"Holy Moly!" Positive and Negative Connotations of Swear Words in A Popular Western Animated Movie
Keywords:
animated movies, bad language, positive and negative connotations, swear words, The Simpsons series
Abstract
The use of swear words is common and even popular in movies for adult viewers. However, misunderstanding and ignorance of the intended viewers can cause younger viewers to be exposed to movies with various profanities. The Simpsons, an animated movie, is a good example of this phenomenon. This animated movie is known to contain obscene language expressions which can be mistakenly assumed to be intended for younger viewers. This study sought to identify the kinds and purposes of expletives used in The Simpsons. The current study used Hughes’ framework to analyze the types of swear words, and Andersson and Trudgill's framework was used to analyze their functions. Data were gathered from seven episodes drawn from different seasons of the animated series. Of 102 swear words found in the dialogues of the episodes, seven types of swear words were identified, including anatomical insult, excrement, sexual intercourse, personal background, mental illness, animal term, and religious oath. Additionally, four swearing meanings and functions were discovered abusive, auxiliary, expletive, and humorous. Therefore, it is expected that general readers will express themselves more thoughtfully, be able to identify the target audience for movies, and make more informed decisions when choosing movies for younger audiences.
References
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McEnery, Tony. (2006). Swearing in English: Bad Language, Purity and Power From 1586 To The Present. Routledge
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldana, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). Sage Publication.
Muthalib, K. A., Fata, I. A., & Rohaza, V. (2020). “How Stars Stole All Night Awayâ€: A Stylistic Analysis of Personification in Movie Trolls’s Soundtracks. Konferensi Linguistik Tahunan Atma Jaya, 1(1), 50-55.
Muslem, A., Sahardin, R., Heriansyah, H., Fata, I. A., Djalaluddin, Y., & Hankinson, E. (2022). YouTube teaching materials with peer support to improve students' mastery of subject content learning. Studies in English Language and Education, 9(2), 651-666. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v9i2.25236
Pinker, S. (2007). The stuff of thought: Language as a window into human nature. Pinguin.
Popusoi, S. A., Havarneanu, G. M., & Havarneanu, C. E. (2018). “Get the f#∗k out of my way!†Exploring the cathartic effect of swear words in coping with driving anger, ELSEVIER, 56, 215-226. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2018.04.013
Prayuda, P. E., Suarnajaya, I. W., & Juniarta, P. A. (2020). The analysis of swear words used by the characters in Moonlight, International Journal of Language and Literature, 3(3), 138-146. DOI: https://doi.org/10.23887/ijll.v3i4.28414
Rizka, A. (2021). An analysis of language style in “The Ron Clark Story†movie. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). UIN Raden Intan Lampung, Lampung, Indonesia.
Sari, N. M. (2018). Swearwords used in the movie "Fast and Furious 6", Jurnal Humanis, 22(1), 152–155. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24843/JH.2018.v22.i01.p23
Sarmi, N. N., & Putra, P. D. (2017). Swear words used by John Bennett in Ted 2 movie script, Dinamika: Jurnal Sastra dan Budaya, 5(1), 1-11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25139/dinamika.v5i1.1606
Sarnika, C. (2018). Types and functions of swear words used in American sitcom How I Met Your Mother season one, Journal of Language and Literature, 6(2), 84–90. DOI: https://doi.org/10.35760/jll.2018.v6i2.2486
Sembiring, V. C., Rosyidin, I., & Yanti, C. H. (2019). Swearwords by Andersson's theory in the movie Whiplash, JELLT, 3(2), 28-42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36597/jellt.v3i2.5990
Sugiyono. (2019). Metode penelitian pendidikan (kuantitatif, kualitatif, kombinasi, r&d, dan penelitian pendidikan). Bandung: Alfabeta.
Wahyuni, S. (2020). Makian bagian tubuh dalam bahasa Melayu Jambi di Muara Bungo: Kajian sosiolinguistik, Madah: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra, 11(2), 131-140. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31503/madah.v11i2.199
Wardhaugh, R. (2010). An introduction to sociolinguistics (6th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.
Yule, G. (2010). The study of language (4th ed.). Blackwell Publishing.
Amrullah, L. (2016). English swear words by Indonesian learners. Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics, 1(1), 1-12. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21462/jeltl.v1i1.2
Ary, D., Sorensen, C., Jacobs, L. C., & Razavieh, A. (2010). Introduction to research in education (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Coulmas, F. (2013). Sociolinguistics: The study of speakers' choices (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139794732
Cresswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach. SAGE Publication.
Emzir. (2011). Metodologi penelitian kualitatif analisis data. Rajawali Pers.
Fata, I. A., Yusuf, Y. Q., Kamal, R., & Namaziandost, E. (2021). The characteristics of linguistic features enfolded in suicide notes. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 17(2), 720-735. DOI: https://doi.org/10.52462/jlls.50
Fata, I. A., Daud, B., & Maulya, N. (2016). How can she barn so firmly, so diligently? A sociolinguistics analysis of women’s language used on the main character of Jane Eyre. In Proceedings of the National Conference on Language and Culture (pp. 34-40).
Fredy, M., & Haristiani, N. (2020). The classification of swear words in the movie Perempuan Tanah Jahanam by Joko Anwar a sociolinguistic study. Procedia – Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 509, 436-442. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.201215.069
Georgieva, M. (2014). Introducing sociolinguistics. St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, Bulgaria.
