vii
Puspitasari, Maria Gishella A. (2017). The Analysis of Swear Words in Bad Boys
II Movie by Michael Bay. English Language Education Study Program,
Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
This study analyzes the emergence of swear words in Bad Boys II movie which are uttered by Mike Lawrey as the main character. The use of swear words is to express the mind and feeling of the speaker. This study aims at observing how Mike Lawrey uses the swear words while talking in the movie. Hence, the problems are formulated as follows: 1. What are the kinds of swear words uttered by Mike Lawrey in Bad Boys II movie by Michael Bay? 2. How does Mike Lawrey express the swearwords in Bad Boy II movie by Michael Bay?
This study uses content analysis method. The subject of this research is the transcript of Bad Boys II movie. Several relevant books related to some theories such as pragmatics and history of swear words are used as the references to address the formulated problems. Besides, this study explains the theory about African Americans’ language style briefly since the main character is an African American. It also supports the reason why the movie applies a communication style using swear words.
Based on the analysis, this study found that the kinds of swear words in this movie are classified into six groups such as profanity or blasphemy, cursing, vulgarity, obscenity, epithet, insult or slurs, and scatology. Then, Mike utters the swear words in five ways: descriptively, idiomatically, abusively, emphatically, and cathartically. Those ways lead to the functions, such as, interjection (surprise, pain, fear, anger, disappointment, even joy), emphasizers (after interrogative WH-word), and expletive slot fillers (as degreeof adverbs or intensifying adjectives). This study is expected to be a valuable resource for the scholars to learn futher about the use of swear words in daily communication.Therefore, they are able to use swear words appropriately in the situation when they can use those words.
viii
Puspitasari, Maria Gishella A. (2017). The Analysis of Swear Words in Bad Boys
II Movie by Michael Bay. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Penelitian ini menganalisis munculnya kata-kata umpatan dalam film Bad Boys II yang diucapkan oleh Mike Lawrey sebagai karakter utama. Penggunaan kata-kata umpatan mengungkapkan pikiran dan perasaan pembicara. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengamati bagaimana Mike Lawrey menggunakan kata-kata umpatan saat berbicara dalam film. Oleh karena itu, masalah dirumuskan sebagai berikut: 1. Apa saja jenis kata-kata umpatan yang diucapkan oleh Mike Lawrey dalam film Bad Boys II oleh Michael Bay? 2. Bagaimana cara Mike Lawrey mengekspresikan kata-kata umpatan dalam film Bad Boy II oleh Michael Bay?
Penelitian ini menggunakan metode analisis isi. Subyek penelitian dalam penelitian ini adalah naskah film Bad Boys II. Beberapa buku yang relevan terkait dengan beberapa teori seperti pragmatik, dan sejarah kata-kata umpatan digunakan sebagai referensi untuk menjawab rumusan masalah. Di samping itu, penelitian ini menjelaskan tentang gaya bahasa orang-orang Afrika-Amerika secara singkat karena tokoh utama dari film ini adalah seorang Afrika-Amerika. Hal ini juga menjadi alasan mengapa film ini menggunakan umpatan sebagai gaya berkomunikasi.
Berdasarkan hasil analisis, penelitian ini menemukan bahwa jenis kata-kata umpatan dalam film ini dikelompokkan dalam enam kelompok seperti senonoh atau hujatan, mengutuk, vulgar, cabul, julukan, menghina atau penghinaan, dan scatology. Kemudian, Mike mengucapkan kata-kata umpatan dalam lima cara: secara deskriptif, ideomatik, melecehkan, menegaskan, dan katarsis. Cara-cara tersebut mengarah pada fungsi seperti: sebagai kata seru (kejutan, saat kesakitan, takut, marah, kecewa, bahkan sukacita), penekanan (setelah interogatif WH), dan pengisi slot yang ekspletif (sebagai keterangan atau kata sifat intensif). Penelitian ini diharapkan dapat menjadi referensi yang baik untuk pelajar agar mereka dapat mengetahui lebih lanjut tentang penggunaan umpatan dalam komunikasi sehari-hari. Dengan demikian, mereka dapat menggunakan umpatan dengan benar dalam situasi di mana mereka bisa menggunakan kata-kata tersebut.
IN BAD BOYS II MOVIE BY MICHAEL BAY
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By:
Maria Gishella Ajeng Puspitasari Student Number: 121214073
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
vii
Puspitasari, Maria Gishella A. (2017). The Analysis of Swear Words in Bad Boys
II Movie by Michael Bay. English Language Education Study Program,
Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
This study analyzes the emergence of swear words in Bad Boys II movie which are uttered by Mike Lawrey as the main character. The use of swear words is to express the mind and feeling of the speaker. This study aims at observing how Mike Lawrey uses the swear words while talking in the movie. Hence, the problems are formulated as follows: 1. What are the kinds of swear words uttered by Mike Lawrey in Bad Boys II movie by Michael Bay? 2. How does Mike Lawrey express the swearwords in Bad Boy II movie by Michael Bay?
This study uses content analysis method. The subject of this research is the transcript of Bad Boys II movie. Several relevant books related to some theories such as pragmatics and history of swear words are used as the references to address the formulated problems. Besides, this study explains the theory about African Americans’ language style briefly since the main character is an African American. It also supports the reason why the movie applies a communication style using swear words.
Based on the analysis, this study found that the kinds of swear words in this movie are classified into six groups such as profanity or blasphemy, cursing, vulgarity, obscenity, epithet, insult or slurs, and scatology. Then, Mike utters the swear words in five ways: descriptively, idiomatically, abusively, emphatically, and cathartically. Those ways lead to the functions, such as, interjection (surprise, pain, fear, anger, disappointment, even joy), emphasizers (after interrogative WH-word), and expletive slot fillers (as degreeof adverbs or intensifying adjectives). This study is expected to be a valuable resource for the scholars to learn futher about the use of swear words in daily communication.Therefore, they are able to use swear words appropriately in the situation when they can use those words.
viii
Puspitasari, Maria Gishella A. (2017). The Analysis of Swear Words in Bad Boys
II Movie by Michael Bay. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Penelitian ini menganalisis munculnya kata-kata umpatan dalam film Bad Boys II yang diucapkan oleh Mike Lawrey sebagai karakter utama. Penggunaan kata-kata umpatan mengungkapkan pikiran dan perasaan pembicara. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengamati bagaimana Mike Lawrey menggunakan kata-kata umpatan saat berbicara dalam film. Oleh karena itu, masalah dirumuskan sebagai berikut: 1. Apa saja jenis kata-kata umpatan yang diucapkan oleh Mike Lawrey dalam film Bad Boys II oleh Michael Bay? 2. Bagaimana cara Mike Lawrey mengekspresikan kata-kata umpatan dalam film Bad Boy II oleh Michael Bay?
