A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Attainment of a
Sarjana Sastra Degree in English Language and Literature
Achmad Septian Nugrahanto 10211144014
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE STUDY PROGRAM ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS YOGYAKARTA STATE UNIVERSITY
DEDICATION
I proudly dedicate this thesis to my parents, Mr. Raharjo and Mrs. Vita Prihatini,
my sisters, my relatives, friends and everyone who cares, helps, and always
MOTTOS
Keep fighting! Impossible is nothing!
“O you who have believed, seek help through patience and
prayer. Indeed, Allah is
with the patient”
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE ... i
APPROVAL SHEET ... ii
RATIFICATION SHEET ... iii
SURAT PERNYATAAN ... iv
DEDICATION ... v
MOTTOS ... vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... vii
TABLE OF CONTENT ... viii
LIST OF FIGURE AND TABLES ... x
ABSTRACT ... xi
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ... 1
B. Research Focus ... 4
C. Objectives of the Study ... 5
D. Significances of the Study ... 6
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK A. Literature Review ... 7
1. Sociolinguistics ... 7
2. Language and Society ... 9
3. Language Variety ... 10
a) Style ... 12
b) Register ... 12
c) Slang ... 14
d) Jargon ... 14
1) Word Formation Processes of Jargon ... 16
5. Related Studies ... 26
B. Conceptual Framework ... 27
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD A. Type of Study ... 31
B. Research Instrument ... 31
C. Form, Context and Source of Data ... 32
D. Techniques of Data Collection ... 32
E. Techniques of Data Analysis ... 33
F. Data Trustworthiness ... 35
CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION A. Research Findings ... 37
B. Discussion ... 40
1. Word Formation Processes of Jargon ... 40
2. Functions of Jargon ... 59
CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS A. Conclusions ... 64
B. Suggestions ... 66
REFERENCES ... 68
APPENDICES ... 70
A. Data Sheet of A Sociolinguistic Analaysis of Baseball Jargon in Miller‟s Money Ball the Movie ... 71
LIST OF FIGURE AND TABLES
Figure 1. Analytical Construct ... 30
Table 1. The example of Data Sheet of a Sociolinguistic Analysis of Baseball
Jargon inMiller’s Money Ball the Movie ... 34
Table 2. The Frequency and Percentage of Forms and Functions of Baseball
A SOCIOLINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF BASEBALL JARGON IN MILLER’S MONEY BALL THE MOVIE
Achmad Septian Nugrahanto 10211144014
ABSTRACT
This research studied the sociolinguistic phenomenon, especially in terms of jargon. This study was intended to analyze the word-formation processes of jargon which occur in Miller‟s Money Ball the movie. In this study, the functions of sport jargon which occur in Miller‟s Money Ball the movie were also analyzed.
Descriptive qualitative method was applied in this study. The percentage and frequency of the data were used to strengthen the findings. Meanwhile, the discussion was presented in a descriptive way. The researcher presenteda deep analysis of the data. The data were in the form of wordsand phrases in the transcript of the movie‟s dialogue. Money Ball the movie and its transcript became the sources of the data. The data were collected by the researcher. Since it was a qualitative study, the researcher became the key instrument for collecting, measuring, and analyzing the data. Moreover, a triangulation was conducted to ensure the research trustworthiness. All of the data were analyzed through sociolinguistic perspective.
The findings of this study show that there are 77 items which are categorized as sport jargon. They are categorized as compounding (25 items), clipping and ellipsis (18 items), multiple processes (14 items), conversion (3 items), derivation (10 items) and acronym/abbreviation (7 items). Compounding becomes the most prominent form of jargon in this study. The process of compounding is easily found in sport. Meanwhile, in terms of function, this study reveals that jargon is not randomly conducted. Yet, it serves some functions which are used to make an economical communication and to promote in-group solidarity and to exclude out-groupers (who do not use jargon). The first function covers up to 90.90% of the data with 70 items. Then, the second function covers 9.09% with 7 items. In addition, understanding baseball technical terms is necessary to assist the reader in interpreting baseball jargon.
A. Background of the Study
Language can never be separated from human life. There is no action
and interaction without language. Language is an instrument of
communication. Without using language, people cannot communicate to each
other. That is why language plays an important part of communication.
