alike ‘sacred’ and ‘above the
ordinary’, as well as ‘dangerous’, ‘unclean’ and ‘uncanny’

Standing on the idea of taboo, the researcher only focuses on taboo words

rather than taboo acts, therefore the definition of taboo words will be explained in the

next section.

a. The Definition of Taboo Words

In general, people refer taboo words as offensive words which cannot be used

in daily conversation since they can generate a shocking effect for the individual who

hears them. Linguists such as Diez (via Fakuade, 2013: 119) also supported the idea

that some people categorized taboo words as the words that have terrible meaning

since they contain any substance that are cruel and inappropriate so that they should

be avoided. In different societies, it may be hard for an individual to understand taboo

words if they do not belong to a particular society which shares the same values.

Therefore, Akmajian et al., (2004: 303) assert that taboo words are those words that
 15

should not be employed completely or at least prevented in different setting or polite

situation. It means that to avoid any misunderstanding, each person who belongs to

different cultures with different values should not talk about words that can shock

them especially in polite conversations.

Another linguist that defines taboo words as the words which must be avoided

is Mbaya (2002: 224) who states that taboo words are any kinds of words or

expression in one language which are characterized by their impropriety, appalling

character and lack of morality which are supposed to be avoided so that it will not

harm the other member of the society. Those linguists may say that taboo words must

be avoided because they contain stark and vulgar language. However, words that

contain sacred functions can be tabooed if they are uttered outside the context of

sacred ceremonies. For instance, in a religious context such as in Church or when

discussing religion, the words like Jesus Christ or being damned by God are

appropriate to use. However they may become taboo, when they are uttered in the

outside formal circumstances which are used to shock, to offend or to criticize others

like J*s*s Chr*st! You are so God-D**ned stupid!.

Taboo words may have similarities among societies but they also vary from

culture to culture. What is thought to be taboo words in one culture may become a

norm in other cultures. Therefore, the researcher provides a brief explanation of the

concept of taboo words in the next section.

 16

b. The Concept of Taboo Words

Le and Le (via Fakuade, 2013: 120) argue that the level of prevention of taboo

words in language are specific in culture since the parameter of “taboo” from one

culture to another depends on the cultural views and beliefs of the linguistics

communities towards a certain topic. Supporting that idea, Trudgill (1986: 29) states

that taboo language is simply a matter of agreement where the normal employment of

an item in language is possessed by specific social value and belief. In addition,

Akmajian et al., (2004: 303) also state that what is called as taboo is usually

described by culture and not by anything which are usually attached in the language.

In the same sense, Farb (in Fakuade et al., 2013: 120) states that any kinds of words

including taboo words are at first only contain a mere collection of sounds but they

are changing after the community gives them other connotation so that they cannot be

employed in a certain speech situation. In detail, Farb explain that the words become

taboo because the community encloses them with symbolic value which belongs to

specific culture.

Since taboo and the words which denote it are related to a specific culture,

people should learn about what things they “should” or “should not” do in a particular

society to understand the term. The process of differentiating what is taboo and what

is not usually begins when a person becomes a part of a particular society which

shares ideas through language. Moreover, the person should understand the norms

which exist in her or his living place since there is no one in this world born with

innate knowledge about taboo words. Therefore, the knowledge about language in
 17

one society is accomplished through socialization process (Jay in Doyle, 2009: 1).

The socialization process will allow the language users to know that every society has

something that should not be said and certain words contain a strong connotation so

that they cannot be used in a polite situation.

Uttering or doing taboo words is strongly against the social value because it

will bring embarrassment and offensiveness to the members of the society.

Embarrassment has a tendency to be connected with sexual activity and its outcomes.

Offensiveness is identified with different substance like the body, and the distinctive

forms of physical, mental, and social abnormality. Being more specific, in An

Introduction to Sociolinguistics, Wardhaugh (2006: 239) defines taboo in the

following way:

Taboo is the prohibition or avoidance in any society of behavior believed to

be harmful to its members in that it would cause them anxiety,
embarrassment, or shame. It is extremely strong politeness constraints.
Consequently, so far as language is concerned, certain things are not to be
said or certain objects can be referred to only in certain circumstances.

In the statement above, Wardhaugh tried to emphasize that a certain object

can only be referred to only in certain circumstances. It also means that the use of

taboo words can create misunderstanding between two people who are involved in a

conversation if they have different knowledge since they belong to different societies

and different circumstances. This idea is also brought by Freitas (2008: 26) who

states that certain words and expressions may be considered as taboos for certain

people, especially when these words and expressions are used by other social class

members. An example of this case is the use of taboo words like n*gg*r. The word
 18

n*gg*r can be extremely offensive if white persons use it. However, it may be used

freely by some groups of black people without feeling being offended. Therefore, it

can be concluded that the parameter of certain words or expressions which are

thought to be taboo usually depends on the values in one society, the relationship

between the speaker and listeners, and also the circumstances where the words are

uttered.

Since taboo words are expressed in different ways by different societies, it is

important to present specific taboo words in one culture in which this research tries to

investigate. Thus, in the next section the explanation of taboo words in western

society is provided.

c. Taboo Words in Western Society

Taboo words have a different pattern which varies from one society to another

society. Trudgill observed that the most severe taboo words in the Western society

are related to sex, excretion and the Christian religion. (Trudgill, 2000: 19). Taboo

words related to religion become severe words because they refer to supernatural

things which can generate the feeling of fear. Typical examples from this category are

expressions such as, d**n! and J*s*s Chr*st!. Then, taboo words which denote body

function and effluvia also become strongest words since they incite the feeling of

disgust due to the fact that some irresistible diseases can be carried from one person

to another via body effluvia. The examples of this category are words like s**t,

a*sh*le, and f**t. Moreover, taboo words related to sexuality or sexual organ also

become severe and are mostly found in western society’s conversation because they
 19

usually are uttered to insult one’s sexual orientation and sexual habit. Typical

examples of this category are words such as f**k and p**sy.

A bit different from what Trudgill has argued, Leach (in Yang, 2006: 88)

divides taboo words in western society into three major groups: 1) ‘dirty’ words

dealing with sex and excretion, such as s**t, 2) profanity or blasphemy that have to

do with Christian religion, such as J*s*s and Chr*st, and 3) words dealing with

‘animal abuse’ or calling someone by the name of an animal such as b**ch. Being

more specific, Anderson (in Karjalainen, 2002: 17) investigates that the western

society categorized taboo words into seven groups 1) sexual organ and sexual relation

such as c**k and c**t, 2) religion and church such as J*s*s or Chr*st, 3) excrement

such as s**t, 4) death such as the word h**l, 5) the physical or mentally disabled such

as r*t*rd, 6) prostitution such as wh**e, and 7) narcotics and crime such as r*p*.

Although the words which are related to those terms are strongly avoided to

talk about in a polite discourse, there is another way to utter those words without

making other people feel offended. People can employ euphemism to avoid

mentioning certain words directly. In attempt to explain this, Wardhaugh (2006: 238)

states that certain things are not said, not because they cannot be said, but because

people don’t talk about them or if they are talked about, they are discussed in very

roundabout ways. The examples of euphemism in English vary especially when it

deals with the term like sex. There are series of implicit terms to replace have sex

such as making love and sleeping together.

 20

d. Types of Taboo Words

Batistella (2005: 72) suggests four types of taboo words, i.e. epithets,

profanity, vulgarity, and obscenity. Each of the type is explained in this section,

followed by examples from the script of 8 Mile movie. 8 Mile movie script from

www.dailyscript.com/scripts/8MILE.pdf is taken as the examples because it contains

so many taboo words and most importantly it is recorded as a movie that most

frequently used taboo words by Internet Movie Database, a website which provides

information related to movies and television programs. Therefore, the researcher

thinks that the script of 8 Mile can represent the example of types of taboo words

below.

1) Epithets

Epithet is characterized by the existence of several types of slurs, such as

bitch and fag. Other references that are included as epithet are connected to race,

ethnicity, gender, sexuality, one's appearance, and disabilities such as n*gg*r, m*dg*t

and r*t*rd, motherf**ker, t*t-man (Batistella, 2005: 72). Jay (in Doyle 2006: 2-3)

defines epithet as a short but strong blast of passionate language which is triggered by

frustration or anger such as son of a b**ch. Here is an example of epithet in a

conversation.

Jimmy : What's your problem, b**ch? Don't kick my clothes! Don’t

f**king judge me! Why don’t you grow up!
Stephanie : Stop it!

In this conversation, Jimmy uses the taboo word b**ch to annoy his friend who

makes him feel troubled. Since the word is uttered with frustration or anger, it
 21

becomes emotional language. Therefore, Jimmy uses the word b**ch as an

expression of anger and also to insult his friend.

2) Profanity

According to Batistella (2005: 72), profanity can be categorized as religious

cursing because it usually includes the foul-mouthed use of what is considered to be

sacred. Being more detail, Jay in Doyle (2006: 2-3) describes profanity as the

expression involving the use of religious terms in a profane, secular or uncaring

manner. The aim of the speaker is not to vilify God or anything connected with

religion but it may be used to express emotional response to certain motives. The

words that belong to this type are J*s*s Chr*st, h**l, d**n, godd**n, for example,

the words J*s*s Chr*st in the following dialogue.

David : Wait...Greg Buell. He went to our school right?

Jimmy : Yo, I got to save up some money and get the h**l out of here. This
s**t is ridiculous.

In this conversation, Jimmy uses the taboo word “h**l” when he talks to David who

asks him whether Greg Buell is the guy who lives under the same house with

Jimmy’s mother is their friend at their school. Then, Jimmy confirms the question

and utters the word “h**l” to emphasize that he wants to quit from his mom’s house

since he thinks that living with his mom’s boyfriend is ridiculous.

3) Vulgarity

Vulgarity and obscenity have the same reference especially to words or

expressions that contain sexual anatomy and excretory function in a rough manner.

(Batistella, 2005: 72). The difference between vulgarity and obscenity is usually
 22

related to the level of prurience. In other words, vulgarity demonstrates the raw

expression of street language (Jay, in Doyle, 2009: 1). Moreover, Jay (in Mercury,

1995: 30) asserts that vulgarity is used to humiliate or bring down the thing or

individual referred to or described. The words that belong to this type are such as

a*s, t*t, c**k, d**k, and c**t. An example of this type in the utterance can be seen

in the following.

David : Come on man, bring you’re a*s onstage. We ain't got all day. All
right, all right. Enough of the fanfare.
Audiences : (cheering)

In this conversation, David uttered the word a*s when he calls one of his friend, Jimmy

to come to the stage. He utters the word “a*s” to draw Jimmy’s attention so that he will

pay attention to his word.