Penelitian ini menggunakan metode analisis isi. Subyek penelitian dalam penelitian ini adalah naskah film Bad Boys II. Beberapa buku yang relevan terkait dengan beberapa teori seperti pragmatik, dan sejarah kata-kata umpatan digunakan sebagai referensi untuk menjawab rumusan masalah. Di samping itu, penelitian ini menjelaskan tentang gaya bahasa orang-orang Afrika-Amerika secara singkat karena tokoh utama dari film ini adalah seorang Afrika-Amerika. Hal ini juga menjadi alasan mengapa film ini menggunakan umpatan sebagai gaya berkomunikasi.
Berdasarkan hasil analisis, penelitian ini menemukan bahwa jenis kata-kata umpatan dalam film ini dikelompokkan dalam enam kelompok seperti senonoh atau hujatan, mengutuk, vulgar, cabul, julukan, menghina atau penghinaan, dan scatology. Kemudian, Mike mengucapkan kata-kata umpatan dalam lima cara: secara deskriptif, ideomatik, melecehkan, menegaskan, dan katarsis. Cara-cara tersebut mengarah pada fungsi seperti: sebagai kata seru (kejutan, saat kesakitan, takut, marah, kecewa, bahkan sukacita), penekanan (setelah interogatif WH), dan pengisi slot yang ekspletif (sebagai keterangan atau kata sifat intensif). Penelitian ini diharapkan dapat menjadi referensi yang baik untuk pelajar agar mereka dapat mengetahui lebih lanjut tentang penggunaan umpatan dalam komunikasi sehari-hari. Dengan demikian, mereka dapat menggunakan umpatan dengan benar dalam situasi di mana mereka bisa menggunakan kata-kata tersebut.
ix
First of all, I would like to send my deep gratitude to my Jesus Christ for giving me a wonderful life. I thank Him for the blessings and the chances for me to learn many things. I thank Him for all the challenges and the strengths that have been given to me. He is the first reason why I never give up.
Second, I would like to send my gratitude to my beloved university, Sanata Dharma University, which has been a great place for me to have many unforgettable experiences in the last four years. I am thankful for having very kind friends, family and colleagues. I will never forget the moments we have spent together in our beloved campus.
Then, my gratitude goes to my beloved parents, Martinus Suharjo, my beloved one and the reason to reach my dreams and Katarina Kristiyani, who
has never been tired to be a “home” for her children. I thank my little brothers,
Marcellinus Estu Priya Kurniadi and Blasius Banu Surya Leksana, for being my biggest support and strength to finish my study. The next gratitude is for my uncle and aunt, Albertus Yuono and Bernadeta Hadiyani, who always love and help me all the time. I thank their children also for cheering me up, Sebastianus Wisnu Wardana and Kresentia Ayu Kusuma Wardani.
x
academic advisor, Agustinus Hardi Prasetyo, S.Pd., M.A., for his guidance during my college study. He has been a part in forming me to be an independent and tough student. My special thanks go to Laurentius Krisna Septa Bernanda for being my second advisor and also my friend in writing this thesis. He is such an inspiring and great person who teaches me to keep struggling in facing so many problems in my study and also in my whole life. I send my huge thanks to all lecturers of English Language Education Study Program and all of its members, especially for students in batch 2012. I also thank my family in Small Class C for the new world I have never found before.
I would also like to thank my very best partner and sister, Regina Novelisa Gusmanthi, as the one who always supports and cheers me up. I am thankful for many unforgettable moments we spent together. She always makes me believe in my own strength and keep focusing on goal. May the universe always loves and protects her wherever she is.
I would also like to thank my big family, Paduan Suara Mahasiswa Cantus Firmus, for being my family whom I really love. I thank them for being my home where I can be the real me. I thank them for many great experiences which teach me the kindness and the real friendship. I always hope that I will come back someday and feel such great feeling when singing with them.
xi happy.
xii
Page
TITLE PAGE ... i
APPROVAL PAGES ... ii
DEDICATION PAGE ... iv
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ... v
PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ... vi
ABSTRACT ... vii
ABSTRAK ... viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... xii
LIST OF FIGURE ... xiv
LIST OF TABLE ... xv
LIST OF APPENDIX ... xvi
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ... 1
A. Research Background ... 1
B. Research Questions ... 5
C. Problem Limitation ... 6
D. Research Objectives ... 6
E. Research Benefits ... 6
F. Definition of Terms ... 8
CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ... 10
A. Theoretical Description ... 10
1. Taboo and Swear Words ... 11
2. The Use of Swear Words ... 17
xiii
CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY ... 25
A. Research Method ... 25
B. Research Source/Object ... 26
C. Instruments and Data Collecting Technique ... 27
D. Data Analysis Technique ... 28
E. Research Procedures ... 29
CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ... 31
A. The Kinds of Swear Words Uttered by Mike Lawrey in Bad Boys II Movie ... 31
B. The Ways Mike Lawrey Expresses the Swear Words in Bad Boys II Movie ... 42
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ... 50
A.Conclusions ... 50
B. Recommendations ... 51
REFERENCES ... 53
xiv
xv
Page Table 3.1. Classification Table to Categorize Swear Words Uttered
xvi
1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the content of the proposed research. This contains six parts: the research background, the research questions, problem limitation, the research objectives, the research benefits and the definition of terms.
A. Research Background
Today people get familiar with swear words. They might use those words actively or just hear from others in their day-to-day life. Some consider these words offensive and if they are used to talk to others, these words can endanger the speaker. It happened several months ago in Tegal Alur, West Jakarta, where some high school students fought one another because of the improper use of swear words (as cited from https://news.detik.com/berita/3348973/berawal-dari-umpatan-remaja-di-kalideres-tewas-dibacok-pelajar-smk). The Head of Criminal Investigation Sector Police of Cengkareng explained the chronology of the incident. On Friday, November 4th, 2016, Hassanudin was in his way back home with his friends. He met IH (16), ER (17), and, AD (17), who skipped the classes, and swore to one another. Then, they immediately fought on the street and IH took a sickle from his bag and stabbed Hassanudin. He passed away on the next two days in the hospital. IH, ER, and AD were punished by the article of 351 (3)
The case becomes the example of inappropriate use of swear words. In education discipline, swear words are considered as taboo words which are not common to be taught and used as proper daily communication. Whereas, that case possibly becomes the issue that learning swear words including their application is necessary in the context of education. Besides, if they are used in a particular situation, it will be useful for language learning. According to Robin-Eliece Mercury (1995) in her article entitled “Swearing: A „Bad‟ Part of Language; A
Good Part of Language Learning”, there is much for ESL students to learn about
the social forces behind swearing in English and among English speakers, especially for understanding the practical reasons why a speaker would choose to use obscenities and when she or he would choose not to.
