AMBIGUITY AND FLOUTING OF GRICEAN MAXIMS IN
SEXUAL HUMOR FOUND IN CBS’
2 BROKE GIRLS
:
EPISODES 1-2 OF SEASONS 1-5
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
NOVITA SARI
Student Number: 134214147
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
ii
AMBIGUITY AND FLOUTING OF GRICEAN MAXIMS IN
SEXUAL HUMOR FOUND IN CBS’
2 BROKE GIRLS
:
EPISODES 1-2 OF SEASONS 1-5
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
NOVITA SARI
Student Number: 134214147
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
vii
viii
ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my gratitude to Jesus Christ for His endless love. I
believe without His strength and blessing, I would not be able to finish my thesis.
My humblest gratitude goes to my thesis advisor Arina Isti’anah, S. Pd., M. Hum.,
for her precious time in improving my analysis and her guidance in encouraging
me to accomplish my thesis on time patiently. I also would like to thank my
co-advisor Scolastica Wedhowerti, S.Pd., M. Hum., for her patience and helpful
advices.
The accomplishment of this thesis would not be viable without the support
from my humble dad, Drs. Icu Manggolo and my amazing mom, Martha Leviana,
S.E., Ak., CA, BKP, whose support and love are beyond compare. Thank you for
always believing me. A bunch of gratitude goes to my sisters-by-love, Stefani
Veronika and Sesilia Gisela for giving me many memorable experiences and
understanding me more than I do. I would like also thank Sony Christanto for
being the best partner-in-crime and teaching me good lessons in life.
Last but not least, I thank everyone whose name cannot be mentioned one
by one. Thank you for helping and supporting me during the completion of this
thesis. Thank you for the memories we share together. May God always be with
you.
x PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH ...v
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ...vi
A.Background of the Study ...1
B. Problem Formulation ...5
C.Objectives of the Study ...5
D.Definition of Terms ...6
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...8
A.Review of Related Studies ...8
B. Review of Related Theories ...11
C.Theoretical Framework...21
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ...22
A.Object of the Study ...22
B. Approach of the Study ...23
C.Method of Study ...24
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS (RESULTS AND DISSCUSSION) ...29
A.Expressions Containing Ambiguities and Flouting of Gricean Maxims in Creating Sexual Humor in 2 Broke Gilrs: Episodes 1-2 of Seasons 1-5 ...29
1. Ambiguity ...30
2. Flouting of Gricean Maxims ...32
B. The Way Ambiguities and Flouting of Gricean Maxims Create Sexual Humor in 2 Broke Gilrs: Episodes 1-2 of Seasons 1-5 ...35
1. Ambiguity ...35
a. Lexical Ambiguity ...35
b. Referential Ambiguity ...43
2. Floutings of Gricean Maxims ...50
a. Flouting of Gricean Maxims of Quanity ...50
b. Flouting of Gricean Maxims of Quality ...55
xi
d. Flouting of Gricean Maxims of Manner ...59
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ...62
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...64
APPENDICES ...67
Appendix 1: Data for Lexical Ambiguity ...67
Appendix 2: Data for Referential Ambiguity ...72
Appendix 3: Data for Floutings of Maxim of Quantity ...74
Appendix 4: Data for Floutings of Maxim of Quality ...76
Appendix 5: Data for Floutings of Maxim of Relation ...77
xii
People react and enjoy humor. Not only can humor be found in everyday circumstances, but also in a sitcom. Humor has been an arresting topic to many researchers. According to Ross (1998: 63), the most enjoyed humor is related to taboo issues such as sex. Thus, this research focuses on sexual humor in CBS’ 2 Broke Girls: episodes 1-2 of seasons 1-2. Several strategies are used in order to provoke sexual humor. Ambiguous words are implied in order to create the sexual connotation to certain words. Moreover, flouting Gricean maxims can be one of strategies to provoke sexual humor.
There are two problems formulated in this study. The first problem lies on the ambiguous expressions and flouting of Gricean maxims found in the episodes of CBS’ 2 Broke Girls which imply sexual humor. The research data are categorized according to each type of classification. The second problem elaborates ambiguities and flouting of Gricean maxims in creating sexual humor to the episodes.
The data collection was done using a purposive sampling method which means the utterances not containing sexual humor would be discharged. For the analysis, this study used a semantic approach for analyzing the ambiguous expression. Moreover, a pragmatic approach is used for studying the floutings of Gricean maxims in the episodes.
The discussions are divided into two parts of strategies which are the use of ambiguity and flouting of Gricean maxims. First, twenty five expressions are found using ambiguity. For further examination, the expressions are classified based on three types of ambiguity, lexical, referential, and syntactical. Sixteen expressions are classified as lexical ambiguity, nine expressions classified as referential ambiguity, and no expression using syntactic ambiguity. Second, fourteen floutings of Gricean maxims are found to the episodes which are classified into four types of Gricean maxims. There are eight expressions which flout Gricean maxims of quantity, one expression flouting Gricean maxims of quality, two expressions flouting Gricean maxims of relation, and one expression flouting Gricean maxims of manner.
xiii
ABSTRAK
SARI, NOVITA. AMBIGUITY AND FLOUTING OF GRICEAN MAXIMS
IN SEXUAL HUMOR FOUND IN CBS’ 2 BROKE GIRLS: EPISODES 1-2
OF SEASONS 1-5. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra,
Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2017.
Orang merespons dan menikmati humor. Humor tidak hanya ditemukan dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, namun dalam komedi situasi (sitcom). Humor telah menjadi topik yang menarik bagi banyak peneliti. Menurut Ross (1998: 63), humor yang paling disenangi oleh sebagian besar kalangan adalah humor yang mengangkat isu tabu seperti seksualitas. Penelitian ini berfokus pada humor seksual dalam komedi situasi (sitcom) yang ditayangkan di CBS berjudul 2 Broke Girls, episode 1-2 dari season 1-2. Beberapa strategi digunakan sebagai pemicu humor seksual. Penggunaan kata taksa ganda yang mengimplikasikan konotasi seksual dan melakukan pelanggaran (flouting) prinsip kerjasama dapat menjadi salah satu strategi untuk menciptakan humor seksual.
Dalam penelitian ini terdapat dua rumusan masalah. Yang pertama berkaitan dengan kata taksa dan melakukan pelanggaran (flouting) prinsip kerjasama dalam episode 2 Broke Girls yang menyiratkan humor seksual. Hasil penelitian dikategorikan menurut tipe dari strategi yang digunakan. Yang kedua berkaitan dengan penjelasan kata-kata taksa dan pelanggaran (flouting) prinsip kerjasama yang menciptakan humor seksual.