4) Obscenity

Obscenity refers to expressions that are prohibited from public use since they

involve repulsion to the sense, abhorrent, impolite and detestable to morality (Jay, in

Doyle, 2009: 1). Moreover, according to Batistella (2005: 72) profanity is defined as

words or expression which involve sex differentiating anatomy or sexual and

excretory function that usually uttered in rough manner. The words that belong to

this type are f**k and s**t. Here is the example in a conversation.

Sol : You flipped it on him.

David : You got it, man. You're a f**kin' genius Just make sure you serve
this clown in the next round for me.
 23

The word f**kin’ in the conversation belongs to obscenity type because it characterized

sexual activity. However, in this conversation the word f**kin’ does not actually mean

“to have sexual intercourse” but it is used to intensify the word “genius”.

3. Functions of Taboo Words

Taboo words are usually uttered because there is a reason behind them.

According to Wardhaugh (2006: 239), taboo words are disregarded in particular

occasion because they have several functions such as to draw attention to oneself, to

show contempt, to be provocative, and to mock authority. To give a clear

explanation of the functions of taboo words, below are brief descriptions of the

functions completed with examples in conversations

a. To Draw Attention to Oneself

Sometimes people utter taboo words in order to get the attention from the

listener. Mc Edward (in Mc Guire 1973: 5-6) explains that the speakers should gain

the interest trough the use of strong, powerful language whose connotation can

stimulate an instant reaction from the audience. Therefore, people use taboo words

which are believed to have power in gaining listener’s attention because of its strong

connotation. The explanation below is the example of taboo words which function

to draw attention to oneself.

Sol : What the f**k are you doing? The fucking car just died.
Cheddar : I told you stupid-a*s n*gg*s not to be doin' that shit

In the conversation above, Sol tries to draw his friend attention because he feels that

his friend is afraid that he will be caught by the police. So, he yells to his friend by
 24

saying “what the f**k are you doing?” in order to get the attentions so that his friend

can calm down.

b. To Show Contempt

The use of taboo words in conversation between two people can also mean

to show contempt. According to Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary (1995: 249)

contempt means the impression in which a person or may be some thing is totally

useless and cannot be regarded. In other words, when someone tries to show

contempt by using taboo words, he or she will insult the addressee by uttering words

that can offend their pride. Here is the example:

Cheddar : I told you stupid-a*s n*gg*s not to be doin' that shit

Sol : That rifle ain't mine. I don't want to go to jail.

In the conversation above, it is clear that Cheddar’s utterance using taboo words ass

n*gg*s, is functioned to show contempt because he feels angry at Sol. Cheddar

thinks that Sol brings a rifle which is actually not his belonging. The taboo word

“n*gg*s” is another form of the word n*gg*r which means to insult black people

race.

c. To Be Provocative

When someone utters taboo words, he or she may have an intention to

provoke a certain response such as violation or anger from others. This is in line

with Rothwell (in Fitzgerald 2007: 17) who says that verbal obscenity can be the

most efficient symbolic process offered to protester intended for inviting chaotic
 25

reaction. Taboo words are considered successful when the response is suitable with

the speaker’s expectation. Here is the example in the conversation.

Jimmy : I told you not to f**kin' sign me up. What the f**k?
David : You wanna fight me now, huh?

In the conversation above, Jimmy feels angry to David since he signs Jimmy up to a

rap battle without his permission. Jimmy feels annoyed with David’s act so that he

utters the word fuck to provoke David’s anger. David seems angry and he wants to

fight with Jimmy. In this conversation, Jimmy successfully provokes David’s anger.

d. To Mock Authority

Sometimes people use taboo words when they are not satisfied with public

images such as government and institutions. Rothwell (in Mc Guire, 1973: 6) asserts

that verbal obscenity communicates a significant hatred for society's rule, a

rebellion against power as well as impertinence for things that are considered sacred.

In other words, people used taboo words because they want to express their

disappointment about reality that are different from what they have expected.

Therefore, some people may prefer to use certain taboo words that are directed to

mock authority in order to show their disbelief about governmental stuffs. Here is

the example which is taken from Black Hawk Down movie .

Hoot : Once that first bullet goes past your head, politics and all that s**t just
goes right out the window.
Steele : I just want to do it right today.

In the conversation above, the taboo word s**t denotes that Hoot is so sick of

politics and stuff related to it. To mock the political situation in his country, he
 26

uttered the words s**t to emphasize his disappointment towards the political

situation.

4. Bad Teacher Movie

Bad Teacher is a movie directed by Jake Kasdan based on screenplay by Lee

Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky. This movie involves some famous Hollywood

actresses and actors such as Cameron Diaz as Elizabeth Halsey, Justin Timberlake

as Scott Delacorte, Lucy Punch as Amy Squirrel, and Jason Segel as Rusell Gettis.

The film was released in the United Kingdom on June 17, 2011 and in the United

States and Canada on June 24, 2011 by Columbia Pictures.

Bad Teacher tells about Elizabeth Hasley, a middle school teacher in Chicago

who is lazy, incompetent, and has bad attitudes. She hates her job because she wants

to find a way to climb for her social status. She plans to quit her job by marrying her

rich fiancé. Unfortunately, her fiancé dumps Elizabeth because he knows that she

only wants his money. That condition makes Elizabeth resume her job. In her school,

she falls in love with a substitute teacher, Scott Delacorte, who is also wealthy. To

attract Scott’s attention, Elizabeth is planning to enlarge her breast because Scott

loves his ex-girlfriend who has large breast. However, she cannot afford the surgery

because it costs $9,300 for the procedure. Elizabeth attempts to raise money for the

surgery by participating in her 7th grade class car wash and by manipulating parents

to give her money for more school supplies and tutoring but her efforts are not

enough. The situations are worsened by the fact that Scott has a crush on Amy

Squirrel, Elizabeth’s colleague in school.

 27

At the end of the story, Elizabeth gives advice to one of her students, Garret

who has a crush with his classmate, Chase. Elizabeth tells Garret that he should let

his crush go since Chase doesn't like him. Moreover, Chase is too superficial to him.

Then, it makes Elizabeth reflect for a moment on how she has been superficial with

her love interests for Scott. When Amy moves out from her school, Scott puts his

interest on Elizabeth. However, she turns him down because she realizes that it is

better to date Russell Gettis who has a sincere feeling for her. When the new school

year starts, Elizabeth turns to be a better person and she also has a new position in

the school as the new guidance counselor.

Bad Teacher managed as a successful movie in 2011. The movie reached

number 1 box office in Germany on country’s Cinema Charts. Moreover, the movie

also won several awards from 2011 Teen Choice Award such as Best Choice Movie

Comedy, Best Choice Actor for Justin Timberlake and Best Choice Actress for

Cameron Diaz.

B. Previous Research

There are several previous researches with taboo words as the topic of

investigation. The researcher takes two of them as references in undertaking this

research.

1. Types and Functions of Taboo Words in Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story

(Stefany Wahyudi, 2008)

In this undergraduate thesis, Stefany focused on taboo words which were

produced by the main character in a novel entitled A Boy’s Own Story. The
 28

researcher chose this novel as the object of study because of its unique topic which

told about gay community that exists in this world. The objectives of the research

were to investigate the types and functions of taboo words in Edmund White’s A

Boy’s Own Story.

The results of the research show that in term of types of taboo words, sex term

occurred the most among other types. Then, bodily function term took the second

position followed by excretion term, the left hand term, mother in law term,

religious matter term and death term. For the function of taboo words, the researcher

found that taboo words in the novel are used as terms of endearment.

2. The Use of Taboo Words between Main Characters Seen in Conviction Movie

(Yasa Febrianuswantoro and Emalia Iragiliati, 2012)

This journal talked about types and functions of taboo words presented by the

main characters in Conviction movie. The objectives of the research were to

investigate the types of taboo words using the theory from Ekstrom and theory of

the function of taboo words using the combination of Face Threatening Act (FTA)

from Brown and Levinson and theory of positive impoliteness superstrategy from

Culpeper.

For the type of taboo words, obscenity occurred the most among other types

followed by profanity, insult, cursing and epithet. For the functions of taboo words,

the researcher found that not all taboo words indicated positive impoliteness

superstrategy or to attack the hearer’s positive face. Taboo words can also function

to maintain the want of the hearers.

 29

Both of the previous studies focus on taboo words. It is interesting to

investigate the same topic by using a different theory and object. By using a

different object, the research can show different results as it takes a different context.

Unlike the previous studies, this research provides more detail explanation by

giving examples on the types of taboo words and the functions of taboo words from

the dialogs between the characters in the movie.

C. Conceptual Framework

The research aims to investigate two important points of the objectives i.e

types of taboo words and the functions of uttering taboo words in Bad Teacher

movie. This research is conducted with sociolinguistic approach, considering that

sociolinguistics is the study of the ways people use language in social interactions.

To answer the first question, the researcher employed Batistella’s theory about

the types of taboo words as offensive language. There are four types of taboo words

namely epithet, profanity, vulgarity, and obscenity. Here are the short definitions

and examples of the types of taboo words.

a. Ephitet: Various types of words or expressions that contain racial slurs, ethnic

slurs, gender slurs, sexual slurs, or one’s appearance slurs. Some taboo words

that belong to this type are b**ch, f*gg*t, n*gg*r, m*dg*t, r*t*rd,

motherf**ker, and t*t-man.

b. Profanity: The employment of religious expressions and terminology in

secular way without aiming to vilify God or anything associated with

 30

religion. Some taboo words which are categorized as profanity are J*s*s

Chr*st, h**l, d**n, and godd**n.

c. Vulgarity: A word or expression that mentions sexual anatomy and excretory

function in a rough manner. Some taboo words in vulgarity type are a*s, t*t,

c**k, d**k and c**t.

d. Obscenity: Words of expressions that are prohibited from public use because

it is considered as lack of morality since they mention sexual activity and

excretory functions which can generate disgust.Taboo words that belong to

this type are such as f**k and s**t.

To describe the function of uttering taboo words in Bad Teacher movie, the

researcher employs a theory from Wardhaugh (2006: 239). The functions of taboo

words are divided into four; they are to draw attention to oneself, to show contempt,

to be provocative, and to mock authority. Below are some short definitions and

examples of the functions of taboo words.

a. To draw attention to oneself: People utter taboo words to attract the

attention of the listener by using strong, powerful language whose connotation

can stimulate an instant reaction from the audience, e.g: hey you son of a

b**ch!

b. To show contempt: People utter taboo words to insult the addressee

because they think that somebody or something is completely worthless and

cannot be respected, e.g: You’re just r*t*rded kid.