Besides, swear words are widely known by society as informal style in their daily conversation to express emotion, especially when they are angry or frustrated. These words become a habitual utterance which are very easy to say. Our society oftenly uses them to communicate with one another. Some think positively about swear words usage. In a positive way, it is used as a solidarity orientation. For example, a group of boys often call their neighbors not with their proper names. Instead, they call the neighbors with other names, such as asshole, bastard, and so on. They receive it as a habit and a sign that they are close enough
the groups (as cited in Mercury, 1995, p. 35). Therefore, swear words they usually use make them closer as friends. Swear words no longer become something taboo in their communication.
People find swear words with language features easily not only in the daily life, but also in the media both electronic and non-electronic, such as magazine, television, radio, movie, internet, and so on. All media have reasons why they use swear words as the part of language, for example, a movie which has a style of using swear words in the conversation to show the personality of the characters or the culture behind the situation of the scenes.
This research was conducted based on a movie released in 2003, Bad Boys
II. The film, directed by Michael Bay, is a high-violence movie that was chosen
because the characters in the story apply a communication style using swear words. They usually use the swear words when the police officers are on duty of detecting and solving the narcotic cases. The police officers also call their partners with swear words which helps them hide their identity as police officers for they usually use the appropriate and formal language. However, this research focuses on the swear words uttered by the main character, Mike Lawrey, who acts as a detective of Tactical Narcotic Team of Miami PD. In the movie, Mike has close relationship with Marcus Burnett since they are in the same team for ten years. They call themselves “Bad Boys” and create a jargon: “Bad Boys, Bad Boys..
closeness can be seen in the scene where Mike open a book where there is Marcus‟ foto sticked on a biodata paper from ten years ago (01.35.03-01.35.09).
There is some sentences written on that paper: “We ride together, we die together. Bad Boys for life.”
Moreover, Mike (Will Smith) and Marcus (Martin Laurence) are African American people who live in America in 2000s and have swearing as their communication style. They often put swear words in their utterances to one another. Fägersten conducted a study during 2000 until 2010 about the factors which influence people to use swear words. The result showed that:
Within to friend this racial group, swearing occurs predominantly between interlocutors of close social distance: 78% of the swearing utterances of the African American contributors were addressed to friends compared to 66%, 60%, 60% of swearing utterances of Whites, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans, respectively, addressed to friends and intimates (p. 53).
She concluded that for African Americans, swearing is characteristic of language use in group which is known as an expression of an already-established group solidarity (Fägersten, 2012, p. 53). Meanwhile, swearing occurs more often among interlocutions of social distance in relatively uncertain relationship for other racial groups (p. 53). Therefore, the race becomes an important factor behind the use of swear words.
use due the influence of movies, hit songs, and popular books which seems unchecked. Students who are learning conversational English need to learn what is acceptable or unnaceptable in taboo language behaviour (p. 35). In addition, taboo and swear words have a number of linguistic features involving vocabulary, grammar and meaning that make them well worth studying (Ljung, 2011). As future English teachers, ELESP students are expected to be able to teach their ESL students well about the use of taboo, swear words, and their implementation in daily life. By adapting Bad Boys II movie, this research provides the analysis of the swear words found in this movie which might be a reference to make the learning design. Being understood about taboo and swear words, the ESL students are expected to use them appropriately at the proper situations.
B. Research Questions
This section formulates the questions based on the research background presented. The researcher has formulated the research problems as mentioned below.
1. What are the kinds of swear words uttered by Mike Lawrey in Bad Boys II movie by Michael Bay?
C. Problem Limitation
The researcher only focuses on swear words uttered by Mike Lawrey as the main character in Bad Boys II movie by Michael Bay. Any words or sentences uttered by the other characters in the movie are ignored. Moreover, the researcher takes swear words in sentence form only. Swear words in sentence are more helpful to trigger the audience response. Furthermore, they explain deeper what kind of issue which happens so that he characters use swear words to express their response.
D. Research Objectives
There are two major objectives, in accordance with the research questions as listed below.
1. To identify the kinds of swear words uttered by Mike Lawrey in Bad Boys II movie by Michael Bay.
2. To analyze how Mike Lawrey expresses the swear words in Bad II movie by Michael Bay.
E. Research Benefits
research for students and teachers in the academic field, and the future research who conduct the research about linguistic matters.
1. Students
By knowing language features in swear words, the students can be more aware that many English words have more than one meaning. Therefore, the students are able to use those English words in appropriate condition. Furthermore, students are expected to be wiser in using swear words in the society.
2. Teachers
The researcher expects that this study can be a reference for the teachers, especially those who teach poetry or linguistic (semantic or pragmatic), so that they might have other media or examples to explain about language features. Furthermore, the use of swear words is common in the society, especially in the youth so it may be easy for the students to learn language features. Besides, the teacher can help student to understand more about the meaning of the swear words and they know when and how they use those words.
3. Future Researchers
F. Definition of Terms
In order to clarify the definitions which are often used in this research, the researcher provides some terms to help the readers to understand this study clearly. The terms are about taboo, tabbo words, swear words and movie as mentioned below.
1. Taboo
Taboo is generally used to describe something which is “unmentionable”
in the sense that it is “ineffably sacred” or “unspeakably vile” (Hughes, 2006). In
the context of this research, taboo refers to anything or any activity which is considered not appropriate to reveal in front of public.
2. Taboo Words
Taboo words are words which refer to things considered taboo. The emergence of these words is strictly avoided and their presence is hardly received by the society (Hughes, 2006). This term leads to the analysis whether the words found are included into taboo or not.
3. Swear Words
4. Movie
10
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter presents a review of theories and concepts supporting this research in order to achieve the aims of the research objectives. This section provides two major parts: the theoretical description and framework. The theoretical description presents theories relevant to this research. Meanwhile, the theoretical framework presents how the main theories are used to answer the research questions.