Pengumpulan data tersebut menggunakan teknik purposive sampling
yang berarti bahwa tuturan yang tidak mengandung humor seksual tidak akan digunakan dalam studi ini. Studi ini menggunakan pendekatan semantik untuk menganalisis kata-kata bermakna ganda. Dalam studi ini juga digunakan pendekatan pragmatik untuk menganalisis pelanggaran (flouting) prinsip kerjasama.
Terdapat dua bagian diskusi sesuai dengan strategi yang digunakan. Yang pertama, terdapat 25 kata yang mengunakan kata taksa yang dikategorikan dalam tiga jenis, yaitu 16 kata taksa secara leksikal (lexical), 9 kata taksa secara referensial (referential) dan 0 kata taksa secara struktural (syntactical). Yang kedua, terdapat 14 pelanggaran (flouting) prinsip kerjasama yang diklasifikasikan menjadi empat jenis prinsip kerjasama, yaitu 8 tuturan yang melanggar (flouting)
prinsip kerjasama kuantitas (quantity), 1 tuturan yang melanggar (flouting) prinsip kerjasama kualitas (quality), 2 tuturan melanggar (flouting) prinsip kerjasama hubungan (relation), dan 1 tuturan melanggar (flouting) prinsip kerjasama cara (manner).
Berdasarkan hasil peneilitian disimpulkan bahwa episode 2 Broke Girls
menggunakan kata taksa dan pelanggaran (flouting) prinsip kerjasama sebagai strategi untuk menciptakan humor seksual. Penggunaan teori humor seperti ketidaksejajaran (incongruity), pertentangan (hostility), dan pembebasan (release)
1
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A.Background of the Study
People, as social human beings, talk to each other every day in every
occasion. Whether it is asking about time, talking about hobbies, or sharing
experiences, they communicate. They use language as their medium to
communicate and socialize with each other. By using language, they can exchange
information, knowledge, feeling, opinion, and many others. Language is an
essential property in human beings’ life since it is used to maintain interactions.
People do not always talk about their hobbies, experiences or business.
People sometimes also react to jokes and humor by laughing (Chiaro, 1996: 5).
According to Gruner, as cited by Schwarz (2010: 20), “Without laughter everyday
living becomes drab and lifeless; life would seem hardly human at all. Likewise, a
sense of humor is generally considered a person’s most admirable attribute.”
Referring to Schwarz’s opinion towards humor implies on how humor has special
place in human being’s life.
As cited by Raskin (1979: 326), Aristotle argues that humor as a symbol of
human fault, but not in a serious way. Moreover, one of many types of humor
which is considered more amusing among many others is sexual humor (Chiaro,
1996: 8). Chiaro’s argument is supported by Lesmana (2015: 50) by stating,
according to Grunner, as cited by Lesmana (2015: 50), what makes sexual humor
become the most interesting is because of the combination of sex and aggression.
This study examines one of language phenomenon in social
communication, which is sexual humor. Studies on sexual humor have attracted
many researchers for centuries. A humor can be called as sexual humor due to
several words in the humor whose meanings lead to sexual connotations or
meaning. For instance, the verb ‘arouse’ can be interpreted more than one
meaning. According to the eight edition of Oxford Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary (OALD), there are four different meanings of the word ‘arouse’ and
one of its meanings has sexual connotations.
According to OALD (2015: 66), the first meaning of the verb ‘arouse’ is
‘to make somebody have a particular feeling or attitude’. The second meaning is
‘to make somebody feel sexually excited’. The third meaning is ‘to make you feel
more active and want to start doing something’. The last meaning is ‘(formal) to
wake somebody from sleep’.
The study of words which has more than one meaning or known as
ambiguous words can be analyzed using semantics. Semantics is the study of
meaning of words, phrases, and sentences. It focuses on how grammatical process
contributes to the literal meaning. According to Cicero, as cited by Attardo (1994:
27), one of the linguistic aspects in creating humor is by using ambiguous
expressions.
Considering the importance of language, people have to know the meaning
exchange information properly. In order to conduct a communication activity,
four ingredients are required. They are users, messages, a code, and a signal
(Burton, Déchaine, and Vatikiotis-Bateson, 2000: 21). Basically, messages are
delivered by language users to each other by encoding messages into a signal. In
addition, to make communication work, language users have to cooperate with
each other. They have to transmit messages that are related to the context they are
engaged with in order to maintain a good cooperation. For example, there is no
misunderstanding which occurs during one’s conversation.
In conversation, there is an interaction between language users who are a
speaker(s) and a hearer(s). The study of how the meaning in the conversation
between the speaker and the hearer relates to the context they are in is called
pragmatics. Pragmatics discusses people’s intended meaning, their assumptions,
and their purposes (Yule, 1996: 4). In addition, to make communication work, the
speaker has to avoid ambiguous expression which can invoke to unintended
different meaning conveyed by the speaker.
The speaker and hearer should be able to cooperate with each other when
they are engaged in a conversation. Moreover, they are also required to give
adequate information to each other. Both speaker and hearer are expected to give
neither too much nor too little information. In order to be cooperative in a
conversation, a set of principles, named Cooperative Principle, to conduct best
contribution and effective use of language in conversation is proposed by Grice.
He also elaborates cooperative principle into four sub-principles, called maxims:
In everyday life, however, there occurs many occasions where people do not
adhere to Gricean Maxims. When both speakers and hearers blatantly do not
adhere to Gricean maxims, yet they have no intention to mislead, it is called
flouting Gricean maxims. For instance, sometimes both speakers and hearers
obviously give too much or too little information required in the conversation.
Moreover, they also use ambiguous expressions in conversation which lead to
misunderstanding.
Humor can be found not only in everyday circumstances, but also in
television situational comedy (sitcom). Television sitcom deals with a small cast
of characters creating humorous situations in order to entertain the audiences. It
involves a story about someone’s trouble. According to Chiaro (1996: 7), sitcom
portrays people’s misfortunes which evoke laughter. The more detailed analysis of
this study is sexual humor content in a sitcom. Nowadays, the content of the
sitcom may vary. There are family, friendships, and also sexuality, however
western society consider dirty jokes (sexual jokes) more amusing (Chiaro, 1996:
8).
This study is also conducted to examine the contribution of ambiguous
expressions and not adhere of Gricean maxims to a sexual humor in a sitcom. The
sitcom used as the data is entitled 2 Broke Girls. 2 Broke Girls was first aired in
2011 until present. It has won People’s Choice Awards as Favorite New TV
Comedy in 2012.
2 Broke Girls, aired in CBS, is an American sitcom which tells about Max
writer chooses this sitcom because most of the jokes uttered by the casts are
sexual humor and are created by using ambiguous expressions and not adhering to
Gricean maxims. Here, the writer tries to analyze the language strategies to create
sexual humor in the utterances of 2 Broke Girls’ casts.