 31

c. To be provocative: Taboo words are uttered to provoke certain response such

as violation or anger from the listeners. Taboo words are considered

successful when the response meets the speaker’s expectation, e.g. hey stupid

a*s! wanna fight me back huh?.

d. To mock authority: Taboo words are used when some people are not satisfied

with public image like government or institution. Therefore, taboo words are

used to express the disappointment about reality e.g. f**king stupid politicians!
 32

Sociolinguistics

Society Language

Bad Language Good Language

Bad Teacher
Movie

Blasphemy Expletives Taboo Slang

Taboo Acts Taboo Words

Types of Taboo Functions of Taboo

Words Words

Epithet to draw attention to oneself

Profanity to show contempt

Vulgarity to be provocative

Obscenity to mock authority

A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Taboo Words in Bad Teacher Movie

Figure1. Analytical Construct

 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHOD

In this chapter, the researcher presents all elements regarding the research

method applied in conducting this research. The discussion in this chapter includes

the type of study, research instrument, form, context and source of data, technique of

data collection, the model of data analysis, and triangulation.

A. Type of Research

This research employed a descriptive qualitative method, since it involved the

collection of data for the purpose of describing the existing condition. According to

Vanderstoep and Johnson (2009:167) this method focuses on cultural, social, personal

identity and its goal is more descriptive than predictive. Moreover, Strauss and

Corbin (1998: 11) state that qualitative research is achieved not by means of

quantification or statistical technique. It can give complex detail about particular

phenomena which are difficult to be expressed with quantitative method. Therefore,

the findings of qualitative research will not be in the form of statistic data which

usually belong to quantitative research. In this research, qualitative method was

chosen as the appropriate method because it represented what the researcher had

studied.

Although this research employed qualitative method, the researcher also used

quantitative method to support the interpretation of data. Vanderstoep and Johnson

33
 34

(2008: 7) states that quantitative method brings statistical work to a certain

phenomenon under study. Therefore, by providing statistical work in the form of

percentage, the researcher could easily describe the phenomenon that she wanted to

investigate by giving fixed percentages to make a clear explanation.

Being more detail, this research used content analysis method because the

researcher thought that it was an appropriate method for textual investigation. The

analysis of the study was based on classification on data sheets. The data sheets

included words or sentences which contained taboo words.

B. Form, Context, and Source of Data

According to Bousfield (2008: 15), qualitative research can be conducted by

employing verbal and non verbal data. Verbal data can be found in utterances spoken

by speakers, while non verbal data can be seen through gestures, facial expression,

tone and physical contact between speakers. In this research, the data were in the

form of utterances spoken by the characters in Bad Teacher movie, while the context

of the data was dialogues containing taboo words.

The source of the data were the video of the movie and the transcript of the

dialogues spoken by the characters in Bad Teacher movie. The transcript was not

written by the researcher since she took it from www.subscene.com.

C. Research Instrument

The key instrument of this research was the researcher herself since she acted

as the person who wanted to find the research problems. In qualitative research,
 35

according to Moleong (2009:56) the researcher acts as the main instrument. The

researcher is the planner, data collector, data analyzer, and data reporter. In addition,

a data sheet was also employed as the secondary instrument. The data sheet was

functioned to write down the classified data. The data sheet was in the form of a table

for presenting two objectives which became the focus of the study, which were, the

types of taboo words and the functions of taboo words. The format of the data sheet

could be illustrated in the table below.

Table 1: Sample Data Sheet of Types and Functions of Taboo Words in Bad

Teacher Movie

FUNCTION OF
TYPES OF
TABOO
TABOO WORDS
No DIALOGUES WORDS TMA EXPLANATION
TDA
TSC
TBP
VU
OB
PR
EP

1. Elizabeth : Baby doll? I’m home Elizabeth is so happy to

Mark : In here announce that she will stop her
Elizabeth : Get yourself hard, √ duty as a teacher to her
√
'cause I'm gonna suck your d**k like boyfriend after arriving at her
I'm mad at it. house. She uttered the taboo
word d**k to draw her
boyfriend’s attention because
she is too excited to tell him the
good news.
Types of Taboo Words Functions of Taboo Words
EP : Epithet TDA : To Draw Attention to Oneself
PR : Profanity TSC : To Show Contempt
VU : Vulgarity TBP : To be Provocative
OB : Obscenity TMA : To Mock Authority
 36

D. Techniques of Data Collection

This research employed simak and catat technique to collect the data from

Bad Teacher movie. According to Sudaryanto (1993: 133-135), this was a technique

for achieving data through listening carefully and then followed by taking note. In

this research, the researcher did the simak and catat technique by watching and

listening to the movie carefully and then she noted some words which were

categorized in the types and functions of taboo words by writing them over the script

of Bad Teacher movie. Meanwhile, the process of collecting the data consists of the

following steps.

The first step was watching the movie Bad Teacher. It was necessary to do

because it was important to get the background knowledge of the story and the

attitude of all the characters. Moreover, it was also needed to find out whether the

movie contained sufficient data that might help the researcher to analyze the

problems.

The second step was downloading the transcript of Bad Teacher from

www.subscene.com. This step was very important because it helped the researcher to

get an accurate transcript. Moreover, the researcher would get deeper knowledge

about the movie such as how many awards that the movie had received, etc.

The third step was re-watching the movie and checking the accuracy of the

transcript. This step was important to be conducted because it helped the researcher to
 37

find the dialogues containing taboo words. For further analysis, the dialogues which

did not contain taboo words were omitted.

The last step was classifying and transferring the selected dialogues

containing taboo words into the data sheet.

E. Technique of Data Analysis

After finishing the procedures of data collection, finally the raw data were

ready to be analyzed. The relation between data collection and data analysis was

inseparable. It means that when the researcher collected the data, she actually had

started conducting data analysis. Then the remaining steps of data analysis were

described as follows:

1. Categorizing

After the data were collected, they were categorized. The data that have been

collected would be transferred into categorization system which was drawn to a table

presented as Table 1. The categorization was about the types and the functions of

taboo words.

2. Classifying

The next step to do after the categorization system was done was putting the

selected utterances containing taboo words as the raw data into the table.

3. Analyzing

After classification was finished, the data that have been collected were ready

to be analyzed. The classified data in the table were analyzed to describe the types
 38

and the functions of the taboo words in the dialogues. Moreover, in this research, the

data analysis employed quantitative method since it involved number to get the

percentage of each phenomenon in the table. Then, those fixed percentages were used

to support the interpretation of the data.

4. Discussing

The researcher confirmed the findings with the theories that were employed in

the analysis. After that, the researcher also explained the findings in order to answer

the objectives of the research.

5. Reporting

The last step was reporting the findings and finally the researcher also added

some points of conclusions and suggestions.

F. Data Trustworthiness

To confirm the trustworthiness of the data, triangulation technique was

employed in this research. Triangulation is a cross-checking method which

investigates one phenomenon or real condition of individual records by gathering the

data from several informants and sources and consequently comparing and

contrasting the data with another to provide a study as balance as possible (Bell,

1999:102).

Moreover, Moleong (2001: 173) states that data trustworthiness could be

achieved after dependability, conformability, transferability and credibility are

checked and proven. In this research, the researcher only used conformability and
 39

credibility to triangulate the data. Conformability means neutrality which is

concerned with to what degree the result can be confirmed by others. Moreover, the

researcher also used credibility which is concerned in checking the data whether they

could be called ‘credible’ conceptual interpretation or not (Moleong, 2001: 174).

To achieve conformability and credibility to triangulate the data, the

researcher gathered several sources in the form of research books, papers, journals,

and some written sources from the internet related to the study of taboo words. Then,

the researcher also asked opinions and suggestions from her thesis advisors. The

researcher also asked fellow linguistics students to triangulate the data. Using various

researches and other researchers’ opinion in interpreting the data was important to

minimize differences and biases that may happen.

 CHAPTER IV

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

In this chapter, the results of the research are presented in detail on the

findings and discussion section. The results answer the objectives of the research

that are to identify and to describe the types and functions of taboo words in Bad

Teacher movie. In the findings, the frequencies of the types and the functions of

taboo words are described. Further analysis of each problem is presented in the

discussion section.

A. Findings

This section describes the findings of the research on taboo words uttered

by the characters in Bad Teacher movie. From the analysis process, the total data

collected in this research are 32 data and are displayed in Table 2. The table

shows the frequency of the occurrence of types and functions of taboo words

uttered by the characters in Bad Teacher movie. The results are various and they

will be displayed in the following table.

40
 41

Table 2: Frequency of Occurrence of Types and Functions of Taboo Words in

Bad Teacher Movie

Functions of Taboo Words

PERCENTAGE (%)
Types of

TOTAL
No. Taboo To Draw
Words To Show To Be To Mock
Attention to
Contempt Provocative Authority
Oneself

1. Obscenity 2 11 5 1 19 59.38
2. Profanity 3 - 2 - 5 15.63
3. Vulgarity 3 2 - - 5 15.63
4. Epithet 2 1 - - 3 9.36
TOTAL 10 14 7 1 32 100
PERCENTAGE
31.25 43.75 21.88 3.12 100
(%)

There are four types of taboo words, i.e obscenity, profanity, vulgarity and

epithet. All of them appear in the conversations spoken by the characters in the

movie. From the table above, it can be noticed that the most dominant type used

by the characters is obscenity, which appears 19 times (59.38%). Then, the second

highest frequency which has the same percentage is profanity and vulgarity which

appear 5 times (15.63%). Finally, the least to occur is epithet which appears 3

times (9.36%).

Table 2 above also shows that all functions of taboo words are found in the

movie. However, each of them has a different frequency. There are four functions

of taboo words, namely to show contempt, to draw attention to oneself, to be

provocative, and to mock authority. From those four functions, the highest

frequency of functions of taboo words is to show contempt which appears 14

 42

times (43.75%). To draw attention to oneself is in the second position with 10

occurrences. Next, to be provocative takes the third position with 7 occurrences

(21.88%) and the last position is to mock authority which only occurs once and

gets 3.12%.

In term of type of taboo words in Bad Teacher movie, obscenity is employed

19 times, and this number is hugely different from other types. Obscenity

becomes the most frequent type used by the characters because it is considered to

be the most effective way to insult someone. In Table 2, obscenity mostly

functioned to show contempt. The characters in Bad Teacher movie frequently

utter obscenity type when they want to show their disrespect toward the addressee.

Moreover, they also utter obscenity to debase other people’s pride. Meanwhile,

epithet becomes the least to occur in the movie because the characters do not find

that epithet can effectively hurt other people’s pride. This can be seen from the

previous table which shows that the characters tend to use epithet to draw

someone’s attention by calling one’s name with a certain type of slurs which

refers to sexuality.