A. Theoretical Description
There are two research questions which need to be answered by acceptable and scientific results. In order to reach this aim, the researcher uses some theories relevant to this research. The first principal theory explains the concept of swearing as a part of language. Moreover, it elaborates the definitions of swearing by some experts and the kinds of swear words used by society. The second theory explains the pragmatics field as it is closely related to the context of words uttered. The term of pragmatic used here is more about the function behind the ideas and the feelings expressed by Mike Lawrey as the main character in Bad
Boys II movie. This part explains the definitions, descriptions, and elaborations as
Since taboo and swear words are originally from the practices considered taboo, it is necessary to dig out the concept of taboo as the notional basic of the whole discussion in this thesis. In fact, there is no certain author who is capable in defining what taboo is appropriately. However, some authors notice that taboo
(spelled „tabu‟ in Melanesian) is originally from Tongan, which etymologically
intends “sacred, set apart for God, kings, priest, or chiefs, and therefore prohibited
for general use (Hughes, 2006, p. 462).
The concept of taboo is developed by adapting the cultural context which influences culture and society. The context brings the moral value which is accepted and implanted within a society. Consequently, the present perception of taboo is distinguished from the context in which the word has been accepted by the society.
Freud (2004) states that taboo is a Polynesian word in which the translation is difficult to find because people no longer possess the concept it connotes (p.
21). Yet, Freud delivers two contrary directions that taboo diverges: „sacred‟ or
„consecrated‟, and „uncanny‟, „dangerous‟, „forbidden‟, or „unclean‟. Chiefly, he
notes that taboo in Polynesian is called „noa‟, which means common or generally
other opinions related to the definition of taboo. Hughes admits that taboos come into the varying prohibitions and restrictions in all kinds of societies (2006, p. 462). In other words, the distinction of cultures in distinct region leads taboos to fall into different understandings. Hughes develops the definition of taboos by considering the aspects in the manifestation of taboos: things, creatures, human experiences, conditions, deeds and words. However, those manifestations still support the impression of taboos which ought to be avoided and strictly speaking. In further explanation, Hughes only notes the prohibitions of taboos and the reasons why taboos are considered simply “offensive” rather than “strictly
forbidden”. The forbidden things increasingly disappear across the time and
spheres.
Swearing is one of the language issues which exists in society daily conversation although some people may consider it as taboo and unacceptable to use. People all probably have a few things they refuse to talk about and still others they do not talk about directly. They may have some words we know but never use because they are too emotional for either them or others (Austin, 1962). However, it cannot be refused that swearing is the part of linguistics which is also useful for language learning. According to Mercury (1995), it is still useful for the learners to understand, for practical reasons, why a speaker would choose to use obscenities and when she or he would choose not to.
There are three major kinds of swear words‟ interpretation found in the
b) euphemism, and c) orthopemism. Dysphemism, as Keith Allan and Kate Burridge (2006, p. 4) underline, is included into taboo which is sometimes motivated by fear and distaste, hatred and contempt. They add that speakers resort to dysphemism to talk about people and things that frustrate and annoy them and they disapprove of and wish to disparage, humiliate and degrade. Dysphemistic expressions contain curses, name-calling, and any sort of derogatory comment directed towards others in order to insult or to wound them, for examples, dog,
dish-licker, bow-wow, cur, mutt, mongrel, whelp, etc (p. 4).
Orthophemisms and euphemisms are words or phrases used as an alternative to a dispreferred expression (Keith Allan and Kate Burridge, 2006). They avoid possible loss of face by the speaker, and also the hearer or some third party (p. 4). Keith Allan and Kate Burridge also add that a dispreferred language expression is simply one that is not the preferred, desired or appropriate expression. An orthophemism is typically more formal and more direct (or literal) than the corresponding euphemism which is typically more colloquial and figurative, e.g. I meant to tell you and then I forgot: speak plainly and say „ass‟
[cul(o)], „prick‟ [cazzo], „cunt‟ [potta] and „fuck‟ [fottere] if you want anyone
other than scholars from the Sapienza Capranica to understand you (p. 4).
fishing), naming, addressing, touching and viewing persons and sacred beings, objects and places, food gathering, preparation and consumption”. However, Jay (1992) classifies the words which are considered as taboo words into some groups 1. Cursing
Jay (1992) defines cursing as intention to evoke harm on another person through the use of certain words or phrases, for instance, “Eat shit and die!”, “I hope you break your neck.”, “You should rot in jail for that crime.”, etc. . He also adds that those words obtain power to cause harm through physical and psychological punishments from the group consensus and it is not without danger for a speaker. The curser may be labeled a blasphemer in an attempt to bring harm to the target of the curse, if the words chosen are too sacrilegious. The religious curse may sound like damn you, goddamn you, damn your hide, to hell with you, etc.
2. Profanity or Blasphemy
According to Jay (1992), profanity is based on religious distinction which means the profane is behaving outside the customs of religious belief and being ignorant of the guidelines of particular religious order. An example of profanity would be a word or phrase which seeks not to denigrate God, religion or holy affairs but would be based more on ignorance of or indifference to these matters,
for instance, “Jesus Christ, I’m hungry!”, “For the love of Christ, get off the
phone!”, “Does the Pope shit in the woods?”, etc. Profanity is almost similar to
assaults would take the form of using the Lord‟s name in vain or cursing the
deities. 3. Obscenity
According to Jay (1992), obscenity is a legal of laws which has a function
to protect the listeners. He states, “To call a word obscene means that it cannot be
used freely; it is subject to restriction; and to use such speech is to risk sanctioning
from the courts.” Obscene words are considered the most offensive and are rarely,
if ever, used in public media.
Examples: fuck, motherfucker, cocksucker, cunt, or tits. 4. Vulgarity
Vulgarity means the language of the common person, “the person in the
street”, or the unsophisticated, unsocialized, or under-educated. Being vulgar is to
be common, not bad or evil. In other words, vulgarisms are not necessarily obscene or taboo, they just reflect the crudeness of street language (Jay, 1992). Example: snot, bloody, up yours, booger, slut, piss, crap, kiss my ass, snatch, on
the rag, puke.
5. Epithet
nature, for example, someone always says the same word or phrase when someone hurts his/herself.
Examples: shit, damn, hell, son of a bitch, goddamn it, up yours, fuck you, fuck
off, piss off, Jesus Christ.