Hamdany, M. A., & Damanhuri, A. (2017). Speech style used in the workplace in 500 Days of Summer movie, Language Horizon, 5(1), 30-38. Retrieved from https://ejournal.unesa.ac.id/index.php/language-horizon/article/view/18260
Hamzah, H., & Indra, I. (2018). An analysis of language style of teenagers found in Facebook status, E-Journal of English Language and Literature, 7(1), 98–105. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24036/ell.v7i1.9903
Hanggraito, A. A. (2021). Jancuk: Public Perception on the use of swear words in Communication among Arek Cultural Community in East Java. Medkom: Jurnal Media dan Komunikasi, 2(1), 1-14.
Holmes, J. (2013). An introduction to sociolinguistics (4th ed.). New York: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315833057
Hughes, G. (2006). An encyclopedia of swearing: The social history of oaths, profanity, foul language, and ethnic slurs in the English-speaking world. Routledge.
Irawan, A. (2021). Constructing the character of Deadpool through swearing words exploitation: A sociolinguistic analysis of Deadpool 2 movie, Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, dan Studi Amerika, 27(2), 110–128. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20961/jbssa.v27i2.39947
Jamil, R. F., & Nasrum, N. (2018). Language style used in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, English and Literature Journal, 5(2), 190–200. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24252/elite.v5i2a8
Jumanto, J., & Sulistyorini, H. (2021, April). The pragmatics of swearing: How it contextually counts. In English Language and Literature International Conference (ELLiC) Proceedings (Vol. 3, pp. 324-333).
Kakisina, P. A., & Purwaningtyas, I. (2020). An analysis of swear words in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" film, OKARA: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra, 14(2), 224-238. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19105/ojbs.v14i2.3394
Kristiano, J. T., & Ardi, P. (2018). Swearwords in Bad Boys II: A semantic analysis, LLT Journal: A Journal on Language and Language Teaching, 21(2), 191–198. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24071/llt.v21i2.1586
Kusuma, N. W., Suarka, N., Dafirah, D., & Pudentia, P. (2015). Language style of didek text in the Islands of Selayar, South Sulawesi province, e-Journal of Linguistics, 9(2), 41-50. Retrieved from https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/eol/article/view/11989
Ljung, M. (2011). Swearing: A cross-cultural linguistics study. Houndmills: Palgrave MacMillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230292376
Lestari, S.P., Asridayani, Magria, V. (2019). A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Taboo and Swear Word in Deadpool: A Movie by Tim Miller. English Lliterature Program Faculty of Language Muara Bungo University, 4(1), 1-11.
Maulana, A. (2014). An analysis of bad language found in an animated comedy film, "The Simpsons Movie." (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Malang, Indonesia.
McEnery, Tony. (2006). Swearing in English: Bad Language, Purity and Power From 1586 To The Present. Routledge
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldana, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). Sage Publication.
Muthalib, K. A., Fata, I. A., & Rohaza, V. (2020). “How Stars Stole All Night Awayâ€: A Stylistic Analysis of Personification in Movie Trolls’s Soundtracks. Konferensi Linguistik Tahunan Atma Jaya, 1(1), 50-55.
Muslem, A., Sahardin, R., Heriansyah, H., Fata, I. A., Djalaluddin, Y., & Hankinson, E. (2022). YouTube teaching materials with peer support to improve students' mastery of subject content learning. Studies in English Language and Education, 9(2), 651-666. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v9i2.25236
Pinker, S. (2007). The stuff of thought: Language as a window into human nature. Pinguin.
Popusoi, S. A., Havarneanu, G. M., & Havarneanu, C. E. (2018). “Get the f#∗k out of my way!†Exploring the cathartic effect of swear words in coping with driving anger, ELSEVIER, 56, 215-226. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2018.04.013
Prayuda, P. E., Suarnajaya, I. W., & Juniarta, P. A. (2020). The analysis of swear words used by the characters in Moonlight, International Journal of Language and Literature, 3(3), 138-146. DOI: https://doi.org/10.23887/ijll.v3i4.28414
Rizka, A. (2021). An analysis of language style in “The Ron Clark Story†movie. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). UIN Raden Intan Lampung, Lampung, Indonesia.
Sari, N. M. (2018). Swearwords used in the movie "Fast and Furious 6", Jurnal Humanis, 22(1), 152–155. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24843/JH.2018.v22.i01.p23
Sarmi, N. N., & Putra, P. D. (2017). Swear words used by John Bennett in Ted 2 movie script, Dinamika: Jurnal Sastra dan Budaya, 5(1), 1-11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25139/dinamika.v5i1.1606
Sarnika, C. (2018). Types and functions of swear words used in American sitcom How I Met Your Mother season one, Journal of Language and Literature, 6(2), 84–90. DOI: https://doi.org/10.35760/jll.2018.v6i2.2486
Sembiring, V. C., Rosyidin, I., & Yanti, C. H. (2019). Swearwords by Andersson's theory in the movie Whiplash, JELLT, 3(2), 28-42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36597/jellt.v3i2.5990
Sugiyono. (2019). Metode penelitian pendidikan (kuantitatif, kualitatif, kombinasi, r&d, dan penelitian pendidikan). Bandung: Alfabeta.
Wahyuni, S. (2020). Makian bagian tubuh dalam bahasa Melayu Jambi di Muara Bungo: Kajian sosiolinguistik, Madah: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra, 11(2), 131-140. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31503/madah.v11i2.199
Wardhaugh, R. (2010). An introduction to sociolinguistics (6th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.
Yule, G. (2010). The study of language (4th ed.). Blackwell Publishing.
Published
2022-11-26
How to Cite
Muthalib, K., Fata, I., & Nuzula, Z. (2022). "Holy Moly!" Positive and Negative Connotations of Swear Words in A Popular Western Animated Movie. Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics, 7(2), 331-347. https://doi.org/10.21462/ijefl.v7i2.525
Section
Articles