As for the function of taboo words, to show contempt becomes the most

dominant function found in Bad Teacher movie because taboo words can be the

best expression to show disrespect toward other people since they are directed and

aimed to hurt someone’s pride. In Bad Teacher movie, the characters utter taboo

words when they want to show their dislike toward someone. Then, to emphasize

their disrespect, taboo word is chosen as the best way to express their feeling.

Meanwhile, to mock authority function becomes the least to occur in Bad Teacher
 43

movie. This function only appears once in the movie because actually the theme

of the movie is a romantic comedy which is not concerned in criticizing

governmental stuffs. The function only appears when Elizabeth sees one of her

students wearing a formal attire which makes her look like a congress woman.

Elizabeth utters the taboo word not directly to the government, but it shows her

negative view toward governmental stuffs, which is seen from the way she

comments on her student’s attire.

B. Discussion

In this section, the researcher discusses the findings in depth to answer the

problem formulation stated in Chapter I. To provide a complete explanation, some

data from the appendix are taken as the examples. This section consists of two

parts. The first part is related to the types of taboo words in Bad Teacher movie,

which is presented to answer the first formulation of the problem and the second

part is about the functions of taboo words, which is presented to answer the

second formulation. The discussion starts from the types of taboo words.

1. Types of Taboo Words

There are four types of taboo words produced by the characters in Bad

Teacher movie. They are obscenity, profanity, vulgarity, and epithet. Each of

them is explained one by one followed by some examples.

a. Obscenity

Obscenity becomes the most dominant type used by the characters in Bad

Teacher movie. Obscenity is described as a term which characterized sex

differentiating anatomy or sexual and excretory function in a crude way such as

 44

f**k and s**t. Obscenity and vulgarity have the same reference but both are

different. The distinction between vulgarity and obscenity is related to the level of

prurience. Obscenity is believed to be prohibited from public use since they

involve repulsion to the sense, abhorrent, impolite and detestable to morality.

In Bad Teacher movie, obscenity appears 19 times and 3 of them are

presented below.

Scott : She's been amazing helping me deal with my break-up.

Elizabeth : Yeah, I don't know her that well. I know all the other teachers
really hate her f**king guts.
(Datum no.12)

The dialogue above contains obscenity type because Elizabeth utters the

word f**king which usually described a sexual activity in literal meaning.

Moreover, that word can trigger disgust to the sense so that it is highly restricted

for public use.

The conversation occurs when the school holds students’ party at night

with their teacher. Scott suddenly pulls Elizabeth’s hand and he invites her to have

a chat in front of student’s locker. Scott asks Elizabeth’s opinion about someone

because he finally falls in love after his last break with his ex-girlfriend. Scott is

extremely nervous and his behavior is misinterpreted by Elizabeth. Elizabeth

thinks that Scott has a crush on her. Scott reveals that he is falling in love with

Amy. Then, Scott asks Elizabeth about Amy’s personality. Elizabeth who wishes

to have a close relationship with Scott feels disappointed hearing the news. To

show her disappointment she gives a negative comment about Amy. Moreover,

she feels jealous with her. The conversation ends when Scott back to the party

room and he leaves Elizabeth alone.

 45

Another example is shown as follows.

Russell : Just so you know, that s**t does not faze me at all. I'm like
the f**king terminator, dude. I'm just gonna keep coming
after you. Just so we're clear.
Elizabeth : Good luck with that.
(Datum no.15)

The dialogue between Russell and Elizabeth above shows obscenity type

because Russell utters the word s**t which is related to excretory term. S**t is a

vernacular word of English that means faeces.

The conversation takes place in a night party. The party is held by Scott

and his band, Period 5, to celebrate the annual event. Almost all of the teachers

are present there because they want to have an amazing night by dancing and

singing. Elizabeth is eager to attend the party because Scott privately invites her.

In the party, Elizabeth is mesmerized by Scott’s charm. He is playing his guitar

attractively which results in girls’ cheering. In the crowd, Russell and Elizabeth

have a chit chat while they are looking at Lyn who starts to enjoy the party with

the two cowboys. Russell says that he has a crush on Elizabeth and he tries his

best to show her that he is serious with her. However, Elizabeth does not put her

interest on Russell so that she keeps ignoring him. However, Russell says that it

will not frighten Russell from chasing her and he will never give up.

The next example is taken from a conversation between Carl and Kirk

which is presented below.

Carl : Please don't touch my mirror. Please, sir.What the f**k? Who
does that?.
Kirk : I'm a friend of Marjorie's. Yeah.
(Datum no. 26)
 46

In the dialogue, Carl utters the word f**k directed to Kirk, which can be

categorized in obscenity type. The word f**k is one of the strongest and most

controversial taboo words in English because it refers to the act of sexual

intercourse. It is considered as offensive and unacceptable in polite situations

because it is lack of morality.

The dialogue happens when Elizabeth asks Kirk to find Carl. Carl is the

one who keeps the state test sheets but he does not realize that Elizabeth steals it

from him when he is drunk. Carl plans to tell the truth to the school

superintendent that Elizabeth who previously disguises as Marjorie poison him to

drink so that she can take the state test sheets. Elizabeth who feels afraid to this

situation finally sends Kirk to Carl’s office. Elizabeth tries to intimidate Carl by

showing his naked photos so that he will not tell the superintendent that she is

stealing the state test sheet. When Kirk arrives at Carl’s office, he pretends to hit

Carl’s car in order to get his attention. Carl who is spotted in front of his office

yells at Kirk because he makes his car get a scar. Without saying too many words,

Kirk tries to provoke Carl’s anger by touching his car’s mirror and it seems that

Kirk is ready to break it. Then, he hands the envelop which contains the naked

photos to Carl. Carl is very angry and he knows that it is Elizabeth’s way to

intimidate him.

b. Profanity

Profanity becomes the second most frequent type of taboo words. In Bad

Teacher movie, profanity appears 5 times with the percentage of 15.63%.

Profanity occurs when someone is using religious terminology in a profane,

 47

secular, or uncaring manner such as J*s*s Christ, h**l, d**n, and Godd**n.

Although the terminology is used with those manners, but the intention of the

speaker is not actually to denigrate God or anything associated with religion. The

intention of the speaker is actually to express an emotional reaction to certain

stimuli. In Bad Teacher movie, the most common profanity used in the

conversation between the characters are d**n and Godd**n. An example of

profanity can be seen as follows.

Mark : Steven said that you spent $16,000 last month. He thinks
you're bad news.
Mark’s Mom : I know women like you.
Mark : D**n it, Mom. I told you I could handle this.
(Datum no. 2)

In the dialogue above, there is a taboo word which is categorized in

profanity type. The word belongs to profanity because d**n is actually a word

that is used in religious contexts such as in church. The word d**n in a church is

usually used when the priest explains about condemnation upon someone who is

not following Jesus Christ’s way of life. Therefore, he or she who is damned by

God will suffer eternal punishment in hell. The word becomes taboo because it is

used outside the formal circumstance in which profanity is not allowed.

The dialogue occurs when Mark and his mom arrive at Elizabeth’s house.

Elizabeth is so happy because she gets extra money as a present from the school

where she is teaching. She rushes to her house and she does not know that Mark

and his mom are sitting in her house. Elizabeth looks so shocked and she tries to

start the conversation with a nonsense topic. Mark and his mom look fed up with

what Elizabeth talks about then they start to reveal their intention of coming
 48

together to Elizabeth’s house. Mark and his mom come to Elizabeth’s house

because they want to tell her that Mark should end his relationship with her.

Elizabeth does not accept the decision easily. She tries her best to avoid her

relationship to be ended. Mark’s mom tells Elizabeth that she should break up

with his son because she spends $16,000 from Mark’s account. Mark’s mom is

very angry to Elizabeth and saying a bad thing to her. They finally broke up and

all the facilities that have been given to Elizabeth are taken back by Mark.

Another example of profanity is also taken from Amy and Don’s

conversation when they find out that Elizabeth cheats on the state test. Here is the

conversation that contains profanity type.

Amy : Retest! Retest! Retest!.

Don : D**n it, Squirrel!.
(Datum no. 31)
In the dialogue above, it is clear that Don utters the taboo word which

belongs to profanity type. Just like the previous explanation, d**n is supposedly

used in a religion context. The word d**n above can be categorized as profanity

because Don uses it in a profane manner.

The setting of the conversation is in the school principal room. Wally calls

Amy and Elizabeth to come to his room to meet Don, the school superintendent.

Wally tells them why they should gather in his room. He talks to both teachers,

Amy and Elizabeth to tell the truth about the state test case. Amy accused

Elizabeth of cheating on the state test because her class becomes the best class to

achieve the highest rank in the state. Amy convinces Don to retest the exam but he
 49

refuses to do that since there is no evidence. Elizabeth refuses Amy’s accusation

because doing a retest will disappoint their student’s hard work.

The next example found in the movie is still in the school principal’s

room. In the conversation, the one who utters taboo word is Don because he, as

the superintendent is quite surprised with what is going on in the school. Here is

the conversation which shows the situation when Don utters the taboo word.

Amy: Wally, do you remember how I told you there are teachers here who
use and abuse drugs?
Don : Godd**n it. And I'm hearing about this now?
(Datum no. 32)

The word Godd**n above is actually a religious term that is supposed to

use only in the church. Godd**n refers to Jesus Christ as a God. However, the

word above becomes taboo because it is used outside the formal occasion and

most importantly Don uses the word in a profane manner without considering that

the word can be so sacred.

In the conversation above, Amy brings another case to Wally in front of

Don. She accuses one of many teachers in the school of using and abusing drugs.

She actually accuses Elizabeth because she hears the information from Sasha who

finds that Elizabeth smokes marijuana. However, Amy does not directly address

her accusation to Elizabeth because she wants to see Elizabeth’s reaction.

Elizabeth who hears Amy’s statement feels so eager to prove in which teacher that

actually uses and abuses drugs. She does not feel afraid because the table where

she saves the drugs is changed by Amy when she was away from the school.

Therefore, when the police checked Amy’s table, they find a bunch of drugs in the
 50

drawer and it makes Amy feel frustrated because she made the wrong decision to

change Elizabeth’s table with hers.

c. Vulgarity

Vulgarity is different from the other two types above because it refers to

words or expressions that contain sexual anatomy and excretory function in a

rough manner such as a*s, t*t, c**k, d**k, and c**t. Vulgarity is believed to

demonstrate the raw expression of street language. Therefore the use of vulgar

language is usually to humiliate or bring down the thing or individual referred to.

In the findings, the researcher finds 5 vulgar words that occur during the

conversation between the characters in Bad Teacher movie. This type has the

same amount as profanity which takes the second place. An example that shows

vulgarity can be seen in the following conversation.