People use language to convey their ideas, to grasp new facts, to answer
question, and also to ask a question. A communication will be successfully
delivered if the speakers and the listeners have knowledge about the things
which are being talked about.
There are many languages in the world, for example, Bahasa Indonesia,
English, French, German, Mandarin and etc. Every language has its
specification in pronunciation, word, grammar, and the usage. Some countries
such as China, Japan, Korea, Germany, France, Ukraine, and Russia, have
special forms or letters. The differences of forms are influenced by the culture
including history, environment, belief and even geography. In some places,
verbal language is more preferable to use rather than written language. It is
because people find that the verbal language is sometimes difficult to be
All the differences do not change the function of language itself. They have a
function as a communication means. People use their language which are
spelled and pronounced in their own way to interact with each other.
Sometimes, in a society,there areseveral styles of language which are
performed by people to communicate to each other. The styles are performed
by a particular group of people. A particular group of people who use the
same speech signal is called a speech community. Every membership of a
community is signaled by sign. The membership can be identified by the
language which is used. The words which are spoken by the members
indicate the membership of one community. Therefore, people who do not
belong to the group are difficult to understand. Some expressions are
accessible only for the member of the group.
To make an effective or efficient communication, people make their
own words or terms. In terms of effectiveness, people use several ways to
mention long expressions. Deleting some parts of word or phrase,
pronouncing the first initial letters and combining a set of words are the
examples of making effective communication. In some cases, they can make
new words or terms in order to prevent out-groupers know the conversation.
It may occur in military field. The secret expressions are used to exclude out
groupers or enemy.
In daily life, people often use some technical terms, for example the
using of term Teflon rather than “frying pan”. Actually, Teflon is well known
change it. Holmes (1992: 245) says that language varies according to its uses
as well as its users, according to where it is used and to whom, as well as
according to who is using it. It relates with Chaika (1982: 8) who says that
language is not static and it can change in some ways its speakers want it to,
or need it to, and as soon as they wish.
By the time, language changes together with the need of speakers. One
of the varieties of language is in term of jargon. Jargon is a language variety
which is used by people who work in a particular area or who have a common
interest, for example, lawyer, computer programmer, sport commentator,
musician, and etc. All of them have special terms and expressions that may
not easy to be understood by outsiders. Jargon is used by a group of people in
a multilayer society.
One can find a lot of language varieties in society especially sport.
Sport is highly characterized by jargon to reach the efficiency of
communication. In sport field, jargon is often used to deliver complicated
information in a simple or brief way. The word “Strike” in baseball means a
player has failed to hit the ball. In the other fields, “Strike”has different
meaning. Sometimes, it makes a misconception for people who do not belong
to sport. They may translate the word to the literal meaning. Sport jargons
have special interpretations. They attract the researcher to conduct this
research.
Sport is one of the fields in which jargon has important role in the
sports in which jargon is applied. It is a competitive sport which very popular
in North America, especially the United States. Baseball is a sport with many
players and supported by fanatic spectators in a stadium. Thousandsof chair
in the stadium are fulfilled by the spectators. Money Bal lis a sport-theme
film. The film is starred by several famous actors, such as Brad Pitt, Jonah
Hill, and Philip Seymour. The film is chosen as the object of this research
because it contains baseball jargons. Unconsciously, jargon is used everyday
in every occasion including sport.
B. Research Focus
In accordance with the background of the study above, the film contains
phenomena of language which can be analyzed from the perspective of
sociolinguistics.The film can be analyzed through the language varieties, such
asjargon, register, and slang. Jargon mostly occurs in the dialogs. The
characters in the film often speak in special terms to ease their
communication. In term of jargon, the formation of jargon also can be
identified by using word-formation processes. The processes are coinage,
borrowing, compounding, blending, clipping, backformation, conversion,
acronym, derivation, and multiple processes. The functions of jargon also can
be analyzed since it can create meaning‟s misconception. Baseball‟s players
often give some instructions or mention some actions in special terms. The
special terms are only understood among the players and people who involve
Besides the language varieties, the film also can be analyzed through
language and gender analysis. The dialogs occur in the film contain some
differences of the use of language among the characters since the use of
language differs between men and women. Mostly, the characters in the film
are dominated by men. The conversation among men also can be analyzed
through the use of taboo language. Sometimes they express some terms which
are uncommonly used by women.