6. Insult and Slur
Jay (1992) says that insult and slur are verbal attacks or the words to harm other people by the words alone. He also adds that they both function to hurt the person directly through the particular words or phrases. According to Jay, slur may be racial, ethnic, or social in nature and indicate the stereotyping or prejudice of the speaker, meanwhile, insults may denote the physical, mental, or psychological qualities of the target and are commonly heard on the school playground.
Examples: pig, dog, bitch, son of a bitch, jackass, sow, whore, slut, bastard,
homo, fag, queer.
7. Scatology
According to Jay (1992), scatological is something of or relating to excrement or scatology. Jay states scatological terms refer to human waste products and processes. He also adds that scatology is the study of excrement or interest in or treatment of obscene matters.
Examples: poo poo, ka ka, poop, turd, crap, shit, shit ass, shit for brains, piss, piss
Although some people consider swear words taboo, the swear words and taboo words are different. Karjalainen (2002) claims that not all of taboo words are swear words although words are taboo, for instance, cannibalism which is considered as taboo but there is no swear words derived from that theme. Ljung (2011) also thinks that taboo words and swear words are two different things. In defining the use of swear words, he states that there are four criteria common to all instances of swearing. First, swearing is the use of utterances that contain taboo words. The use of taboo words in swearing adds emphasis to the message the speaker wishes to convey. At the same time, swearing frequently violates cultural rules. Second, while the literal meaning of these taboo words is indeed used in swearing, they do not carry much weight. Third, due to lexical, phrasal, and syntactic constraints, swearing is considered a type of formulaic language. Finally, swearing constitutes an instance of reflective language use that reveals the
speaker‟s attitudes and feelings (p. 4)
The point number two of Ljung‟s criteria underlines that taboo in the user
of swear words might be referred to anything else which is possibly not taboo.
Shit, for example, refers to “feces”. Yet, in utterance “put that shit in your bag!”,
the word shit might refer to “something which is considered unpleasant” (p. 17). At the third point, Ljung emphasizes on the formula of grammar which means the
meaning are not simply from the composing word. The utterance “what the fuck
do you mean?”, for instance, is understood from the grammatical form rather than
Furthermore, the fourth point of Ljung‟s crite
swear words, the speaker deliver “direct expression of the speaker‟s attitude what
he/she is speaking about”. It contains emotive function which might be identified
by some features of expletive interjections, emphasizer, and expletive slot-filler
(for example: “I need the bloody hammer”) (p. 21). He explains that expletive
interjections generally express surprise, pain, fear, anger, disappointment, and even joy, for instance, Shit!, Damn!, Fuck!, Son of Bitch!, etc. In addition, Jay and Crystal note that expletive interjections are often considered to be basically
cathartic which means not aimed primarily at others but expresses speaker‟s
reactions to different mishaps and disappointments (as cited in Ljung, 2011, p. 30). Meanwhile, emphasizer is often used in the form of swearing as a following noun (for example, I need a glass of water, not a bloody bathtub), emphasis after and interrogative WH-word (for example: What the hell are you doing?), and forms of infixation in a word (Absobloodylutely, Infuckingcredible, etc) or a phrase (Shut the fuck up) (p. 34). Infixation is the process of inserting an infix (Nordquist, 2015). Thus, expletive slot-filler indicates that the speaker use the swear words as adverbial or adjectival intensifier (for example: It‟s bloody
marvelous, they drove damn fast, etc.) and adjective of dislike (He‟s a bloody
fool) (p. 34).
Above all, swear words are used in the context which indicates what the words mean further than their literal meaning. To gain the meaning behind a word or a sentence, semantic and pragmatic fields might be suitable to be applied.
“Semantics is the study of the “toolkit” for meaning: knowledge en
in the vocabulary of the language and in its patterns for building more elaborate meanings, up to the level of sentence meanings. Pragmatics is concerned with the use of these tools in meaningful communication. Pragmatics is about the interaction of semantic knowledge with our
knowledge of the world, taking into account contexts of use”. (p. 1)
Based on Griffiths‟ explanation, pragmatic has deeper work in defining the
meanings or sentences because it considers the context of communication
occurred. Adjusting the context of swear words‟ use, Jay (2006) classifies some
functional pragmatic categories which contains of emotive reason behind the user of swear words. The first function is to express anger and/or frustration. They are combined due to the difficulty in distinguishing these emotions by language alone. An example of anger-frustration is when a boy who had his basketball field goal attempt blocked responded, "what the fuck". It will be difficult to determine if he was angry at the blocker or himself by that phrase alone.
The second is to show descriptive-evaluative function. It is used to indicate how speakers describes connotatively or denotatively the objects and events around the camp. "This game sucks" is an evaluation of the baseball game; while
“my sneakers are shitty” is a denotative description after stepping in feces. Taboo
words also intensify descriptions, for example, “he beat the hell out of him”
indicates the level of physical energy used in the fight.
The third is to deliver joke. This category is used for formal joke frames and humor usage with taboo words. At this camp, non-dirty jokes are often
possible.
The function number four is to show surprising reactions to unexpected achievement, loss or other behaviour. These usages are typical of expletives and
commonly involve religious terms, for example, “Jesus” or “oh god”. The last is
to deliver sarcastic irony or insults. These episodes involved derogatory words and descriptions, "you fag" or "scum face" are good examples. Here the speaker attempted to mock or criticize the target of abuse in front of peers. Rather than only expressing anger on the part of the speaker, insults serve the function of denoting undesirable qualities of the target, whether these are real or imaginative for the speaker.
Therefore, the references of swear words can be identified only by considering the context and the way the words are used. According to Pinker (2007), there are five different ways in which people use swear words: 1) descriptively, 2) idiomatically, 3) abusively, 4) emphatically, and 5) cathartically (p.19). The typology is called the typology of swearing. Pinker formulates it as a concise tool to analyze how people use swear words.
According to Giora (1997), descriptive swearing notes that the use of taboo words refers directly to their literal meanings which means the meaning is computed from the lexical meanings automatically associated any entries before any extra interference considering the contextual assumption which have been
”. Therefore, the use of taboo word which does not contain of any context
might indicate that the word is used by its literal meaning.