B.Problem Formulation
In order to limit the subject of the discussion, there are two problems
formulated as follow:
1. What ambiguities and flouting of Gricean maxims are found in the
expressions containing sexual humor in the episodes?
2. How do those ambiguities and flouting of Gricean maxims create sexual
humor in the episodes?
C.Objectives of the Study
There are two objectives of this study. The first objective of this study is to
identify the utterances containing ambiguities and flouting of Gricean maxims
which are applied in the expressions containing sexual humor in 2 Broke Girls
Episodes 1-2 of Seasons 1-5. The second objective of this study is to explain how
those strategies are able to create the sexual humor in 2 Broke Girls Episodes 1-2
of Seasons 1-5. The more detailed examination to the second objective is by using
D.Definition of Terms
In order to avoid misunderstanding, it is necessary to explain several key
terms used in this study. There are three significant terms that will be defined:
sexual humor, ambiguity, and flouting of Gricean maxims. Sexual humor can be
defined as humor which contains issues about sex. As cited by Lesmana (2015:
50), humor about sex is the most popular. The topic of sex is considered as taboo
for some people, thus humor implicitly uses sex in order to be a tool to educate
and smooth the nerves (Lesmana, 2015: 50). One of which stimulates the sexual
humor is ambiguous expressions by using one particular word that has sexual
connotations such word ‘banana’ and ‘cucumber’ (Ross, 1998: 65).
Ambiguity is one word which has more than one interpretation. It is
classified into three kinds of ambiguity which are lexical, referential, and syntactic
ambiguity. Lexical ambiguity occurs when one word carries more than one
meaning. The use of homonyms word often lead to lexical ambiguity. The word
such as the noun ‘bear’ which means ‘kind of animal’, and the verb ‘bear’ which
means ‘accept’ both are pronounced as /beər/. In order to understand the real
meaning, looking at the context is necessary. Referential ambiguity carries more
than one referring meaning. Meanwhile, syntactic ambiguity occurs when one
sentence gives more than one meaning.
Flouting of Gricean maxims occurs when a speaker blatantly fails to observe
Gricean maxims without any intention to mislead the hearer. There are four
maxims purposed by Grice which are maxims of quality, quantity, relation, and
she/he flouts Gricean maxim of quality. Gricean maxim of quantity occurs when a
speaker answers either too much or too many information that is required. A
speaker flouts Gricean maxim of relation when the response expected by a hearer
is not related to the topic they are engaged to. Lastly, when a speaker responds
8
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A.Review of Related Studies
The review of related studies is taken from three previous studies
conducting the same topic. The first study is “The Violations of Conversational
Maxims of Cooperative Principle in Creating the Humorous Situation in the Thin
Blue Line Season 1 Episode 3: Honey Trap” which was conducted by Winata
(2012). In this study, Winata examines kinds of conversational maxim violations
in the conversation and how the violations of conversational maxims in sitcom
create humorous situation. The sitcom which is chosen for the data source from
which the data are taken is Thin Blue Line. The writer chooses this sitcom as the
object of the study because there is a relation between violations of conversational
maxim to humorous situation.
Based on Winata’s analysis, thirty four violations of conversational
maxims are found in the conversations that create humorous situation. Moreover,
the writer argues that to create humorous situation through violating
conversational maxims is by making the incongruent meaning or idea between
audiences’ expectation and what actually happens in the conversation, by showing
the feeling of hostility from some persons, and by making one person feels
liberated to talk about taboo thing.
Related to Winata’s study, this present study’s aim is also to examine the
applies conversational maxim theory suggested by Grice which is the same theory
as used by Winata. In addition, the similarity of this present study to Winata’s
study lies on the data taken from utterances in a sitcom.
On the other hand, there are also some differences between two studies.
The first difference lies on the data source from which the data are taken. The data
used by Winata are taken from a sitcom entitled Thin Blue Line Season 1 Episode
3: Honey Trap. Meanwhile, the data of the present study are taken from the
conversations in a sitcom called 2 Broke Girls. The second difference is the aim of
Winata’s study lies on how violations of conversational maxims create the
humorous situation. On the other hand, the present study’s aim is to examine the
strategies used in creating sexual humor to the sitcom. The strategies used are
analyzed using semantic and pragmatic approaches. Thus, this study’s aim is for a
specific outcome.
The second study is “Investigating Lexical and Structural Ambiguity in the
Reader’s Forum Section of The Jakarta Post Newspaper” which was conducted
by Utami (2013). In this study, Utami examines ambiguity in mass media in the
Reader’s Forum section of The Jakarta Post newspaper. In this study, the writer
uses qualitative study and she examines words, phrases, and sentences of the data.
She finds fifty four ambiguities which consist of forty seven ambiguous words
and seven ambiguous phrases. In this study, the writer also classifies the
ambiguous lexical items to their part of speech.
According to Utami’s study, the mostly ambiguous lexical item used based
by homonymy and polysemy. Utami’s undergraduate thesis can be related to this
recent study because this recent study also examines the ambiguous expressions.
Utami’s study contributes to the recent study on identifying lexical and structural
ambiguity to the data. However, between these two studies, the difference lies on
the data. The recent study uses the ambiguous expressions as the data which are
taken from conversations in an American television situational comedy entitled 2
Broke Girls.
The third study is “Humorous Situations Created by Violations and
Floutings of Conversational Maxims in a Situation Comedy Entitled How I Met
Your Mother” which was conducted by Amiana (2016). In this study, the writer
analyzes humorous situation which happens from violating and flouting
conversational maxims. The data taken for this study are the conversations which
occur in situation comedy entitled How I Met Your Mother Season 2 Episode 1 to
5. The writer identifies the types of violations and floutings of conversational
maxims which occur in the conversations between the characters in the sitcom. In
addition, the writer also examines how the humorous situation is created from
flouting conversational maxim.
In this study, Amiana uses pragmatic approach in order to analyze the
violations and floutings of conversational maxims in the sitcom. Moreover, humor
theory is used in examining the humorous situation which is created from
violating and flouting the conversational maxims. According to Amiana’s study,
writer finds that there are three different ways of how the humorous situations
which occur.
Amiana’s undergraduate thesis can be related to the recent study because
the two analyze floutings of the conversational maxims in creating humorous
situation in a sitcom. However, there are the differences found between two
studies. The first difference lies on the data taken for the data source. In Amiana’s
study a sitcom entitled How I Met Your Mother is used as the data source. On the
other hand, the conversations in 2 Broke Girls are taken as the data source.