However, to limit the scope of this research, the researcher chooses
word-formation processes and the functions of jargon as the objectives of the
research.
In accordance with the limitation, the formulations of the problems are as
follows.
1. What are the word formation processes of sport jargon which is used by
the characters in the Money Ball?
2. What are the functions of sport jargon which is used by the characters in
the Money Ball?
C. Objectives of the Study
According to the formulation of the problems above, the objectives of
the study are:
1. to analyze the word formation processes of sport jargon that occur in the
Money Ball, and
D. Significance of the Study
This study hopefully can give contributions in the study of linguistics,
especially in sociolinguistics. The significance of the study is as follows.
1. Forreaders in Yogyakarta State University, the results of the study are
expected to enrich the knowledge about sociolinguistic phenomenon.
2. The results of this research are useful for students of English Language
and Literature Study Program as a reference in conducting researches
CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
This chapter contains literature review and conceptual framework.
Literature review contains theories and definitions which are used in this research.
They are used as the basic concept of this research.
A. Literature Review 1. Sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics is a study of language and society. According to
Spolsky (1998: 3), sociolinguistics is the field that studies the relationship
between language and society and between the uses of language and the
social structures in which the users of language live. In line with Spolsky,
Coulmas in Mark Aronoff and Janie Rees-Miller, (2001: 563) states that
sociolinguistics is the empirical study of how language is used in society. He
also says that sociolinguistics is an inter-disciplinary research which
combines linguistics and sociological theories and methods. It has great
significance to the variability of language, the multiplicity of language and
language forms in society.
Language develops in society. Therefore, people in a society create
their own terms to ease their communication. In other words, language is a
states that every language is a social product and every society constitutes
itself through language.
Sociolinguistics is a study of relationship between language and
society including the function of language in the society, where it is used, for
whom it is used and when it is used. Holmes (1992: 1) says that sociolinguists
study the relationship between language and society. They identify the social
functions of language and the ways it is used to convey social meaning. They
also explain why people speak differently in different social context.
Eddy : What‟s wrong, man?
John : The old bastard makes me crazy in the class. Damn!
Eddy : Hey, husshh! He‟s here. Eddy : Oh! Hope he didn‟t hear that.
In the conversation above, John hopes that his teacher doesn't hear his
conversation. It means that, sometimes people speak differently in different
situation. John‟s word “Bastard” is the example of informal language which
is used among John‟s friends. “Bastard” is an informal expression of
unpleasant person. They create their own words which are related to their
interest, context or situation. It relates with Deumert et al (2000: 5-6). They
use word “denotational”. It is a term which refers to the process of conveying
meaning, referring to ideas, events or entities that exist outside language. He
says that language is not just denotational. People often show their social and
personal background while using language. The use of language depends on
conversation above shows that sociolinguistics has an important role in our
daily life.
Chaika (1982: 2) defines sociolinguistics as the study of how people
use language in social interaction. He says that sociolinguists investigates
language phenomenon in everyday life, such as how people talk to strangers
as well as to their friends, family and teachers and why we speak as we do
and they speak as they do. Furthermore, he also says that sociolinguistics
apparently concerns with trivial matters. However, sociolinguistics is
different from sociology of language. Hudson in Wardhaugh (1998: 13)
describes sociolinguistics as the study of language in relation to society,
whereas the sociology of language is the study of society in relation to
language.
2. Language and Society
Chaika (1982: 1) states that language and society have connectivity.
It is impossible to understand one without the other. She says that there is no
human society which does not depend on, is not shaped by, and does not itself
shape language. In the next page Chaika (1982: 2) says that social institution
is maintained by language, such as law, religion, government, education until
family. Furthermore, she says that language is used to reveal or conceal our
personal identity, our character and our background. Paulston and Tucker
(2003: 231) say that language is used as a marker of social identity and group
Wardhaugh (1998: 10) explains that there are several possible
relationships between language and society. One of the relationships is that
social structure may either influence or determine linguistics structure and/or
behavior. The certain evidence which is mentioned by Wardhaugh is
age-grading phenomenon. Children speak and behave differently than adults. The
varieties of language, the ways of speaking and choices of words are in fact
highly determined by certain social requirements, regional, social and gender.