The next part is idiomatic swearing. It clearly suggests that there is idiom in the use of taboo words of swear words. Fromkin et al. (2000) explain that idioms are the expression with fixed phrases, consisting of more than one word, which cannot be concluded from the meanings of the individual words. There are many idioms which originally have metaphorical expression which establishes themselves in the language and become frozen in their form of meaning (p. 181),
for example, “when the shit is going to hit the fan” is inferred as “when disastrous
consequences of something become known”. Palmer (2001) also thinks that idioms
also involve collocation of a special kind, for instance, “fucked up” means
“destroyed” (p. 181).
The third is abusive swearing. It happens when people use taboo words to abuse or offend someone else. Since it affects the addressees emotionally, the use of taboo or swear words which are delivered by the speaker who has emotionally
reason as well might be offensive (Jay, 2000). It is in the same line with Ljung‟s
theory which talks about expletive interjection as one of emotive functions when the utterance is directed to addressees, for example, “fuck you, motherfucker!”
(Ljung, 2011).
The fourth is emphatic swearing which presents the use of taboo words as expletive interjection or slot-filler like in “that painting is fucking amazing!”
(addressees).
The last is cathartic swearing when the speaker uses the taboo words to spontaneously give emotional burst for responding something that happens to him/her (Pinker, 2007). Cathartic swearing might occur when it expresses anger, surprise, pain, relief and other feelings and it is not delivered to anyone, for instance, when someone hits his/her own finger with hammer, he/she shouts
“fuck!” or “damn!” (Ljung, 2011). It distinguishes this type from abusive
swearing which has addressees to express his/her emotional needs.
However, taboo words could possibly belong to more than a type, for
example, “fuck you” could be included into abusive, idiomatic, or cathartic
swearing. It is supported by Ljung (2011) who gives an overlook to Pinker‟s
typology that it “spills over each other” (p. 26). Consequently, the review about
the utterance becomes important. There might be more than one type applied by seeing the context.
C. Theoretical Framework
uses the theories of Jay (2009) about the kinds of swear words interpretation. Therefore, this theory helps the researcher not to figure out the meaning of the words literally, but to know the category of swear words uttered by Mike Lawrey.
It is also important to define the use of swear words found in the movie which are compared to the situation of the scenes. To figure out how Mike utters the swear words and find the emotive function behind the utterances, the researcher uses sources composed by two authors who provide some possible references for swear words uttered in various context such as Pinker (2007) and Ljung (2011). The utterances containing taboo or swear words occur are
categorized into five Pinker‟s typologies: descriptively, idiomatically, abusively,
emphatically, and cathartically. Those typologies describe the emotive functions. The framework to address the research question number two is schemed as follows:
Figure 2.1. Diagram of Theoretical Framework
In brief, to answer the research question number one, some kinds of swear words are derived in order to convey the reference and or sense of the utterances
Descriptively
Utterance containing taboo words/ swear words
Idiomatically
Emotive function Abusively
25
METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the method used by the researcher to conduct this research. It is divided into six parts: the research method, research setting, research source, instruments and data collecting technique, data analysis technique and research procedure.
A. Research Method
how things work in particular contexts (p. 2).
Specifically, there were some methods in conducting qualitative research, such as content analysis, case study and discourse analysis. The researcher used content analysis as the method. Content Analysis is a scientific study of content of communication in which the content deals with reference to the meanings, contexts and intentions contained in the messages (Prasad, 2008). Nachmias observes that content analysis may be seen as a method where the content of the message forms the basis for drawing inferences and conclusions about the content (as cited in Prasad, 2008, p. 2). Further, Prasad notes that content analysis falls in the interface of observation and document analysis (p. 2). The researcher believed that content analysis was the best method to use in addressing these two research questions since it provided an overview about the language phenomena related to swear words in a form of document analysis.
B. Research Source/Object
This research used document (transcript) material to collect the data. From the movie, the researcher was able to get the dialog transcript which contains of swear words. Besides, the researcher could feel the authentic atmosphere when the swear words are used in particular situations of the different communities. Besides, the researcher also watched the movie as many as possible to complete the transcript and analyze the context of swear words uttered in the movie.
The first step was collecting the data. The researcher listed the swear words uttered by Mike Lawrey as the main character in the movie. After dealing with the words, the researcher checked the phrases, clauses or sentences to classify them as utterances. Afterwards, the researcher analyzed the use of those words based on the situation in the movie scenes whether it took place in the dangerous, happy, serious, or other conditions. It was classified into the form of the table below:
Table 3.1. Classification Table to Categorize Swear Words Uttered by Mike Lawrey
The table above contained the column of the data derived from the transcript, the kinds of swear words uttered classification, the way the speaker (Mike Lawrey) swears, and the explanation. In the data column, the researcher
Data Kinds The Way the
Speaker Swears
Explan-ation
Dialogue Swearing C P/
B
Dialogue column and those swear words only into the Swearing column. Kinds
column contained of six sub columns where the researcher put the swear words uttered into the suitable categories: C (Cursing), P/B (Profanity/Blasphemy), O (Obscenity), V (Vulgarity), E (Epithet), I (Insult), and S (Scatology). It was also same for the next column which contained the sub columns of how the speaker (Mike Lawrey) swears. There were five columns: D (Descriptively), I (Idiomatically), A (Abusively), E (Emphatically), and C (Cathartically). The last was Explanation which were used to input the context of the conversation occurred.
D. Data Analysis Technique
Data analysis was the process of analysing the data collected using several techniques. In this part, there were some steps conducted in analyzing the data.
First of all, the researcher classifies the swear words based on the Jay’s theory i.e. cursing, profanity or blasphemy, obscenity, vulgarity, epithet, insult and slur, and scatology. This step helped the researcher answer the first research question.
Second, after classifying the words, the researcher relateed the words with several theories from different experts in language specializing in the use of swear words, especially Pinker’s theory, to find appropriate references to answer the
There were several steps the researcher followed in conducting the research such as deciding the research problems, reviewing the literature of the problem, determining the research approach and method, selecting data collection, analyzing the data, interpreting the result and composing the thesis. The first step was deciding the research problems. In this step, the researcher tried to formulate the questions coming from the researcher’s curiosity and interest related to language. The researcher mostly searched the data from the internet and the information from the Bad Boys II movie.
In the next step, the researcher reviewed the literature of the problem. It was conducted to gain more knowledge about the topic. The researcher read several journals and modules to be more confident in mastering the theories related to the research. Afterwards, the researcher chose the theories which were appropriate to be used in the research. After reviewing the literature of the problem, the researcher decided the research approach: pragmatic. The research used the qualitative method to get the detailed and deeper information about the topic.