Moreover, the second difference is the recent study examines not only the
violations of the conversational maxim but also ambiguous expressions occur in
the data source. Thus, this study’s objective is more extensive than Amiana’s
study, for it analyzes not only floutings of Gricean maxims, but also the
ambiguous expressions found to the data.
B.Review of Related Theories 1. Semantics
Semantics is the study of morphemes, words, phrases, and sentence meaning
(Fromkin, 2000: 2006). One of the subfields in semantics is called lexical
semantics in which it covers the meaning of words and the relationship of each
word. According to Curse (1997: 1), lexical semantics is “fully reflected in
appropriate aspects of the relations its contracts with actual and potential context.”
In other words, in order to understand the meaning of a word, looking at the
a. Ambiguity
Ambiguity is classified into three kinds, which are lexical ambiguity,
referential ambiguity, and syntactical ambiguity. Lexical ambiguity occurs when
two homonym words occurs in one sentence (Kreidler, 1998: 55). Homonyms are
words which are different but pronounced or spelt the same. According to
Victoria, Blair, and Collins (2000), words which are homonymous can create
ambiguity. Here is the example of homonymous words leading to ambiguity,
Example:
‘How is bread made?’
‘I know that!’ Alice cried eagerly. ‘You take some flour—‘
‘Where do you pick the flower?’ the White Queen asked. ‘In a garden, or in
the hedges?’
‘Well, it isn’t picked at all,’ Alice explained; ‘it is ground—‘ ‘How many acres of ground?’ said the White Queen.
(Victoria et al, 2000: 156)
In the example above, there is a conversation occurs between Alice and the
White Queen. The White Queen asks Alice about how the bread is made. Alice
answers by taking some ‘flour’ /flaʊɚ/ which is understood by the White Queen
as ‘flower’ /ˈflaʊ.ɚ/. The words ‘flour’ and ‘flower’ are homonyms because they
have same pronunciation. These words create lexical ambiguity because it can be
understood in more than one meaning.
Referential ambiguity occurs when “a speaker has one referent in mind for a
definite expression” (Kreidler, 1998: 151). For instance is the sentence ‘Mary told
June that someone visited her’ which the pronoun ‘her’ is ambiguous whether it
refers to Mary or June since both of them use the pronoun ‘her’. Likewise,
meaning (Kreidler, 1998: 169). According to Kreidler (1998: 169), syntactic
ambiguity occurs when a sentence contains the coordinators ‘and’ and ‘or’ such as
John and Mary or Pat will go. In this sentence, the meaning can be [John and
Mary] as one team or Pat will go. In addition, this sentence can also be interpreted
as John and [Mary or Pat] will go.
2. Pragmatics
Pragmatics is the study of meaning in a speaker and a hearer communication
(Yule, 1996: 3). It focuses on how to make conversation work and how to use
language in order to relate to the surrounding context. Pragmatics is
context-dependent which means that to understand utterances, it cannot be understood
separately from the utterances’ the context.
According to Yule (1996:3), there are four meanings of pragmatics. First,
pragmatics is the study of meaning. This means that pragmatics is more than just
analyzing what people’s intended meaning is. Pragmatics also examines what the
words or phrases in those utterances might convey. Second, pragmatics is the
study of contextual meaning. This means that pragmatics includes the
interpretation of what people mean in a particular context and how the context
affects to what is said. Three, pragmatics is the study of how what is
communicated is more than is said. This means that pragmatics explores how
hearer can interpret the utterances in order to get the speaker’s intended meaning.
Four, pragmatics is the study of the expression of relative distance. This means
that pragmatics concerns with implicature or what is beyond between what is said
From the definition mentioned by the linguists above, it can be concluded
that pragmatics is the study of utterances meaning in a particular context. Thus, by
understanding the study of pragmatics, “one can talk about people’s intended
meanings, their assumptions, their purposes, and the kinds of actions they perform
when they speak” (Yule, 1996: 4).
3. Context
According to Yule (1996: 3), pragmatics is the study of contextual meaning.
In order to understand what is being said by the speaker, observing the context the
conversation occurs is essential. Basically, there are three kinds of context to be
observed. The first is situational context which is “the immediate physical
co-presence, the situation where the interaction is taking place at the moment of
speaking.” (Cutting, 2002: 4). Here is the example of situational context,
Example:
A male lecturer from London is explaining a mathematical problem to a male pupil from London, named Berkam:
Lecturer : Forty-nine? Why do you say forty-nine? Pupil : Cos there’s another one here.
Lecturer : Right, we’ve got forty-nine there, haven’t we? But here there’s two, okay?
(Cutting, 2002: 4)
In the conversation above, it is clearly that the situational context is the
classroom. The words ‘there’ and ‘here’ are understood by them because they are
able to see the situation during the conversation.
The background knowledge context is divided into two types. The first one
is cultural general knowledge where is already carried by most people about areas
of life (Cutting, 2002: 5). The community of people who share same knowledge
The other type of background knowledge context is interpersonal knowledge.
Interpersonal knowledge is mostly specific and refers about the speakers
themselves (Cutting, 2002: 5). For instance there are a woman and a man who
have been a colleague for 9 years. The man knows that the woman has married
and has a son. This interpersonal knowledge that the man knows about the woman
is required for their interactions toward each other.
4. Implicature
Implicature is a term used to define the meaning of beyond what is being
said, or when a hearer understands what is said to be what is meant (Thomas,
2013: 56). In the other words, implicature or conversational implicature is an
additional unstated meaning uttered by a speaker that has to be assumed by a
hearer. According to Yule (1996: 40-43), conversational implicature is classified
into two types which are generalized conversational implicatures and
particularized conversational implicature. The first type occurs when there is no
special knowledge needed in the context to understand the conveyed meaning. For
instance when A says “I see a beautiful dress”, the implicature is that the dress is
not A’s which if the dress is A’s, A would have be more specific by saying my
dress. The second type occurs when very specific context is required in order to
understand the conveyed meaning.
Example:
Leila : Whoa! Has your boss gone crazy? Mary : Let’s go get some coffee.
In the example above, Mary’s response seem to flout the maxim of
relevance. Mary cannot answer the question in that context presumably because
the boss may be nearby. Therefore, Leila has to infer the implicature uttered by
Marry who makes non-relevant response.
5. Flouting of Gricean Maxims
Flouting of Gricean maxims occurs when the speaker blatantly fails to
observe the Gricean Maxim and does not have any intention to mislead the hearers
(Thomas, 1995: 65). They try to prompt implicature from their utterances.
Flouting of Gricean maxims are classified into four categories, which are as
follows:
a. Flouting Gricean Maxim of Quantity
In flouting Gricean maxim of quantity, a speaker blatantly says more of less
information than the situation required. Here is the example when a speaker flouts
Gricean maxim of quantity,
Example:
Petruchio has come to ask Baptisa for his daughter’s hand in marriage.