Sociolinguistics focuses not only on terms of language and society,
but also culture since it plays an important part in society. Therefore, society
and human behavior indirectly are created by culture. Wardhaugh (1998: 215)
says that the exact nature of the relationship between language and culture
has fascinated people from a wide variety of backgrounds. According to
Whorfian Hypothesis in Wardhaugh (1998: 216), the relationship between
language and culture is that the structure of a language determines the way in
which speaker of that language views the world. Furthermore, Sapir in
Wardhaugh (1998: 216) acknowledges that language and culture are
inextricably related to each other. So, one could not understand or appreciate
one of them without other knowledge.
3. Language Variety
In this research, the researcher analyses variety of language which
occurs in sport. Language variety is one of the object studies of
social context‟ and some definitions focus on studying linguistic diversity or
language variation. Sociolinguistics focuses on the diversity of language that
happens in society.
Hudson in Wardhaugh (1998: 21) says that the variety of language is
a set of linguistic items with similar distributions. The definition allows us to
say that English, French, London English and English of football
commentaries are varieties. Hudson and Ferguson in Wardhaugh (1998: 21)
agree that variety is defined in term of a specific set of linguistic items or it is
defined as human speech pattern. The variety associates with some external
factors, such as geographical area or social group.
Social group is one of the factors which can cause variation. People
who belong to certain group have certain language. At least, they use certain
terms. Wardhaugh mentions football commentator as the one of the examples
of people who use variation. Several terms, such as goal-kick, penalty-kick,
and throw-in are commonly used in football match. People who do not belong
to football may not understand the terms. The terms often make
misconception when determining the intent. Hymes in Chaika (1982: 121)
describes that there are two ways where speech function can be mismatched
to the participants in the speech event. First, the intent is understood but not
the actual word. Second, the words are understood by themselves but not the
intent. The second often happens. In a certain event, such as news (sport,
crime, science, etc), one often find several technical terms. The actual or
technical terms refer to varieties of language. The varieties are used to ease
human conversation. There are varieties of language which occur in society,
such as style, register, slang, and jargon. The varieties of language are as
follows:
a. Style
Holmes uses term „style‟ in his book (1992: 276). It refers to language
variation which reflects change in situational factors, such as addressee,
setting, task, or topic. He says that style is often analyzed in scale of
formality. Style is similar to register. So, some linguists describe style as
„register‟ variation. However, register is distinguished from style. The
distinction between style and register is not always clear and many
sociolinguists simply ignore it. Coupland (2007: 9) says that the term „style‟
has different histories in sociolinguistics and in other fields. In
sociolinguistics, style has been a very limited concept and a peripheral
concern. According to Chaika (1982: 29), style refers to the selection of
linguistic forms which is used to convey social artistic effects. Furthermore,
Chaika (1982: 38) also states that style which is associated with a particular
social occasion is called register or functional variety of speech.
b. Register
Register, according to Wardhaugh (1998: 48), is another complicating
factor in study of language varieties beside style. Register is a set of language
items which is associated with occupation or social groups. Every profession,
employ different registers. Holmes (1992: 277) says that people when talk
about sporting event usually use different language. Register also involves
features, such as syntactic reduction and inversion of normal word order in
sentence.
Holmes (1922: 277-8), gives two examples of register of sport
commentary in a baseball or cricket match. The examples are as follows.
Example 1:
a. [it] bounced to second base b. [it‟s] a breaking ball outside
c. [He‟s a] guy who‟s a pressure player d. McCatty [is] in difficuly
e. Tucker [is] taking a few ah stuttering steps down the wicker from the bowler‟s end but Waugh [is] sending him back
Example 2:
a. In comes Ghouri
b. And all set again is Patt Haden c. On deck is big Dave Winfield
d. Pete goes to right field and back for it goes Jackson
The Example 1 shows the syntactic reduction of register. The commentator
often omits the subject noun or pronoun as in [a], and frequently omits the
verb be as well as utterances [b] and [c] illustrate. Be in utterance [d] and [e]
are omitted. Although the commentators omit them, people still get the
meaning of the commentaries. Holmes says that there is no loss of meaning as
a result of this syntactic reduction. The omitted elements are totally
predictable in the context. In the Example 2, there are inversions of the
c. Slang
Slang, according to Yule (2010: 259), is more typically used among those
who are outside established higher-status group. Sometimes it is used by
younger speaker. Slang consists of words or phrases. Slang is commonly used
by people with close relationship in informal occasion. People usually do not
use slang to stranger or in formal occasion. Yet, it is possible to use slang in
formal occasion to attract audience attention or to make closeness between
them. Yule says that slang is like clothing and music. It is an aspect of social
life that has function like fashion, especially among adolescents. In its usage,
slang contains impolite or taboo terms. Age usually influences the use of
slang. The use of slang greatly differs between young and old people. Young
people often use more taboo terms.