Elizabeth : It's nothing personal, but I don't think that you're Amy's
type.
Scott : Really? Yeah. We seem so, I don't know, simpatico.
Elizabeth : How do I put this politely? She's a lesbian. She hates c**k.
(Datum no.13)

There is a taboo word c**k which can be categorized as vulgarity type in

the dialogue above. C**k is a vulgar term that refers to the human male genital

organ. The word is uttered by Elizabeth when she makes a conversation with

Scott. The conversation happens during the students’ night party with their

teacher.

Scott invites Elizabeth to have a chat with him because he believes that

Elizabeth is one of his best friends that he can trust in the school. Scott tells

Elizabeth that he finally finds someone who can make his heart flutter. The one
 51

who can make his heart beating so fast is Amy Squirrel, their co-worker in the

school. Elizabeth feels annoyed to hear the news, because she plans to date Scott

but the plan is fail because Scott falls in love with her rival. However, this

situation does not stop Elizabeth to give up with her love interest. Then, Elizabeth

tells Scott that he is not Amy’s type but Scott does not believe easily because it

seems that both of them interested to each other. Since Scott a bit hesitates with

Elizabeth’s statement, Elizabeth gives more negative comments about Amy. She

says that Amy is a lesbian so that Scott will never date Amy.

The next example of vulgarity is also found in Elizabeth and Lyn’s

conversation during nigh party that is held by Scott and his band. To give a clear

explanation, the example of the dialogue is presented below.

Elizabeth : Lynn. Get your a*s over to those cowboys.

Lynn : Well, I'm glad I wore my fun underwear. Okay.
(Datum no. 14)

The example above considered as vulgarity because the word a*s refers to

a sexual organ of human being. The word a*s is very popular among black

American which is considered as a lower-class community. The dialogue above

happen when Elizabeth and Lyn having a serious conversation during the night

party.

Lyn has an introvert personality and she is hard to get along with someone

new. Therefore, Lyn still remains single and this situation triggers Elizabeth to

teach her how to approach a man. Elizabeth who sees two men with cowboys

costume finally asks Lyn to start to have a chat with them. Lyn does not feel

confident but Elizabeth insists her to try even just once. Elizabeth encourages
 52

Lynn and asks her to come closer to two men in front of them. Finally, Lyn tries

her best to approach the men and it seems that Lyn can get along with them. They

dance together.

Then, the last example of vulgarity can be seen from the conversation

between Amy and Elizabeth in front of the teacher’s room. Here is the dialogue

which shows Amy and Elizabeth’s conversation containing vulgarity.

Amy : You're not seeing anyone now, right?.

Elizabeth : Got my eye on someone, but he's dating a major c**t.
(Datum no. 22)

It is clear that the example above shows that Elizabeth utters the word c**t

which is categorized as vulgarity type. The word c**t is a vulgar term that refers

to the human female genital organ. That conversation occurs after Russell, Lynn,

Scott, and Amy have a long chat in the teacher’s room.

Scott and Amy announce that they are officially dating. Other teachers

except Elizabeth congratulate them because they look cute to be together. Scott

suddenly praises Elizabeth because it seems that she is too excited to achieve the

highest rank for the state test. Elizabeth feels so happy to hear Scott’s compliment.

Amy who sits next to Scott feels jealous because Elizabeth gets the attention from

Scott. Elizabeth and Amy walk away from the teacher’s room. In front of the

room, Amy investigates Elizabeth because she feels that Elizabeth has a crush on

Scott who now becomes her boyfriend. Instead of answering Amy’s question,

Elizabeth makes a sarcastic tone to annoy Amy by saying that she is actually has

an eye on someone and she insult Amy indirectly by saying that she has a crush

who is dating a major c**t.

 53

d. Epithet

Epithet becomes the last type of taboo words appearing in the dialogue

between the characters in Bad Teacher movie. It occurs 3 times and gets the

percentage of 9.36%. Epithet includes a variety of slurs that are connected to race,

ethnicity, gender, sexuality, one's appearance, and disabilities such as b**ch,

f*gg*t, n*gg*r, m*dg*t, r*t*rd, motherf**ker, tit-man and son of a b**ch. Epithet

can occur because the one who utters the word is motivated by frustration or

anger. Therefore, he or she will use emotional language by uttering the taboo

words which aimed at another person. In Bad Teacher movie, epithet is shown in

words like motherf**er and B**ch t*ts which characterize the use of sexuality

term. Here is an example of epithet from the dialogue between Elizabeth and

Jason taken from Bad Teacher movie.

Jason : The second I finish, I'm going to my boss's office and I'm telling
that motherf**ker to go f**k himself. See, I wanna do
something that matters. I'm going back to school and becoming
an occupational therapist. I wanna do something important, just
like you.
Elizabeth : An occupational therapist?.
(Datum no. 5)

The conversation contains epithet as one of the types of taboo words

because Jason utters the word motherf**ker which refers to sexuality. The taboo

word motherf**ker is a common insult in the English language which is popular

in hip hop culture. Motherf**ker literally means a man who f**ks his mother in

copulation. However, the taboo word motherf**ker in an utterance is used to

refer to a mean, vicious person or any particular difficult situation. The word

motherf**ker is not applied personally to female because the word itself refers to
 54

a woman who is f**ked by her son. Therefore, the word is not suitable to insult

female gender so that it is used and directed to male in order to insult his pride.

The conversation occurs when Elizabeth goes to a night club after her

break up with her fiancé. She plans to find another rich man that can support her

life because she wants to quit her job as a teacher in junior high school. Elizabeth

dresses up with a sexy mini dress to seduce men who pa*s her. Then, Elizabeth

sees a young man who wears a nice coat named Jason. Elizabeth thought that

Jason is a rich guy. After they are having a long chat, Elizabeth finds that Jason is

just a trainee in a company. Elizabeth looses her interest to Jason because he is not

more than a poor guy. However, Jason tries to convince Elizabeth that he wants to

quit from his job as soon as possible because he wants to do something that

matters in his life that is becoming an occupational therapist. Therefore, Jason

utters the taboo words to show his disrespect toward his job in order to make

Elizabeth reconsider to date him. Unfortunately, Elizabeth takes it for granted and

she leaves him because he cannot guarantee that her life will have a happy ending.

Another example of epithet found in Bad Teacher movie can be seen from

the conversation between a gym visitor and Kirk. Kirk is Elizabeth neighbor who

works in a fitness center. Here is the dialogue that shows epithet type.

Gym visitor : Yo, B**ch t*ts. I'm not gonna ask you again, dude. I need
those coupons mailed today.
Kirk : Consider it already done.
(Datum no. 20)

In the dialogue above, the gym visitor is calling Kirk with B**ch t*ts

which is categorized as epithet because it is one of many slurs which refer to

sexuality term. B**ch originally means a female dog but it has a different
 55

meaning when it is used as a word to insult another person. If the word is directed

to a female, it can be meant as a female prostitute who likes to change her sex

partner. If it is directed to a male, the word means a homosexual who plays the

female role in copulation.

The dialogue above takes place in a fitness center where Elizabeth’s

neighbor, Kirk is working. Kirk is waiting for visitors to come. Suddenly a gym

visitor calls him and they have a conversation about a coupon. The gym visitor

asks Kirk whether he has already sent the coupon or not. The gym visitor insists

Kirk to send it right away because he will use it to get a special discount from the

fitness center. It seems that Kirk has not sent the coupon yet but he promises to

send it as soon as possible.

2. Functions of Taboo Words

This section discusses the functions of taboo words uttered by the

characters in Bad Teacher movie. The detailed explanations in this part answer the

second research question stated in Chapter I. All four functions of taboo words,

including to draw attention to oneself, to be provocative, to show contempt, and to

mock authority are presented with some examples below.

a. To Show Contempt

To show contempt appears 14 times. This function can occurs when

people utter taboo words to show their disrespect feeling toward the addressee. It

can be said that the aim of the speaker is to offend their opposite pride because

they feel that their opposite partners are completely worthless. To make the
 56

definition clearer, there are three examples of this function that are explained one

by one below.

Jason : The second I finish, I'm going to my boss's office and I'm
telling that motherf**ker to go f**k himself. See, I wanna do
something that matters. I'm going back to school and
becoming an occupational therapist.
Elizabeth : An occupational therapist? Do I look like I wanna marry a
f**king occupational therapist?.
(Datum no. 7)

The conversation above clearly shows that Elizabeth utters the taboo word

f**king to show her contempt toward Jason’s profession as an occupational

therapist. The taboo word above intensifies how Elizabeth shows her disrespect

toward Jason’s job because Elizabeth thinks that the job cannot produce a bunch

of money.

The dialogue happens when Elizabeth goes to a night club to find a rich

guy who can support her financial situation after her break up. She meets Jason

who wears a nice coat which makes him look like a boss in a big company. Then,

Elizabeth comes closer to Jason and they have an intimate chat when they kiss

each other. After enjoying their time together, Elizabeth comes to her point and

she asks Jason about his job. Unfortunately, Elizabeth realizes that Jason is just a

trainee who is ready to quit his job and become an occupational therapist. After

knowing that Jason cannot provide a good financial situation to her life, Elizabeth

leaves Jason by saying that she does not want to marry an occupational therapist

with a sarcastic tone.

The next example is taken from the dialogue between Amy and Elizabeth.

Amy : You're not seeing anyone now, right?.

Elizabeth : Got my eye on someone, but he's dating a major c**t.
 57

(Datum no. 22)

The conversation above takes place in front of the teachers’ room after

Amy and Scott announce to other teachers that they are officially dating. Elizabeth

actually feels so frustrated because her plan to date Scott failed. The situation is

worsened by the fact that Scott is dating Amy, her co-worker who becomes her

real rival. Elizabeth does not like Amy’s personality from the very beginning

because she always plays as a heroin in every situation. The dialogue shows that

Amy tries to investigate Elizabeth by asking her whether she likes someone right

now. Amy feels that Elizabeth has her eyes on Scott who is recently dating Amy.

Elizabeth replies Amy’s question with a sarcastic tone and then she uses the taboo

word c**t to show her contempt toward Amy. By using the taboo word above,

Elizabeth has successfully offended Amy’s pride.

The last example is taken from a conversation between Garret and

Elizabeth. Garret is Elizabeth’s student who starts to put his interest on a girl

named Chase. It seems that only Elizabeth who can understand what Garret is

feeling since she knows Garret’s personality. The conversation of Garret and

Elizabeth can be seen in the following dialogue.

Garret : Ian Mendelbaum, the rapper? He's an idiot.