Pet : And you, good sir! Pray, have you not a daughter Call’d Katherina, fair and virtuous?
Bap : I have a daughter, sir, call’d Katherina.
(Thomas, 1995: 69)
In the conversation above, Baptisa’s answer by confirming that Katherina is
his daughter without mentioning fair and virtuous implies that he does not
concede her daughter’s qualities mentioned by Petruchio. Here, Baptisa flouts
b. Flouting Gricean Maxim of Quality
When a speaker blatantly fails to adhere to Gricean maxim of quality, he/she
says something which is lack of adequate evidence. Here is the example when a
speaker flouts Gricean maxim of quality,
Example:
A is on train journey to her hometown. B is a fellow passenger who wants to talk to her:
B: Hi. What’s your name?
A: Michelle Obama.
In several circumstances, some people might give unwelcome attitude, for
example by giving obviously untrue response. In the situation above, A flouts
Gricean maxim of quality because she responses untrue answer showing her
annoyance.
c. Flouting Gricean Maxim of Relation
When the speaker ostentatiously fails to observe Gricean maxims of
relation, she/he expects “the hearers will be able to imagine what the utterances
did not say, and make the connection between their utterance and the preceding
one(s)” (Cutting, 2002: 39). Here is the example of the speaker, who flouts the
Gricean maxims of relation,
Example:
A : So what do you think of Mark?
B : His flatmate’s a wonderful cook.
(Cutting, 2002: 39)
In the conversation above, B’s answer does not have any relevance towards
A’s question by not mentioning Mark in the reply. Here, B blatantly fails to
d. Flouting Gricean Maxim of Manner
In flouting Gricean maxim of manner, a speaker does not give brief answer
as expected by a hearer. He/she also responses with ambiguous expressions and
has inability to speak clearly. Here is the example when a speaker flouts Gricean
maxim of manner,
Example:
This interaction occurred during a radio interview with an unnamed official from the United States Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti:
Interviewer : Did the United States Government play any part in
Duvalier’s departure? Did they, for example, actively
encourage him to leave?
Official : I would not try to steer you away from that conclusion. (Thomas, 1995: 71)
In the conversation above, the official flouts Gricean maxims of manner
because he/she does not answer briefly. The official could simply answer ‘Yes’,
however, his/her answer is obviously planned.
6. Humor
Many researchers have developed certain theory of humor for centuries. As
cited by Raskin (1979: 326), Aristotle argues that humor as a symbol of human
fault but not in a serious way. According to Attardo (1994: 271), “A large number
of jokes involve violations of one or more of Grice’s maxims.” In order word,
humor is created because the speakers do not adhere to Gricean maxims and fail
to observe cooperative principles.
The concept of what people find funny appear different to each person.
According to Mihalcea and Pulman (2007: 6), semantically, there are five
vocabulary which is used to make reference to human-related scenario by using
the word ‘you’, ‘I’, or ‘we’. The use of these words is because of the frustration
coming from one’s behavior that provokes laughter. Second, humor often uses
negative words form such as ‘do not’, ‘cannot’, or ‘may not’. Third, in relation to
use negative words from, humor also contains adjective with negative meaning,
such as, ‘bad’, ‘illegal’, or ‘wrong’, and noun whose meaning has bad connotation
such as, ‘error’, ‘mistake’, or ‘failure’. Four, humor tends to make a reference to
certain professional communities or people such as lawyer or policeman. Last,
humor often associates with “weak” human moments, including nouns such as
‘ignorance’, or ‘stupidity’, and also verbs such as ‘quit’ or ‘steal’.
Theory of humor is classified into three different types. The first theory is
incongruity theory which focuses on the element of surprise (Ross, 1998: 7).
Thus, in jokes there are sometimes followed by words that are not expected or
also called as punch-line. In other word, punchline is occurred when what is
expected is different with what actually occurs in the jokes. The most obvious
language features found in such humor are ambiguity and not adhere to
conversational maxims. The second theory is hostility or superiority theory which
laughter arises from the result of being influenced by superiority (Attardo, 1994:
49). In other word, humor is used as a form of mockery. For instance, some
people laugh when they see someone slips on a banana skin. The last theory is
release theory which used as a release form of someone’s tensions (Attardo, 1994,
According to Chiaro (1992: 8), in Western societies, sex is their universal
jokes. Sexual humor is considered amusing especially if the jokes are about
newly-weds or sexual initiation. However, sexual jokes may vary from culture to
culture. In many cultures, common sexual jokes involve male prowess and penis
size, and also seduction, adultery, cuckolded husband, and bodily functions
(Chiaro, 1992: 8-9).
As cited by Lesmana (2015: 50), sexual humor in America is categorized
into four categories. First is pure humor focusing on something astonishing.
Second is the use of innuendo in order to deliver taboo issues. Third is hostile
humor. Fourth is humor which contains intercourse in accordance with their
respective cultures.
Here is the example when the use of ambiguity has influenced in creating
sexual humor by implying both incongruity theory and release theory.
Example:
An English bishop received the following note from the vicar of a village in his diocese: “Milord, I regret to inform you of my wife’s death. Can you possibly send me a substitute for the weekend?”
(Krikmann, 2006: 34)
In the example above, a priest gets a note from the vicar of a village in his
diocese, saying that the vicar’s wife has passed away and he asked whether
someone can take his place for the weekend. However, looking at the context, one
can interpret this example as sexual jokes. The word ‘substitute’ itself brings
ambiguous expression to the example. Based on the context, the word ‘substitute’
is interpreted as someone to change the position of his wife who has passed away.
vicar’s place in the church. Here, the punchline in the sentence ‘Can you possibly
send me a substitute for the weekend?’ which is unexpected. Thus, using
ambiguity and flouting of Gricean maxims can trigger sexual humor.
C.Theoretical Framework
There are four theories that will be used in this study. The theories will be
the guidance in answering the formulated problems stated above. First, the theory
of semantics is used in order to examine the sexual expressions in the utterances
of 2 Broke Girls’ casts which are ambiguous. The theory of semantics helps to
categorize types of ambiguities occuring in the utterances. Moreover, in order to
understand the meaning of the ambiguous expressions, it cannot be done in
isolation. Looking at the situational context or what actually occurs in the scene is
used in order to understand the underlying meaning of the utterances and not
‘trap’ to the ambiguous words.