Yule gives some examples of taboo terms. The adolescents prefer to use
“awesome”, “rad”and “wicked” rather than “groovy”, “hip” and “super” to
refer to “really good”. Even, they usually use “that’s suck” rather than “so
bad”.
d. Jargon
Jargon is one of language varieties. It contains technical terms. Social
institutions, communities or groups engage jargon regularly. Chaika (1982:
120) defines jargons as varieties of language which are created for specific
functions by people who engage in them regularly. She also says that jargon
they are created. Moreover, she says that jargon develops rapidly and it
depends on personal and social needs of the speakers. Jargon is one of the
factors of language change.
In line with Chaika, Allan and Burridge (2006: 65) define jargon as a
variety of language which is used among people who have similar interest.
Yule (2010: 259) states that jargon is special technical vocabulary which is
associated with a specific area of work or interest. In society, he says that
jargon helps to create and maintain connections among those who called
themselves as “insiders” and to exclude “outsiders.”
People often use jargon to deliver their purpose. Unconsciously, jargon is
used every day in any human activity. Sport is one of the activities in which
the players use jargon regularly. Several sport terms, such as goal-kick,
free-kick, penalty-free-kick, pitcher, and bat are the examples of jargon. Sometimes we
find them in a conversation among sport commentators or we find them in
sport news. Jargon is created to fill the limitation of word or term which is
difficult to be described or too long to be mentioned. However, jargon relates
to a society. It is used among particular group of people. Allan and Burridge
(2006: 56) describe that jargon is more than just lexical differences. They
often differ grammatically, and sometimes phonologically or typographically.
Macquarie Dictionary in Allan and Burridge (2006: 56) describes that jargon
is a peculiar language to a trade, profession or other groups. Jargon is the
language which is used in a spoken or written text. It relates to the particular
expression. Jargon has an important role in social interaction. It cannot be
separated from society. As a producer of language, society influences human
behavior.
1) Word Formation Processes of Jargon
Yule (2010: 53) says that language is shaped by the needs of its users.
Jargon is created when people find a limitation of vocabulary. People often
create their own terms to ease their conversation. Sometimes, there are long
terms, such as Association of South East Asian Nations and Federation
Internationale de Football Association which are too long to be mentioned.
People create the short form in order to ease and make economical
communication. They use abbreviation or acronym form to mention the long
terms. Meanwhile, not only abbreviation and acronym, they also create the
short terms in some processes, such as compounding, blending, and clipping.
Word-formation processes have an important role to determine the
processes of creating technical terms. The processes create new terms which
are used by speakers who cannot convey their purpose in ordinary words. In
this research, word-formation processes are used as the strategy to analyze the
processes of creating the jargon. Jargon consists of words and phrases. Its
usage often makes a misconception. People sometimes find two words which
are combined and spoken as a single word. Morley (2000: 26) says that word
is the basic unit of syntax. Compound words, such as homerun, birthday or
sunshine are still individual units. However, the position is complicated.
lock. They have different meaning. It shows that the processes of creating the
jargon are influenced by word-formation processes.
Yule (2010: 52-3) gives an example of an invention of word. In 1900s,
J. Murray Spangler invented a device which was called electric suction
sweeper. It became very popular and known as Spangler. One day, Mr.
Spangler sold his new invention to a local businessman, named Mr. William
H. Hoover. Hoover Suction Sweeper Company produced the first machine
called Hoover. Now, it‟s known as vacuum cleaner all around the world,
although in Britain, people still use word hoovering rather than spanglering.
In this case, word-formation processes indirectly become the important
parts of language. They play as the bridge in inventing new words. The
processes can change the pattern of word and even change the meaning.
Hoover is a person‟s name, but it is used as the name of a product. Sometimes
the new word itself is only understood by particular group of people, for
example, hoover, spangler,klenex, kodak, blackbox, etc. Moreover, if we have
lack of knowledge, we cannot get the meaning. As a universal language,
English also adopts some languages from other countries, such as France,
Italy, German, Hindi, and Arab. Terms, such as algebra, piano, sofa, and
yoghurt are borrowed from other countries.