31
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter aims to present the result of the study, which had been analyzed in the ways explained in methodology. There are two sections which mention and discuss the findings in the purpose of answering the research questions. The first section presents the kinds of swear words found in Bad Boys
II to answer the first research question. Meanwhile, to answer the research
question number two, the second section elaborates the way Mike expresses the swear words in Bad Boys II movie. The data were collected from the Bad Boys II movie transcript.
A. The Kinds of Swear Words Uttered by Mike Lawrey in Bad Boys II Movie
In finding the kinds of swear words found in Bad Boys II movie, the researcher used the theory of Jay (1992). Referring to Jay (1992), there are several kinds of swear words such as cursing, profanity, blasphemy, taboo or obscenity,
vulgarity, epithets, insult and slurs, and scatology.
1. Cursing
consensus and it is not without danger for a speaker. There were some examples of this kind as seen on the following dialogues.
1) Mike : “Blue power, motherfuckers. Miami PD.”
Marcus : “Aw, damn. It’s the Negroes.”
Mike : “Casper, drop the bag. Alpha leader, bring them in.”
(00.05.41-00.05.58)
This dialogue takes place when Mike and his partner, Marcus, are showing their disguises in front of the culprits. They wear the costumes as the culprits wear to hide their identity. They point their guns to the culprits and call them “motherfuckers” to express their anger to what the culprits are doing. It is
included into cursing because it causes harm through physical and psychological punishments. Mike intentionally calls the culprits with the word “motherfucker” which shows his power to arrest the culprits.
2) Haitian Blondie : “Fuck you! How’s that? I’m gonna kill you,
motherfucker! Your country, my ass! Fuck you!”
Mike : “Fuck me? Fuck you!” (00.49.10-00.49.12)
The dialogue above takes place when Mike and the member of Icepick or Haitian Blondie are at the gun war. The Haitian Blondie curses Mike first because his place is found by Mike and Marcus as the police. Mike curses him back and keeps holding the guns in his hands. He is ready to shoot the Icepick and gets the suspects. “Fuck me?” and “Fuck you!” are included into cursing because they
The second kind of swear words in Bad Boys II movie is profanity. Jay (1992) states that profanity is based on religious distinction which means the profane is behaving outside the customs of religious belief and being ignorant of the guidelines of particular religious order. These are some examples of profanity in Bad Boys II movie:
3) Marcus : “Get the fuck off me, Mike!”
Mike : “What the hell is your problem, man? Why you acting so stupid?”
(01.20.40-01.20.44)
This dialogue takes place when Marcus knows that her sister, Syd, is dating Mike. It makes him angry because they hide it. Besides, he is still angry at Mike due to incidents. The phrase“What the hell….” belongs to the profanity
because hell is one a common belief in religion. This word is used in expressing Mike’s anger and disappointment.
4) Marcus : “I’m re-evaluating what’s important.”
Mike : “About what? Being a cop?”
Marcus : “No, about you being my partner.”
Mike : “Is this about Syd? God! Hey, Marcus, man.”
(01.33.25-01.33.31)
In the dialogue above, Marcus talks about the partnership problem between Mike and him. Mike swears “God!” to express that he is so exhausted to talk about that problem. Especially, he does not want his relationship with Syd, Marcus’s sister, would break their partnership. “God” is categorized as profanity
Marcus : “But you’re looking, though.”
Mike : “There’s something wrong with your brain.” Marcus : “Just cover the tities.”
Mike : “Goddamn!” (01.41.30-01.41.37)
The dialogue takes place when Mike and Marcus are in the mission of finding out the drug and money in the dead bodies. Mike gets the body of a naked woman. Marcus sees and thinks that Mike is paying too much attention to the woman’s breasts. Mike refuses that. He swears at Marcus, “Goddamn!” The word
“Goddamn” still belongs to profanity because the word God is sacred in religion
belief.
3. Obscenity
Jay (1992) states that the function of the taboo is to prohibit the behavior of a speaker and preserve social cohesion. These are some examples of taboo words:
6) Mike : “Incinerating trash like you ready to die, right? Marcus?”
Marcus : “What the fuck I want to do that for?”
Culprit 1 : “Scared, ain’t you boy?”
Mike : “A. Put the gun down, tell me who brings this shit in and
maybe I’ll just pop one in your shoulder. Or B, keep
acting all Brody and I’ll put one in your chest.”
Marcus : “Or C, you know, take the time to talk a minute. You know, de-escalate the situation.”
Mike : “See, that’s my partner’s new spiritual bullshit. Me? I
actually prefer shooting motherfuckers.”
Marcus : “Man, the man has a gun to my head.”
Mike : “He’ll put it down if a hollow point’s in his eyes.” Culprit 1: “Your partner is a cocky nigger.”
Marcus : “Damn. Now was that necessary, Sir?”
Mike : “See?”
Marcus : “Calm down!”
(00.07.05-00.08.00)
This dialogue is about Mike who gets angry because Marcus is caught by one of the culprits. The culprit points his head with a gun. Mike is trying to save Marcus by threatening and pointing them with a gun too. He keeps showing his power as a police officer in front of the culprits. There is “incinerating trash” uttered by Mike to the culprits. That is included into taboo or obscenities because it looks down on someone as if they are like “trash”. There are motherfuckers and
this fool too which are used to address the culprits. Motherfucker is considered
sexual terms which is not normally used to call someone and it is also an offensive word. This fool also becomes an offensive phrase when it is used to name someone because it makes him/her afflicted.
7) Mike : What the fuck! What are you doing, man? Marcus : That’s my bad.
(00.34.08-00.34.11)
The dialogue above takes place in the scene when Marcus shoots Mike’s car dashboard accidentally. Mike is surprised and angry because it is his favorite expensive car. Then, he swears “What the fuck!” which is considered taboo or obscene sentence. There is four-letter-word “fuck” in the sentence which is a sexual term. It is not usually used in general public since its meaning is copulation.
8) Marcus : “I’m just trying to help, okay?”
This conversation between Mike and Marcus takes place when they fight each other in the car. Marcus is afraid of Mike who drives his car at high speed. This really disturbs Mike’s concentration so he swore at Marcus. “Fucking helpful” is a phrase which is not normally used in the society since “fucking”, the modifier, is related to sexual term. It is considered taboo or obscene. “Shut the fuck up” contains “fuck” although it is used in different part of speech as the sentence before.
9) Mike : “Dan Marino should definitely buy this car. But not his one. I’m fucking this one up but
definitely one like this.”