The third theory used in analyzing the data is the theory of pragmatics
which is essential to study the failure of observing Gricean maxims, the theory of
pragmatics focusing on flouting of Gricean maxims is also required. This theory
will be beneficial to classify which Gricean maxims flouted by the speaker. Thus,
the theory of pragmatics is imperative to this study. Furthermore, using
implicature in pragmatics helps to understand what a speaker wants to say that he
or she flouts Gricean maxims to certain context. The theory of context is also used
in order to understand what happens in the situation the utterances occur. The last
22
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A.Object of the Study
The objects of this study are the utterances taken from the casts of 2 Broke
Girls: Episodes 1-2 in Season 1-5. The conversations taken as the data are only
expressions conveying sexual connotation. Forty four utterances are found from
the total of ten episodes used as the data object. The writer chooses episodes 1-2
in seasons 1-5 in order to verify that utterances containing sexual connotation in 2
Broke Girls are used in order to provoke laughter. Likewise, the writer studies the
strategies in creating the sexual humor in the conversations.
2 Broke Girls is an American television situational comedy series by
Michael Patrick King and Whitney Cummings aired on CBS. The story of 2 Broke
Girls takes place in Williamsburg neighborhood, Brooklyn. It is a story about
Max, a poor and sarcastic woman, and Caroline, who was born rich but is now
penniless because of her father’s Wall Street scandal. The story began when
Caroline was looking for a job and met Max, a waitress in a small diner at
Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Max feels sorry for Caroline’s life that is now breaks
into pieces; she lets Caroline live at her apartment. During the time, both Max and
Caroline become best friends bearing the same dream on making their own
business. They are struggling in making their dream business come to success by
owning Max’s homemade cupcakes. 2 Broke Girls first aired was in September
The aim of this study is to examine the expressions which convey sexual
connotation in order to provoke laughter. In order to answer the first problem
formulation stated above, the use of strategies in making sexual humor in 2 Broke
Girls is examined further using semantic and pragmatic analyses. The theory of
semantics is applied to examine the data which is the use of ambiguous
expressions in making the sexual humor in the conversation. Moreover, the theory
of pragmatics will be used in analyzing the ambiguous expression occurs in
conversation by also observing the context they are engaged with. Further
examination will be conducted by using Gricean maxims to classify the
non-observance utterances said by the speakers in the episodes.
B.Approach of the Study
The focus of this study is to analyze the ambiguous expressions occur in the
utterances in 2 Broke Girls: Episodes 1-2 of Seasons 1-5. The first approach
applied in this study is semantics. Semantics is the study of the meaning
morphemes, words, phrases, and sentences. Theory of semantics is used in order
to see the lexical meaning of the ambiguous expressions which convey sexual
humor. Eventually, understanding the ambiguous expression cannot be done in
isolation. Therefore, in order to understand the intended meaning of the
ambiguous expressions, looking at the context the utterances occur is beneficial.
The second approach is theory of pragmatics which is used in order to only
analyze the utterances of the characters in 2 Broke Girls leading to sexual humor.
focusing on the Gricean maxims, in order to study and classify which utterances
have flouted the Gricean maxims as the tool to make sexual humor in 2 Broke
Girls.
C.Method of the Study
The study is conducted under two necessary procedures which are data
collection and data analysis. Data collection is the steps of how the data are
collected for this study. Data analysis is the final step of this study to discover the
findings of this study.
1. Data Collection
A qualitative method was used in this study in order to answer two problem
formulations listed above. According to Kuntjara (2006: 2), “In conversation
analysis, the use of qualitative methods can uncover and understand why an
interlocutor utters a certain speech act, and what possible meanings lie behind it.”
One of the most used techniques in qualitative method is a purposive sampling. In
purposive sampling, the data taken are only the selected data which are suitable
for the purpose of the study. Hence, the qualitative method was executed in order
to only analyze the utterances of the characters which convey sexual humor.
There were several procedures in collecting the data. The first step was the
writer searched the script of the conversations of 2 Broke Girls in the internet
(www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk) in order to understand the conversation more
clearly. The second step is to collect the data which are episodes 2 of seasons
according to Litosseliti (2010: 96), “Sampling, balance, and representative are key
theoretical concepts in corpus concept.” It means that in order to verify that most
of the episodes in 2 Broke Girls portray sexual humor using several strategies,
which later were analyzed in this study, it was required to collect the data in
equally balanced.
The next step was the writer read the scripts while watching the sitcom in
order to understand the context the utterances engaged with. By looking at the
context, it helped in analyzing the meaning of ambiguous expressions said by the
casts.
The fourth step was the writer highlighted which conversations reflected
sexual humor and listed in by its seasons. This step helped the writer to specify
the study only to the utterances which conveyed sexual humor. The fifth step was
to classify the data findings into the strategies used in making the sexual humor.
Last but not least, after categorizing the strategies, the writer analyzed the data
using semantic and pragmatics approaches.
2. Data Analysis
In order to utilize the data into a further examination, this study applied
contextual meaning at every sentence containing sexual humor uttered by the
characters. Due to its contextual meaning, examining the data could not be done in
isolation. To understand the meaning of the word or sentence which conveyed
sexual humor was required not only from the dictionary meaning but also the
context the conversation taking place. The dictionary used to study the meaning of
(OALD) and urbandictionary.com. The main aim of examining the sentences
further by using contextual meaning was to understand the characters’ intended
meaning by saying ambiguous expressions.
Related to the second problem in this study, semantic and pragmatic
approaches were used in order to examine the strategies used to provoke sexual
humor in 2 Broke Girls. Semantic approach was used to study the ambiguous
expressions found in the data. Likewise, pragmatic approach purposed by Grice
was used to analyze the utterances which flouted the Gricean maxims in order to
cause sexual humor to the episodes. The analysis began with listed down the
expressions which conveyed sexual humor. The analysis continued with
classifying the expressions found based on the strategies they were used.
After classifying the data taken from the episodes, the last step was given a
code to the data. The encoding of the data in this study is elaborated below:
a. The code from the number of the data
The data was numbered 01 as the code. The numeral code was given
based on each strategy.
b. The code from the number of the season
The data was coded based on the season of the occurrence of the
utterances. The data was given S1 as the code which was read as Season
1.
c. The episode the utterances occurred
The utterances which were used as the data were given E1 as the code
d. The types of strategies used in the utterances
The data were classified based on their strategies. The data will be given
Amb as the code when the strategies used was Ambiguity. Likewise,
the data were given Flo as a code which was the abbreviation of
Flouting.
e. The types of ambiguity that occurs to the data
Each type of the ambiguity was abbreviated as follows:
i. Lex was the abbreviation of Lexical Ambiguity.
ii. Ref was the abbreviation of Referential Ambiguity.
iii. Syn was the abbreviation of Syntactic Ambiguity.
f. The types of Gricean maxims flouted by the characters in the episodes.