Understanding the processes of creating jargon is very important. It is
aimed to give the description and deep understanding of how a word or
phrase is produced. A word or phrase can be modified and combined to get
invention and figuration are described through the processes. Word-formation
processes according to Yule (2010: 53-60) are as follows:
a) Coinage
Coinage is one of the common processes of word-formation in English. It
produces new terms. One often calls something by the name of its brand, for
example, Aspirin, Nylon, Vaseline, Zipper, Kodak, Teflon, Kleenex, and
Kevlar. Basically, they are brands which are used as the name of its product.
In some cases, the name of place or person develops as the name of a product.
This kind of coinage is called Eponym. The common eponym, such as Volt, is
taken from its inventor, Alesandro Volta (Italy). Fahrenheit is taken from its
inventor, Gabriel Fahrenheit (Germany), and Jeans is taken from the name of
city in Italy (Genoa) at which that kind of cloth was made for the first time.
b) Borrowing
One of the most common sources of new words in English is borrowing.
Borrowing is a process of adopting some words from other languages. Yule
says that throughout its history, English has adopted a vast number of words
from other languages, including croissant (French), dope (Dutch), lilac
(Persian), piano (Italian), pretzel (German), sofa (Arabic), tattoo (Tahitian),
tycoon (Japanese), yogurt (Turkish) and zebra (Bantu). However, some
languages also borrow English terms, such as Japan with suupaa or
suupaamaaketto (supermarket) and taipuraitaa(typewriter). In some cases,
is called Calque, for example, wolkenkrabber (Dutch) in English is “cloud
scratcher”, and wolkenkratzer (Germany) in English is “cloud scraper”.
c) Compounding
Yule (2010: 55) says that compounding is a process of joining two
separates words to produce a single form without any reduction. Sometimes
the words which are joined consist of two different classes, for example, fast
(adjective) and food (noun) become fast-food. It has new term and meaning.
Another common term is full (adjective) and time (noun) become full-time. It
also happens to the same class of word, such as book (noun) and case (noun)
becomes bookcase, then wall (noun) and paper (noun) become wallpaper.
One can find those terms in some fields, including advertisement and sport.
Compounding commonly happens in English and German, and less common
in French and Spanish.
d) Blending
Blending is a combination of two separate forms to produce a new single
term. Yule says (2010: 55) that it is typically accomplished by taking only the
beginning of one word and joining it to the end of another word, for example,
Smog. It is a new term from smoke and fog. Then, Brunch is a new term from
breakfast and lunch. Infotainment (information and entertainment), Simulcast
(simulation- broadcast), and Modem (modulator-demodulator) are the other
e) Clipping and Ellipsis
Clipping, according to Yule (2010: 56), occurs when a word (which has
more than one syllable) is reduced to a shorter form, usually the beginning.
Clipping eliminates the initial part, the last part, or both parts of the word, for
example, Fax is the reduction from Facsimile. Ad (advertisement), bra
(brassiere), cab (cabriolet), condo (condominium), fan (fanatic) and flu
(influenza) are the common examples of clipping. People use form Gasoline,
but sometimes they also use form gas.
Sometimes people must have an educational knowledge to understand the
meaning of clipping form. Gym, lab, sci, math, prof, or chem are the
examples of clipping which are taken from formal educational field. English
speaker sometimes clip the other‟s names, such as Liz, Ed, Tom, Mike, Sam,
Sue, Ron and so on. In British-English countries, such as Britain and
Australia, there is a type of clipping which is called Hypocorisms. In this type
of clipping, a multi-syllable word is reduced to a single syllable then “y” or
“ie” is added in the end of that word, for example, movie (moving pictures)
and brekky (breakfast). Even, they use term Aussie for Australian.
Clipping occurs only in word. Yet, the omission also can be found in a
clause and phrase. It is called ellipsis. According to Morley (2000: 15),
people can omit the particular elements of clause and phrase which he/she
considers to be recoverable from the earlier part of the clause and phrase.