Elizabeth : Yeah, he's a f**king moron. But she doesn't care.
(Datum no. 24)

The conversation happens when the students of seventh grade have an

outdoor learning activity. Suddenly, Garret makes a love confession by reciting a

poem for Chase in front of his friends. However, Chase’s reaction is so

disappointing because she mocks Garret by saying the he is a loser. Garret feels
 58

hurt and he runs away from the crowd. Then, Elizabeth runs after him and they

stop in an empty house.

In the empty house, Elizabeth tries to calm Garret down because it seems

that he is so angry and disappointed. Elizabeth asks Garret to tell her about his

problem. Finally, Garret tells Elizabeth about Chase who makes fun of his love

poem. Elizabeth knows that Chase is not a good girl because all she wants is

popularity. Elizabeth tells Garret the he is not Chase’s type because he cannot

bring her into the spotlight. Chase actually likes Ian Mendelbaum, the boy who is

famous in the school. Garret feels that Ian doesn’t deserve Chase’s love because

he is stupid. Then, Elizabeth supports Garret’s idea that Ian is just a stupid guy.

Therefore, Garret should not compete with him since he is better than him. To

emphasize that Ian is not worth competing, Elizabeth uses the taboo word f**king

to show her contempt toward Ian since he is just a worthless student.

b. To Draw Attention to Oneself

To draw attention to oneself appears 10 times in this research with the

percentage of 31.25%. This function can occur when someone utters a taboo word

which has a strong connotation to gain the listener’s attention. Moreover, by using

strong and powerful language such as taboo word, the listeners will immediately

respond the speaker’s utterance. Here are some examples to draw attention to

oneself.

Mark : Steven said that you spent $16,000 last month. He thinks
you're bad news.
Mark’s Mom : I know women like you.
Mark : D**n it, Mom. I told you I could handle this.
(Datum no. 2)
 59

The dialogue between Mark and his mom above shows that Mark actually

utters the taboo word d**n to draw his mom’s attention because it seems that

Mark’s mom will not stop her word. Mark utters the word emotionally so that his

mom can stop right away.

The conversation takes place in Elizabeth’s house. Elizabeth feels so

happy because she gets a present from her school. Elizabeth is planning to tell

Mark that she will quit her job to prepare their wedding. She rushes to her house

but she looked so shocked after knowing that Mark and his mom all of a sudden

come to her house. They start the conversation by giving a fact that Elizabeth

spent $16,000 from Mark’s account to buy her stuffs. Mark’s mom insists her son

and Elizabeth should end their relationship because she thinks that Elizabeth only

wants her son’s money. Mark’s mom keeps saying her bad words to Elizabeth

which triggers Mark to stop her. Finally, after a long debate, Elizabeth and Mark

end their relationship.

Another example is shown as follows.

Gym owner : Hey, B**ch t*ts, you send out those coupons?.
Kirk : I was not told about any coupons.
(Datum no. 21)

In the dialogue, the gym owner says the taboo word B**ch t*ts to gain

Kirk’s attention because he still has a chat with Elizabeth who is also present

there. The gym owner uses the strong and passionate language because it seems

that they have a very close relationship. Therefore it will be very effective to draw

Kirk’s attention by calling him with a certain taboo word.

 60

The conversation takes place in a fitness center. Elizabeth comes to the

fitness center because she wants to meet Kirk’s boss. Elizabeth wants to meet the

gym owner because she plans to order a special medicine to make someone drank

and slept after drinks it. Elizabeth plans to steal the state test sheets so that her

class will become the best class to achieve the highest mark. If she is successfully

does her job to bring the class to the highest rank, she will get an extra bonus and

she will use it to pay the procedure to enlarge her breast. Elizabeth will mix the

medicine into Carl’s drink so that he will fall asleep. Then, she will steal the state

test sheets from his office. In the middle of the conversation, the gym owner asks

Kirk whether he has already sent out the coupon to her customers or not but it

seems that Kirk forgets about the deal.

The next example is taken from a conversation between Amy and Don.

The dialogue below happens when Amy, Don, Wally, and Elizabeth gathered in

the school principal’s room to discuss the possibility of Elizabeth doing a dirty

trick in the state test for her students. Not only talking about the dirty trick that

has been done by Elizabeth, Amy tells Wally that actually there are teachers who

use and abuse drugs in the school. Amy implicitly directs her accusation to

Elizabeth because she got a report from Sasha who saw Elizabeth smokes

marijuana. Before Wally responds Amy’s statement, Don interrupts the

conversation.

Amy: Wally, do you remember how I told you there are teachers here who
use and abuse drugs?.
Don : Godd**n it. And I'm hearing about this now?.
(Datum no. 32)
 61

The taboo word Godd**n that has been uttered by Don is functioned to

draw Amy’s attention because it seems that Amy keeps telling bad things about

Elizabeth to Wally. To stop her words, Don utters the words which spontaneously

makes Amy shocked and pay attention to what Don has said.

c. To Be Provocative

To be provocative function takes the third position and it occurs 7 times

from the whole conversations in Bad Teacher movie. This function happens when

a speaker utters taboo words to provoke a certain response from the listener such

as violation or anger. The application of taboo words in someone’s utterance is

believed to be the most effective method for inviting a chaotic reaction. Therefore,

some people tend to choose the employment of taboo words in their conversation

to get the expected response from the listener. An example of to be provocative

function is shown in the following datum.

Wally : Next time you accuse one of my teachers of stealing, you better
have some evidence. Godd**n it! We are done here.
Amy : All righty.
(Datum no. 10)

The conversation takes place in a man toilet when suddenly without any

hesitation Amy is entering the room because she wants to report something to

Wally. Wally who is taking pee in the toilet feels disturbed by Amy’s arrival.

Amy does not feel sorry for bothering Wally’s activity because she is too eager to

report Elizabeth’s behavior to Wally. Amy accuses Elizabeth for stealing the

money from the car wash day activity run by the seventh grade’s students. Wally

does not easily believe in Amy’s statement because he got a positive review from

the students’ parents.

 62

Wally feels angry with what Amy has done because she dares to disturb

his private activity inside the toilet. Then, Wally utters taboo word Godd**n to

provoke Amy’s anger after he scolds Amy for saying something without any

proof. Fortunately, Amy does not respond Wally’s provocation and she just says

“all righty” then leaves the toilet. Another example is presented in the dialogue

below.

Carl : Please don't touch my mirror. Please, sir. What the f**k? Who
does that?.
Kirk : I'm a friend of Marjorie's. Yeah.
(Datum no. 26)

The conversation above takes place in front of Carl’s office. Kirk is sent

by Elizabeth to threat Carl because he wants to report to the school superintendent

that Elizabeth, who was previously pretending as a journalist named Marjorie,

stole the state test sheet. Elizabeth has a dirty trick to make Carl’s plan fail.

Elizabeth will threaten Carl with his naked photos which she took when they were

spending time together in his office. Elizabeth finally sends Kirk to go to Carl’s

office and hands him an envelope containing his naked photos. Before Kirk gives

the envelope to Carl, he hits Carl’s car and breaks the car’s mirror to gain Carl’s

attention.

Carl is very shocked to see his car’s mirror broken. At first, Carl still

maintains to have a polite conversation with Kirk. It can be seen from the dialogue

that Carl calls Kirk with “sir”. However, after Carl sees what Kirk has done, he

directed the taboo word f**k towards Kirk to provoke his anger. After that, Kirk

responds Carl’s provocation by saying that he is a friend of Marjorie with a higher

 63

tone. After hearing Kirk’s confession that he is sent by Elizabeth, Carl kicks

Kirk’s scooter which result in more provocation from both sides.

Just like the previous example, the conversation below is still taken from

Carl and Kirk’s dialogue which also takes place in front of Carl’s office.

Carl : A friend of Marjorie's? Well, then f**k you, man.

Kirk : Hey! No, s**t, f**k you.
Carl : No, f**k you. You like that?
(Datum no. 27)

Kirk reveals his identity as Elizabeth’s friend who has ever tricked Carl as

a journalist named Marjorie. After knowing Kirk’s identity, Carl feels very angry

then he utters the taboo word f**k that is directed to Kirk to provoke his anger.

Carl is considered successfully provoked Kirk’s anger because he responds Carl’s

provocation by uttering the other taboo words s**t and f**k. In the end of the

conversation, they utter taboo words for several times to provoke each other’s

anger.

d. To Mock Authority

To mock authority function has the lowest frequency than other functions

of taboo words and from 32 data, this function only appears once. This function

can occur when people utter taboo words because they are not satisfied with

public images such as the government and institutions. Therefore, they utter taboo

words that are directed to mock authority in order to show their disbelief about

governmental stuffs. To make the explanation clearer, there is an example of

conversation which shows to mock authority function which is presented below.

 64

Elizabeth : Listen, word to the wise, stop dressing like you're

running for Congress.
Sasha : I don't wanna run for Congress. I wanna be
president.
Elizabeth : See, that's what I'm talking about. Keep saying s**t
like that and you're gonna get punched.
(Datum no. 11)

The conversation above takes place in school parking area in the winter

season. Elizabeth is sitting inside her car while smoking marijuana which makes

her flying so high. Then, one of Elizabeth students, Sasha comes closer to her

because she wants to give a box of cookies for Elizabeth. Unfortunately, Elizabeth

does not like her cookies. Sasha is not sincere with her gift. She only wants to

impress Elizabeth with her kindness because she needs an extra credit for her test.

Hearing that dirty intention, Elizabeth looks at her student miserably. During the

conversation, Elizabeth comments on Sasha’s attire who looks like a congress

woman. Sasha replies that she doesn’t want to run a congress because she wants to

be a president.

Elizabeth spontaneously utters the taboo word s**t in her utterence after

hearing that Sasha wants to be a president. The word that is uttered by Elizabeth

indicates that she has a negative perspective to the government. Although the

taboo word is not aimed to the government directly, it shows that Elizabeth does

not put her respect to the institution.

To sum up, it can be noticed that the types and functions of taboo words are

closely related. Every type of taboo words may have all or some functions in it.

Some functions of taboo words may appear in certain types more or less than

other functions. For instance, obscenity as the highest frequency has to show
 65

contempt as the most appearing function in Bad Teacher movie. To show

contempt also becomes the most obtained function in vulgarity type. However, to

show contempt function only appear once in epithet type, while profanity type

does not contain this function.

It can be assumed that both obscenity and vulgarity type mostly contain to

show contempt as the function. When the speakers want to insult or show their

disrespect toward others, they use obscenity and vulgarity type because they are

considered to be more effective in hurting other people’s pride with their severe

and filthy words. However, to show contempt is not executed in profanity type

because the words contained in profanity are quite mild to hurt other’s people

feeling; thus, the characters in Bad Teacher movie do not utter this type when they

want to show their disrespect toward others. If they use it, they are unable to show

their real intetion that is to make other people look worthless.

 CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

This chapter conveys two different sections: conclusions and suggestions. In

conclusions, two points are concluded from the results based on the objectives of this

research. In suggestions, some suggestions are given to some parties related to the

results.

A. Conclusions

Based on the findings and discussions in Chapter IV, some conclusions can be

formulated as follows.

1. The first objective of this research is to identify and to describe the types of

taboo words in Bad Teacher movie. All the four types of taboo words that consist of

obscenity, profanity, vulgarity, and epithet appear in the movie. The highest

frequency of the types of taboo words is obscenity. Obscenity appears 19 times out of

32 total data (59.38%). The lowest frequency is obtained by epithet with 3 data

(9.36%).

Obscenity becomes the most frequently used taboo words because it is

considered as the most effective way to insult someone. Moreover, obscenity type is

frequently used by the characters when they want to show their disrespect toward the

addressee. By using obscenity that contains disgust to the sense, is repulsive,

66
 67

indecent, and lack of morality, the speaker can easily debase other people’s pride and

their goal to hurt other people’s feeling will be easily accomplished.

The least frequently used taboo word is epithet. Therefore, it can be noticed

that epithet is not effective enough to be used as an offensive word to debase other

people’s pride. Instead of using epithet as offensive language, the characters in Bad

Teacher movie use epithet to draw someone’s attention by calling one’s name with a

certain type of slurs such as a word that refers to sexuality.

2. The second objective of this research is to describe the functions of taboo

words in Bad Teacher movie. There are four functions that appear in the series: to

show contempt, to draw attention to oneself, to be provocative, and to mock

authority. To show contempt gets the highest percentage with 43.75% and appears 14

times. The lowest function is to mock authority with only 1 occurrence (3.12%).

To show contempt appears as the most frequent function to occur in Bad

Teacher movie because it can represent the speaker’s intention of using taboo words

that is to show their disrespect toward other people. Moreover, it can be the most

effective function to express the disrespect feeling toward other people since it is

directed and aimed to hurt someone’s pride. In the movie, the characters employ

taboo words when they want to show their dislike toward someone. Then, to mock

authority appears as the least function to occur in the movie because of its theme. Bad

Teacher movie is a romantic comedy which is concerned in creating humorous and

romantic atmosphere to the movie. Therefore, this kind of theme is not concerned in
 68

criticizing governmental stuffs which usually show some negative perspectives about

the government in general.

B. Suggestions

Based on the conclusions above, some suggestions can be stated as follows.

1. To students of Linguistics

In analyzing taboo words, students of Linguistics had better pay more

attention to the functions of taboo words which do not always mean that the speaker

wants to hurt other people’s feeling. They can be functioned to show intimacy or to

maintain a good relationship by calling one’s name with certain types of taboo words.

2. To English lecturers

A movie which is the representation of human real life can be a good and

interesting medium to learn about taboo words. Moreover, using a movie as the

medium in learning activity will be much more fun because the students can enjoy the

story as well as study the taboo words that are uttered by the characters in the movie.

3. To other researchers

This research focuses on identifying and describing the types of taboo words,

and also describing the functions of taboo words in Bad Teacher movie. There are

other problems such as gender issue and social status issue which are not analyzed in

this research. Similar researches that will be conducted in the future are better to

discuss those problems. The other researchers can observe the relationship between

the use of taboo words and gender issue. They can also observe the relationship

between the use of taboo words and social status in the society. Moreover, since this
 69

research only contains 32 data, other researchers who are planning to conduct a

research with the same topic can use other movies that contain more data for their

research.
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 Appendix A. Types & Functions of Taboo Words in Bad Teacher Movie

Notes:

EP : Epithet TDA : To Draw Attention to Oneself

PR : Profanity TSC : To Show Contempt
VU : Vulgarity TBP : To be Provocative
OB : Obscenity TMA : To Mock Authority

TYPES OF TABOO FUNCTION OF

WORDS TABOO WORDS

No. DIALOGUES EXPLANATION

TMA
TDA

TSC

TBP
VU
OB
PR
EP
1. Elizabeth : Baby doll? I’m home Elizabeth is so happy to announce that she will
stop his duty as a teacher to her boyfriend, Mark
Mark : In here. after arriving at her house. She utters the taboo
word d**k to draw her boyfriend’s attention
Elizabeth : Get yourself hard, 'cause I'm gonna because she is too excited to say about the good
suck your d**k like I'm mad at it. √ √ news. The taboo word d**k can be categorized as
vulgarity because the word actually means man’s
genital part. Moreover, it characterized the
harshness of “street language” which is not
commonly used by an educated person like
Elizabeth.

2. Mark : Steven said that you spent $16,000 last Mark and his mom come to Elizabeth’s house to
month. He thinks you're bad news. tell her that they should break up. Mark gives a
fact that she spent $16,000 which means that it
Mark’s Mom : I know women like you. could endanger his financial situation. His mom
supports the idea, saying that she knows what
Mark : D**n it, Mom. I told you I could √ √ kind of woman Elizabeth is. Then Mark tries to
handle this. stop his mom by uttering the taboo word d**n to
draw his mom’s attention so that she will hear
what he said. The word d**n can be categorized
as profanity because the word is related to
religious term usually used in a church.

73
 TYPES OF TABOO FUNCTION OF

WORDS TABOO WORDS

No. DIALOGUES EXPLANATION

TMA
TDA

TSC

TBP
VU
OB
PR
EP
3. Mark : It’s over Elizabeth Mark makes sure that, he and Elizabeth should
end their relationship because he thinks that
Elizabeth : Mark, I'm pregnant
Elizabeth only wants his money. Elizabeth tries to
√ √
Mark's Mom : Bulls**t find a reason to refuse Mark’s decision by saying
that she is pregnant. However, Mark’s mom says
Mark : No, you’re not
bulls**t to show her contempt toward Elizabeth
Elizabeth : Okay, fine, I'm not actually pregnant because she knows that Elizabeth tells them a lie.

4. Elizabeth : I don't love you? I have been listening Mark questions Elizabeth’s love for him but it
to your whine about opera for the last seems that Elizabeth only loves him because of
year. his money. Elizabeth tries to convince Mark by
saying that she always listens to his whine about
Mark : Okay. If the younger generation doesn't opera and there is no reason for not loving him.
get into opera, then guess what? No Mark feels angry about Elizabeth’s statement and
more opera. An art form has died. If utters the taboo word f**ked to show his
opera goes away, we're f**ked. √ √ contempt towards Elizabeth’s view on opera as an
art form.
5. Jason : The second I finish, I'm going to my Jason is a guy whom Elizabeth met when she was
boss's office and I'm telling that sitting in a night club. Elizabeth seems interested
motherf**ker to go f**k himself. See, I √ to Jason because he looks like a boss. However,
√
wanna do something that matters. I'm Elizabeth finds that he is just a trainee but Jason
going back to school and becoming an says that he will quit the job and this can make
occupational therapist. I wanna do Elizabeth reconsider to date him. Jason utters the
something important, just like you. word motherf**ker to show his contempt toward
his boss as he really wants to quit his job.
Elizabeth : An occupational therapist?

74
 TYPES OF TABOO FUNCTION OF

WORDS TABOO WORDS

No. DIALOGUES EXPLANATION

TMA
TDA

TSC

TBP
VU
OB
PR
EP
6. Jason : The second I finish, I'm going to my Just like the previous explanation, Jason utters the
boss's office and I'm telling that taboo word f**k which is categorized as
motherf**ker to go f**k himself. See, I √ √ obscenity because it contains the characteristic of
wanna do something that matters. I'm disgust to the sense and abhorrent to morality.
going back to school and becoming an That word functions to show Jason’s contempt
occupational therapist . toward his boss and to emphasize that he truly
wants to quit his job.
Elizabeth : An occupational therapist? Do I look
like I wanna marry a f**king
occupational therapist?

7. Jason : The second I finish, I'm going to my Elizabeth is so disappointed by the fact that Jason
boss's office and I'm telling that is actually an occupational therapist who does not
motherf**ker to go f**k himself. See, I have a bunch of money. She utters the word
√ √
wanna do something that matters. I'm f**king to show her disrespect to Jason due to his
going back to school and becoming an being an occupational therapist.
occupational therapist .

Elizabeth : An occupational therapist? Do I look

like I wanna marry a f**king
occupational therapist?

8. Russell : So, I heard about the whole engagement Elizabeth has a conversation with Russel his co-
thing. That blows. worker who works as a gym teacher during her
break. Russel says that he feels sorry for
√ √
Elizabeth : Did you know I walked in on him trying Elizabeth since her engagement has ended.
to f**k his dog? Peanut butter Elizabeth utters the taboo word f**k to show her
everywhere. contempt toward his ex-boyfriend and most
importantly to make sure that she will not look
Russell : That's gross. miserable in front of Russell.

75
 TYPES OF TABOO FUNCTION OF

WORDS TABOO WORDS

No. DIALOGUES EXPLANATION

TMA
TDA

TSC

TBP
VU
OB
PR
EP
9. Elizabeth : You owe me for breaking off the Elizabeth plans to undergo the surgery to enlarge
engagement. You know how humiliating her breasts. However, she cannot afford to pay the
that was? Okay. Lover, lover, look, It’s surgery because she needs $9,300 to finish the
√ √
only $10,000. It would mean the world procedure. She tries to call her ex-boyfriend by
to me. Lover? Are you there? F**king phone because she thinks that her ex-boyfriend is
troll! responsible for the humiliation that he has made
after breaking their engagement. Although the
conversation happens on the phone, it seems that
Mark refuses to give her $10,000. Hearing
Elizabeth’s wishes, Mark ends the phone and that
makes Elizabeth utter the taboo word f**king.
The taboo words are uttered because Elizabeth
feels angry and she seems to try to provoke
Mark’s anger by saying f**king troll.

10. Wally : Next time you accuse one of my teachers Amy reports Elizabeth to the school principal,
of stealing, you better have some Wally because she accuses Elizabeth for stealing
evidence. Godd**n it! We are done here. √ the money from the car wash day activity run by
√
the seventh grade’s students. However, Wally
Amy : All righty. does not easily believe with Amy’s statement. He
feels angry and utters the word godd**n to
provoke Amy’s anger.