Each type of the Gricean maxims was abbreviated as follows:
i. Quan was the abbreviation of Gricean maxims of Quantity.
ii. Qual was the abbreviation of Gricean maxims of Quality.
iii. Rel was the abbreviation of Gricean maxims of Relation.
iv. Man was the abbreviation of Gricean maxims of Manner.
Here is the example of the code:
01/S1/E2/Amb/Lex
The code above was read “the data is number one in Season 1 Episode 2
01/S2/E1/Flo/Quan
The code above was read “the data was number one in Season 2 Episode 1
and the strategy used was flouting of Gricean Maxims and the type of Gricean
29
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter will be divided into two parts of analysis. The first part of the
analysis lists the expressions which lead to sexual humor in the conversation
between the casts of 2 Broke Girls: episodes 1-2 of seasons 1-5. The first part of
the analysis answers the first problem formulation of the study.
The second part of the analysis portrays the occurrence of strategies used in
creating the sexual humor. This part discussed the type of ambiguities and
floutings of Gricean maxims which is to show how the ambiguities and floutings
create sexual humor in the episodes of 2 Broke Girls. The second part of the
analysis answers the second problem formulation of the study.
A.Expressions Containing Ambiguities and Floutings of Gricean Maxims in Creating Sexual Humor in 2 Broke Girls: Episodes 1-2 of Seasons 1-5
This part discusses the expressions uttered by the casts in 2 Broke Girls:
Episode 1-2 of Season 1-5 which provoke to sexual humor. The strategies used in
the episodes are ambiguities and floutings of Gricean maxims. Here are the
expressions containing ambiguities and floutings of Gricean maxims in creating
1. Ambiguity
One of the strategies used in 2 Broke Girls in order to provoke to sexual
humor is by using ambiguous expressions. Ambiguity is classified into three
different kinds which are lexical ambiguity, referential ambiguity, and syntactic
ambiguity. Based on the data findings twenty five expressions are found using
ambiguous expressions to create the sexual humor. The types of ambiguities used
in 2 Broke Girls: Episodes 1-2 of Seasons 1-5 are lexical, referential, and syntactic
ambiguity. The percentage of types of ambiguity that occur in characters’
utterances in 2 Broke Girls: Episodes 1-2 of Seasons 1-5 is presented in chart 4.1.
as follows.
Chart 4.1. Types of Ambiguities
The chart above shows that the kind of ambiguity mostly used in the
episodes is lexical ambiguity. There is 64% of lexical ambiguity used in the
episodes in order to create sexual humor. Further, there is 36% of referential
ambiguity and 0% of syntactic ambiguity used in the episodes. The expressions
which are ambiguous and convey sexual humor are displayed below based on the
types of ambiguities they are classified to.
64% 36%
0%
Lexical Ambiguity
Referential Ambiguity
Table 1. Ambiguities Found in 2 Broke Girls: Episodes 1-2 of Seasons 1-5
2. You're getting me wet. Lexical Incongruity Release
guy is on his back and for the fourth time. Lexical
Incongruity Release
12. Max, the guy is coming right now. Lexical Incongruity Release
13. I don't want to hear anymore about that
guy's hole! Lexical
18.
Oh, my God! A black American express card? I haven't held a black one in my hands in years.
I would've guessed you hadn't held a black
one ever.
Referential Incongruity Release
19.
We have no big expectations about the opening tonight. It's a soft opening.
Referential Incongruity Release What's the difference between a soft one
and a hard one?
20.
Delicious, homemade artisan bread. At first, I was reluctant to put something so big in my mouth. But the hot butter drizzling down my chin was my sticky reward.
Referential Incongruity Release
21.
Just squeeze some out and put it on the
parts that we need to move. a minute and breathe. And I'm sure I can take it all in.
Max, the guy is coming right now.
Referential Incongruity Release That's the first time anyone's ever been
polite enough to announce that to me.
Yeah, hilarious, sex is messy.
25.
I can't turn it on.
Referential Incongruity Release Well, drop your towel and tell it has a big
nozzle.
2. Flouting of Gricean Maxims
In order to make sexual humor in the casts’ utterances in 2 Broke Girls, not
only does it use ambiguous expressions, but also flouting of Gricean maxims.
Flouting of Gricean maxims occurs when a speaker blatantly fails to observe
Gricean maxims is classified into four types. They are flouting Gricean maxims of
quantity, flouting Gricean maxims of quality, flouting Gricean maxims of relation,
and flouting Gricean maxims of relation. Based on the data findings, twelve
expressions flout Gricean maxims are found. The percentage flouting of Gricean
maxim types that occur in characters’ utterances in 2Broke Girls: Episodes 1-2 of
Seasons 1-5 is presented in chart 4.2. as follows.
Chart 4.2. Types of Flouting Gricean Maxims
The chart above shows that type of Gricean maxims mostly flouted in the
episodes is quantity. 67% flouting Gricean maxims of quantity, 8% of flouting
Gricean maxims of quality, 17% flouting Gricean maxims of relation, and 8%
flouting Gricean maxims of manner occur in the episodes. The utterances flouting
Gricean maxims and provoke to sexual humor are displayed below based on each
type they are categorized to.
67% 8%
17% 8%
Flouting Gricean Maxims of Quantity
Flouting Gricean Maxims of Quality
Flouting Gricean Maxims of Relation
Table 2. Floutings of GriceanMaxims Found in 2 Broke Girls: Episodes 1-2 of Max We've known each other two days and
you're already asking for back door?
2.
Oleg Caroline, did you think Sophie and I were exclusive?
Quantity Incongruity Release Caroline Well, you have stopped showing us
your penis.
5.
Caroline Look. Look, Earl, we're wearing our "Max's homemade cupcakes" t-shirts again. See the logo?
It's the only thing we have in common.
7.
Max You mean the lube?
Quantity Incongruity Release Caroline Can we please call it make-up
remover? Please! I need us to do that.
8.
Caroline Have you been in there this whole time?
Quantity Incongruity Release Max I got out to pee a couple times. Then I
didn't get out to pee a couple times.
9.
Costumer Excuse me, where's my waitress?
10.
Robie I'm Robbie.
Relation Incongruity Release Caroline I'm uncomfortable. You're getting me
wet.
11.
Max Ooh! Late night phone call. Ring-a-ding-dang. Someone's gonna get their
freaky freak on. Relation Incongruity Release Caroline It's my father.
12.
Caroline Oleg, come to the bed. I need you!
Manner Incongruity Release Oleg All right! Only took you four years,
but I'm here, baby.