(01.25.28-01.25.35)
The obscene word is also found in this monologue. This is about Mike’s awe toward Dan Marino’s car which he borrowed to chase the mission target.
However, he uses fucking in his sentence categorized as obscenity. It is still in this category because it also has sexual term in its meaning.
4. Vulgarity
The fourth kind of swear words found in Bad Boys II Movie is vulgarity. Jay (1992) states that vulgar is generally used, applied or accepted in the society so that they have an understanding in ordinary sense. He also states that it has sense of or relating to common people and lack of cultivation in use. To be vulgar is to be common, not necessarily bad or evil (Jay, 1992). There are three examples below considered as vulgarity:
(00.36.12-00.36.14)
The dialog between Mike and Marcus above is about the scene when they are in a gun war with the Haitian Blondy. Many bullets are shot to them and they could keep avoiding. However, several bullets almost hit them. “My butthole” in the sentence uttered by Mike below is considered vulgarity because it has common or ordinary sense as it means. It is generally used and understood in the society as vulgar word.
11)Mike: “Holler, on your boy. Twenty-one thousands? What?! Oh! Kiss my black ass. It was dashboard.”
(00.42.13-00.42.25)
The utterances above is about Mike’s conversation with the stuff of repair shop after the incident of chasing Haitian Blondy. He is talking about the damage on the dashboard which is accidentally caused by Marcus. He gets surprised because the new dashboard cost so expensive. “Kiss my black ass” is classified as a type of vulgarity because it has common or ordinary sense as it means. It is commonly known as “kissing his (Mike’s) black butt” to respond what he heard.
12)Mike : “Like what am I gonna do with these big-ass dead tities?”
Marcus : “But you’re looking, though.”
Mike : “There’s something wrong with your brain.” Marcus : “Just cover the tities.”
Mike : “Goddamn!”
the drugs and money hidden in dead bodies in Johnny Tapia’s mortuary. Mike
opens the cloth and finds a dead naked woman body. Mike gazes that woman for a while and Marcus thinks that he is paying attention to her big breasts. The phrase “these big-ass dead tities” shows Mike’s expression to what Marcus thinks. This
phrase is considered vulgarity because it describes something or someone with common word; big-ass dead tities.
5. Epithet
The kind of swear words number five is epithet. As Jay (1992) states in chapter two, epithet is a disparaging or abusive word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name, of a person, or a thing. He also adds that epithet is uttered from frustration or sense or hostility so that it can be replacement of physical aggression. Epithets may also be habitual in nature, for example, always saying the same word or phrase when someone hurts himself or herself (Jay, 1992). Four sentences below are considered epithet:
13)Marcus : “Mason, go fetch!”
Mike : “Oh, shit! Now, that shit is funny. That’s some funny shit.”
(00.21.12-00.21.23)
The dialogue above is about Marcus’s large disposable pool which is pulled by Mason, Marcus’s dog that the water spills out and breaks the pool.
Marcus floats into the water and makes everyone surprised. “Shit” is considered
also makes fun of it.
14)Floyd : “I ain’t no snitch.”
Mike : “Oh, you ain’t no snitch? Oh, damn. That’s a shame.”
(01.17.17-01.17.20)
The dialogue above is about the conversation between Mike and Floyd who have just been released from the prison. Mike needs his help to arrest the drugs dealer, Johnny Tapia and his conspiracy. The word “damn” in the dialogue belongs to epithet because Mike uses it to show his power to Floyd as a police. The culprit – just like Floyd - could not refuse a police’s willingness. It is also Mike’s habit to say this word to respond to what he heard or saw.
15)Mike : “Not like this. Don’t play with that boy, seriously.
Don’t play with that boy.”
Syd : “Just tell him about New York. Do it.”
Marcus : “Tell me what?”
Mike : “Oh, shit. Is he walking down the steps? Oh, shit. He’s coming down.”
Syd : “It’s okay.”
Mike : “Yeah, you done fucked up. You done fucked up.”
(01.18.30-01.18.02)
The conversation above is about Mike who is forced to tell the truth about his relationship with Syd to her big brother, Marcus. Mike does not have courage to tell it because Marcus is in bad emotion since he is hit accidentally by Mike. The word “shit” is considered epithet as well since he often uttered the same word
by Mike.
16)Mike : “Fuck!” (02.16.34-02.16.35)
This short monologue takes place the scene when Mike is failed to shoot Johnny Tapia. They are in America Military area in Cuba and having gun shooting. “Fuck” is still considered epithet since it is uttered spontaneously to respond what Mike did. It is still Mike’s habit in responding something he heard or saw.
6. Insult and Slur
The sixth kind of swear words in Bad Boys II movie is insult and slur. Jay (1992) states that insult and slur are verbal attacks or the words to harm other people by the words alone. He also adds that they both function to hurt the person directly through the particular words or phrases. There are some examples below considered insult and slur:
17)Mike : “Hey, nigga. Who that is at the door?”
Marcus : “It’s Reggie.” (01.35.48-01.35.50)
The dialogue above is about a boy who wants to take Marcus’s daughter out for dating. Mike and Marcus fear him to make sure that he would not hurt the daughter. The word “nigga” is racial naming for black people. Therefore, this word belongs to slur. Meanwhile, “Shit, nigga. You at least 30, Motherfucker! You
speaker’s target, Reggie. It can be seen in the dialogue below:
18) Marcus : “They call him….”
Mike : “I got out of jail. I ain’t going back. I ain’t going
back. What’s wrong with you” You’re scared? You
ain’t seen a gun before?”
Marcus : “Stop pointing the gun at the boy.”
Mike : “Look! Don’t you disrespect me in front of
company? Let the gun go off. Nigga, you a big, tall, Ludarcris-looking motherfucker, ain’t you? You rap?”
01.36.07-01.36.11
Besides, “nigga” is a racial slur in those sentences. It is matched with Jay’s
theory that slur may be racial, ethnic, or social in nature and indicate the stereotyping or prejudice of the speaker, meanwhile, insults may denote the physical, mental, or psychological qualities of the target and are commonly heard on the school playground.
7. Scatology
The last kind of swear words in Bad Boy II movie is scatology. Here is an example of scatology:
19)Vargas : “Yo, now you crossed the line, man. Okay, no, that’s not funny.”
Mike : “We’re fucking with you. We planted wires, we
need some help. No bullshit.”
(01.09.30-01.09.38)