76
 TYPES OF TABOO FUNCTION OF

WORDS TABOO WORDS

No. DIALOGUES EXPLANATION

TMA
TDA

TSC

TBP
VU
OB
PR
EP
11. Elizabeth : Listen, word to the wise, stop Elizabeth’s student comes to Elizabeth who is
dressing like you're running for flying high because she smokes marijuana in her
Congress. car. The student comes closer because she wants
to give a box of cookies for Elizabeth. During
Elizabeth's student : I don't wanna run for Congress. their conversation, Elizabeth comments on the
I wanna be president. student’s attire who looks like a congress woman.
Instead of responding Elizabeth’s comment, the
Elizabeth : See, that's what I'm talking √ √ student says the she wants to be president.
about. Keep saying s**t like Elizabeth then utters the word s**t which
that and you're gonna get indicates that she does not like something related
punched. to the government. Therefore, the word s**t
utters to mock authority which in Elizabeth’s
mind seems unimportant.
12. Scott : She's been amazing helping me deal with Scott asks Elizabeth about Amy because he is
my break-up. falling in love with her, his co-worker in the
school. Elizabeth who wishes to have a
Elizabeth : Yeah, I don't know her that well. I know relationship with Scott feels disappointed hearing
all the other teachers really hate her the news. Elizabeth gives a negative comment
√ √
f**king guts. about Amy because she feels jealous with her.
She utters the taboo word f**king to show his
disrespect towards Amy.

13. Elizabeth : It's nothing personal, but I don't think Elizabeth gives more negative comments about
that you're Amy's type. Amy so that Scott will not try to date her.
Elizabeth says that Amy is a lesbian to make
Scott : Really? Yeah. We seem so, I don't Scott go away from her. She utters the taboo word
know, simpatico. c**k to emphasize that Amy does not put her
interest on man. The word also means that
Elizabeth : How do I put this politely? She's a Elizabeth show his contempt towards Amy’s
lesbian. She hates c**k. √ √ sexual orientation.

77
 TYPES OF TABOO FUNCTION OF

WORDS TABOO WORDS

No. DIALOGUES EXPLANATION

TMA
TDA

TSC

TBP
VU
OB
PR
EP
14. Elizabeth : Lynn. Get you’re a*s over to those √ √ Elizabeth and her co-worker, Lynn having a
cowboys. serious conversation during the night party. Lyn
seems so shy to approach any man. Therefore,
Lynn : Well, I'm glad I wore my fun Elizabeth tries to encourage her and asked her to
underwear. Okay. come closer with two men in front of them.
Elizabeth uttering the word a*s to Lynn because
she wants Lynn to pay serious attention to her
words.

15. Russel : Just so you know, that s**t does not faze √ √ Russel has a crush on Elizabeth and he tries his
me at all. I'm like the f**king best to show Elizabeth that he is serious with her.
terminator, dude. I'm just gonna keep However, Elizabeth does not put her interest on
coming after you. Just so we're clear. Russel so that she keeps ignoring him. Russels
says that it will not faze Russel from chasing her
Elizabeth : Good luck with that. so that he utters the word s**t to emphasize that
he will never give up. The word can automatically
draw Elizabeth’s attention so that she will not
take Russell’s will for granted.
16. Russel : Just so you know, that s*it does not faze Just like the previous explanation, Russel will not
me at all. I'm like the f**king give up to chase Elizabeth’s love. He utters the
terminator, dude. I'm just gonna keep √ word f**king to show contempt to himself since
√
coming after you. Just so we're clear. he will be a stupid terminator who will never tired
to approach Elizabeth.
Elizabeth : Good luck with that.

78
 TYPES OF TABOO FUNCTION OF

WORDS TABOO WORDS

No. DIALOGUES EXPLANATION

TMA
TDA

TSC

TBP
VU
OB
PR
EP
17. Elizabeth : Oh, s**t. Check it out. √ √ Elizabeth finally sees that Lynn can get a long
well with the guy in front of them before. Then,
Elizabeth utters the word s**t to draw Russel
attention so that he can see what has happened
between Lynn and the guy.

18. Elizabeth : F**k! What, is it me? No, I... I mean, is √ √ Elizabeth feels angry because Scott writes a song
there something wrong with me? dedicated to Amy. Therefore, Elizabeth feels
jealous then she utters the word F**k to show her
Lynn : I don't think so. I mean, sometimes, you anger and disrespect toward herself because she
talk to people in a... cannot be the one who can inspire Scott in writing
the song.

19. Elizabeth : Yeah. Godd**n it, Lynn. You never √ √ Elizabeth who is in the car and still angry with
tell me anything. Amy, have a short conversation with Lynn about
state test’s bonus. Lynn tells Elizabeth that the
Lynn : Yeah. teacher who has the highest-scoring class will get
a bonus. Hearing the news, Elizabeth is so shock
and he utters the word godd**n to Lyn since he
feels angry to Lynn because she never tell her
before. The word also functions to provoke
Lynn’s anger but fortunately Lynn does not
response Elizabeth’s harsh word.

20. Gym visitor : Yo, B**ch t*ts. I'm not gonna ask √ √ The gym visitor has a conversation with Kirk,
you again, dude. I need those Elizabeth’s neighbor who works as a cashier in a
coupons mailed today. fitness center. The gym visitor utters the word
B**ch t*ts to draw Kirk’s attention because the
Kirk : Consider it already done. gym visitor really needs the coupons so that he
will get a cheaper price.

79
 TYPES OF TABOO FUNCTION OF

WORDS TABOO WORDS

No. DIALOGUES EXPLANATION

TMA
TDA

TSC

TBP
VU
OB
PR
EP
21. Gym owner : Hey, B**ch t*ts, you send out those √ √ The gym owner asks Kirk whether he has already
coupons? sent out the coupon or not. She utters the taboo
word B**ch t*ts to draw Kirk’s attention so that
Kirk : I was not told about any coupons. he will pay attention on her word.
22. Amy : You're not seeing anyone now, right? Amy feels that Elizabeth has a crush on Scott who
is now become her boyfriend. Elizabeth answers
Elizabeth : Got my eye on someone, Amy’s question with sarcastic tone and then she
√ √
but he's dating a major c**t. utters the taboo word major c**t to show her
disrespect toward Amy.

23 Elizabeth : Garrett. Get you’re a*s back here. √ √ Elizabeth tries to run after Garret who is
disappointed with himself after making love
confession to Chase. While trying to catch Garret,
Elizabeth utters the taboo word a*s to draw
Garret’s attention so that he will stop and listen to
her words.

24. Garret : Ian Mendelbaum, the rapper? He's an Elizabeth tells her student that Chase will never
idiot. love him as she loves Ian Mendelbaum. Garret
feels that Ian is not the perfect match for Chase.
√ √
Elizabeth : Yeah, he's a f**king moron. But she Then Elizabeth agrees with Garret’s statement by
doesn't care. uttering f**king moron to show her contempt to
Ian.

25. Elizabeth : She's superficial and her priorities are Elizabeth tries to console Garret by saying that
all f**ked up. She likes him because Chase is superficial and all about her priorities are
he's hot and popular, dude. You are √ f**ked up. The word f**ked is uttered by
√
sensitive. Elizabeth to show her disrespect toward Chase
who only loves someone because he is hot and
Garret : Yes, thank you. popular.

80
 TYPES OF TABOO FUNCTION OF

WORDS TABOO WORDS

No. DIALOGUES EXPLANATION

TMA
TDA

TSC

TBP
VU
OB
PR
EP
26. Carl : Please don't touch my mirror. Please, sir. √ √ Carl tells Kirk not to touch his car’s mirror
What the f**k? Who does that? because it seems that Kirk ready to break it. Then,
Carl utters the word f**ck to show his anger and
Kirk : I'm a friend of Marjorie's. Yeah. most importantly it is directed to Kirk to provoke
his anger.

27. Carl : A friend of Marjorie's? Well, then f**k √ √ Carl is so angry after knowing that Kirk is
you, man. Marjorie’s friend. In the previous story, Elizabeth
pretends to be a journalist named Marjorie who
Kirk : Hey! No, s**t, f**k you. plays a trick on Carl since she wants to steal the
state test. The taboo words f**k and s**t in the
Carl : No, f**k you. You like that? dialogue is uttered by Carl and Kirk to provoke
each other’s anger.

28. Carl : A friend of Marjorie's? Well, then f**k Kirk uttering s**t and f**k to response Carl
you, man. provocative statement. In this dialogue, Kirk also
√ √ utters those taboo words to provoke Carl’s anger
Kirk : Hey! No, s**t, f**k you. again.

Carl : No, f**k you. You like that?

29. Carl : A friend of Marjorie's? Well, then f**k After hearing Kirk’s provocation, Carl provokes
you, man. Kirk-as anger back by uttering taboo words f**k.

Kirk : Hey! No, s**t, f**k you.

√ √
Carl : No, f**k you. You like that?

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 TYPES OF TABOO FUNCTION OF

WORDS TABOO WORDS

No. DIALOGUES EXPLANATION

TMA
TDA

TSC

TBP
VU

OB
PR
EP
30. Kirk : Stop kicking it! Stop! Kirk and Carl kicking each other’s vehicle after
Kirk confess that he is Marjorie’s friend. Carl
Carl : You stop f**king kicking it! F**k your utters the taboo word f**k while kicking Kirk’s
√ √
scooter, and f**k Marjorie.
scooter because he feels angry. The taboo word
is directed to Kirk to show Carl’s contempt
toward Kirk scooter and Marjorie.

31. Amy : Retest! Retest! Retest! Amy asks Don, the superintendant to have a re-
test since she believes that Elizabeth is cheating
Don : D**n it, Squirrel! on the state test. Don seems angry because Amy
√ √
cannot shut her mouth. Then Don utters taboo
word d**n to draw’s Amy attention so that she
can shut her mouth while he is speaking.

32. Amy: Wally, do you remember how I told you there are Amy implicitly tells Wally that actually she
teachers here who use and abuse drugs? knows Elizabeth uses and abuses drugs. Before
Wally talks to Amy, Don interrupt the
√ √
Don : Godd**n it. And I'm hearing about this now? conversation by uttering taboo word godd**n to
draw Amy’s and Wally’s attention.

3 5 5 19 10 14 7 1

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Appendix B. List of Taboo Words Used in the Research

List of Taboo Words Used in the Research

No. Taboo Words Taboo Words Written in Complete Spelling

1. A*s Ass
2. A*sh*ole Asshole
3. B*st*rd Bastard
4. B**ch Bitch
5. B**ch t*ts Bitch tits
6. C**k Cock
7. C**t Cunt
8. D**n Damn
9. D**k Dick
10. F*gg*t Faggot
11. F**t Fart
12. F**k F**k
13. Godd**n Goddamn
14. H**l Hell
15. J*s*s Chr*st Jesus Christ
16. M*dg*t Midget
17. Motherf**ker Motherfucker
18. N*gg*r Nigger
19. N*gg*s Niggas
20. P**sy Pussy
21. R*p* Rape
22. R*t*rd Retard
23. S**t Shit
24. T*t Tit

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