B.The Way Ambiguities and Floutings of Gricean Maxims Create Sexual Humor in 2 Broke Girls: Episodes 1-2 of Seasons 1-5
This part discusses the ways the ambiguities and flouting Gricean maxims in
2 Broke Girls: Episode 1-2 of Season 1-5 use to provoke sexual humor.
1. Ambiguity
Twenty five expressions in 2 Broke Girls: episodes 1-2 of seasons 1-5 are
found using ambiguity. The data are classified based on each type of ambiguities.
Sixteen expressions of lexical ambiguity, nine expressions of referential
ambiguity, and zero expression of syntactic ambiguity are found in the episodes.
The more thorough elaboration of each type is as follows.
a. Lexical ambiguity
Lexical ambiguity occurs when two words of homonym are in the same
sentence. Based on the data findings, in the episodes of 2 Broke Girls, sixteen
highlights five examples of lexical ambiguity creating sexual humor in 2 Broke
Girls episodes.
The first example is taken from episode 1 of season 1 in 2 Broke Girls.
Data Code Context Speaker Utterances
Max finds out
Costumer Excuse me, where's my waitress? Paulina (Screams from back room) Max (Laughing) She's coming.
The situation in the conversation above takes place at Williamsburg’s diner
where is Max’s working place. In the situation above, Caroline has not come yet
and Max works with Paulina. In the situation above, Max looks for Paulina
because Max needs some horseradish and she finds Paulina is at the back of the
rack.
From the scene, it is assumed that Paulina is having sexual intercourse at the
back of the rack because there is a ‘shaking movement’ from where Paulina’s
voice can be heard. After finding out the fact that Paulina is having sexual
intercourse, Max continues working and suddenly a costumer asks her where his
waitress is which the one he refers is Paulina. Max responses the costumer by
saying that ‘she’s coming’.
From this situation, the word ‘coming’ is considered as lexical ambiguity
expression lies on the homonymous word. The word ‘come’ pronounces and
spells the same conveying different concept of meaning. Based on the eight
edition of OALD (2015: 282-283), there are eleven different meanings of the
word ‘come’. The discussion of the meaning of ‘come’ will be taken as the one of
which is more suitable to the context, they are:
1) to move to or towards a person or place
2) to arrive at or reach a place
3) to have an orgasm
From the customer’s intention, he asks and expects a waitress to move to his
position. However, if we understand the previous action, the waitress asked by the
customer is having a sexual intercourse. It can be seen from the Paulina’s
utterances and also looked from the scene. However, Max’s answer is different
from the customer’s expectation. Since ‘she’s coming’ does not literally mean
Paulina is coming, the word ‘coming’ refers to Paulina’s orgasm that is coming,
due to the state of her reaching an orgasm after a sexual intercourse. From this, we
can understand that what Max means by ‘coming’ is different from what it is
supposed to be, which is move towards the speaker, in this case, customer.
The use of lexical ambiguity in word ‘coming’ creates sexual humor to the
utterance because of the implementation of incongruity theory and release theory.
The punchline uttered by Max ‘She is coming’, is ambiguous and brings taboo
issue which is sex.
The second example of lexical ambiguity is taken from episode 1 of
Data Code Context Speaker Utterances
Robie, not wearing shirt, flirts with Caroline.
Robie [put off his cloth] No, I... I got it. Caroline Oh, okay.
02/S1/E1/ Amb/Lex
Robie I'm Robbie.
Caroline I'm uncomfortable. You're getting me
wet.
Robie That's the point.
The situation above takes place at Max’s apartment. It is the first time
Caroline comes to Max’s apartment. When Caroline washes her uniform at the
sink, Robie walks out from the bedroom. Both of them do not realize that there is
someone beside them in the room. The time Caroline sees Robie, she amazes at
Robie’s appearances. Further, Caroline does not realize that the water in the sink
almost full and gets her a little bit wet. Robie initiates to put off his shirt and gives
it to Caroline and Robie introduces himself. However, when Robie tells his name
to Caroline, Caroline responds by saying that Robie makes her wet.
The word ‘wet’ in the utterances above is classified as lexical ambiguity
because it can be interpreted more than one meaning. The lexical meaning of the
word ‘wet’, according to OALD (2015: 1691) is “covered with or containing
liquid, especially water.”. However, the word ‘wet’ in this situation comes from
the word ‘wet dream’ which according to OALD (2015: 1692) means “a sexually
exciting dream that a man has that results in an orgasm”.
Looking at the context, both Caroline and Robie happen to be in the same
situation. Thus, the second meaning of ‘wet’ is understood by Robie. It can be
seen from Robie’s answer says ‘That’s the point.’ It implies that he intentionally
The lexical ambiguity in the word ‘wet’ is used in order to create sexual
humor to the episodes. It follows theory of humor as the markers which are the
theory of incongruity and release. The punchline ‘That’s the point’ said by Robie
is unexpected which uses incongruity theory and the use of the word ‘wet’ which
has sexual meaning follows release theory which discuss taboo matter.
The third example of lexical ambiguity is taken from episode 2 of season 1
of 2 Broke Girls.
Data Code Context Speaker Utterances
03/S1/E2/ remembered I didn't have any money on me. And then I remembered I didn't
time to work. The word ‘late’ in Max’s utterance is classified as lexical ambiguity
since it conveys more than one meaning. It is caused by the use of homonymous
word which what is meant by Max has different meaning with lexical meaning of
the word ‘late’. According to OALD (2015: 838), the word ‘late’ means “near the
end of a period of time, a person’s life, etc”. Max says that Caroline cannot be late
again which means that Caroline should come on time next time. However, the
next utterance says that Max is already worried that she is also late every month.
The word ‘late’ in the second utterance does not convey the same meaning as the
Looking from the context from the situation above, the word ‘late’ in the
second utterance is mostly understood by Max and Caroline as pregnant. The
word ‘every month’ helps to conclude the second interpretation of the word ‘late’.
Max is a girl who always has her period every month. Moreover, when someone’s
period does not come on time she is probably pregnant. This conclusion is
understood by looking at the cultural general knowledge context which most
people have already known about, including them.
The use of lexical ambiguity in word ‘late’ follows the theory of
incongruity and release theory where the punchline ‘Well, you can't be late again.
I'm already worried about me being late... every month.’, is unpredictable and
surprising and it leads to taboo issues regarding to sexual intercourse that leads to
pregnancy.
The fourth example of lexical ambiguity is taken from episode 1 of season 2
of 2 Broke Girls.
Data Code Context Speaker Utterances
05/S2/E1/ Amb/Lex
Max knows that
Caroline has done sexual intercourse.
Caroline So did we, I broke my hymen getting
that thing.
Max Is that why it's called a loving cup?
The situation above takes place in the Channings’ auction event. In this
event, all valuable things belongs to the Channings are auctioned; one of those is
Caroline’s cup which she gets when she wins horse riding. Caroline and Max have