Young and Fitzgerald (2006: 108) state that ellipsis is the omission of certain
can be retrieved by listeners or readers from the surrounding clause. Word
third in baseball has several meanings. According to the context at which the
speaker speaks, the word can refer to third base, third baseman, third inning
or third ball. The meaning of the ellipsis part is still understood by the
listener, as long as the listener understand the context.
f) Backformation
According to Yule (2010: 56), it is a type of reductions of word. It
happens when a word (usually noun) is reduced to another type of words
(usually verb), for example, donate is backformation from donation, emote is
taken from emotion, enthuse from enthusiasm, liaise from liaison and babysit
from babysitter.
g) Conversion
It can change the class of word and produces a new form of word without
any reduction. Yule (2010: 57) defines that conversion is a change in the
function of a word, for example, when a noun is used as a verb (without any
reduction). Usually it is called as functional shift or category change.
Through this process, noun can be used as verb. Word bottle is used as verb
in We bottled the home-brew last night. Another common example is water in
We are watering the garden. In some cases, verb also can be used as noun.
Common words, such as spy, guess, and must are classified as verb. However,
they are also can be used as noun, such as a spy, a guess, and a must.
Conversion also occurs in phrasal verbs, such as to print out and to take
adjective in stand-up comedian. Other common forms are up and down,
which are used as verb in They’re going to up the price of oil and We downed
a few beers at the chimes. Yule (2010: 55) also says that conversion is
particularly productive in modern English.
h) Acronym
According to Yule (2010: 58), acronym is new word which is formed
from the initial letters of a set of mother words. They are pronounced as a
new single word. It is used in particular occupation, organization and political
field. Some organizations design their names in form of acronym, for
example, NATO, NASA, and UNICEF. These examples keep their capital
letters, but many acronyms simply become everyday terms, such as laser
(light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation), radar (radio
detecting and ranging), and scuba (self-contained underwater breathing
apparatus). In some cases, acronym can be pronounced as its letters, such as
CD (Compact Disc) and ATM (Automatic Teller Machine). This kind of
acronym is called abbreviation.
i) Derivation
The most common word-formation in English is derivation. Yule (2010:
58) says that it is a process when the meaning of word changes if a number of
small “bits” are added in the beginning or in the end of that word. Yule uses
word “bits” which is described as affixes. Generally, there are three kinds of
First, affixes which are added in the beginning of word called prefix,
such as un-, dis-, re-, in-/im- and mis- . The simple example of prefix is happy
becomes unhappy (adjective). It does not change the type of word but it
changes the meaning (not happy). Second, affixes which are added in the end
of word is called suffix, such as -er, -ly, ism and –ish. The common examples
are worker, finally, terrorism, and foolish. The type of word changes
following the suffixes. In some cases, one can find a word with prefix and
suffix, for example, disrespectful. Third is infix. It‟s a type of affix that is not
normally used in English, but found in some other languages. It is an affix
which is incorporated inside word. Infix is often found in Bahasa Indonesia.
Word gerigi is an example of infix in Bahasa Indonesia.
j) Multiple Processes
According to Yule (2010: 60), it is possible to trace the operation of more
than one process in the creation of word. The word snowball is a product of
compounding. It consists of snow and ball. Actually snowball is a noun, but it
can be a verb in “Problems with the project have snowballed”. The last word
has changed through multiple processes of compounding and conversion.
2) Functions of jargon
According to Allan and Burridge (2006: 58), jargon is manifested in
written language, for example, the form and structure of birth and death
notices, parliamentary and legal documents, recipes, poems, stock-market
people use jargon to ease their activities. Allan and Burridge (2006: 58)
identify two functions of jargon. The functions of jargon are as follows:
a) to serve as a technical/specialist language for precise and
economical communication, and
b) to promote in-group solidarity and to exclude out-groupers, those
who do not use the jargon.
The first function of jargon shows that jargon is used for making economical
and effectiveness of communication. The technical or specialist terms, which
are used in baseball, are created in term of jargon. Word homerun in baseball
has a function to describe a certain situation. The situation is too long to be
mentioned in a baseball match. Therefore, people create their own termsor
jargons which belong to baseball. The second function of jargon is used to
show the solidarity among those who use jargon. Usualy, people who engage
jargon regularly have closeness one and another. They often show their
closeness and solidarity by using verbal language. The second function of
jargon also show that by using jargon people can exclude the out-groupers,
those who do not use the jargon. This function is often found in military. The
military jargons are used to exclude the out-groupers or enemy.
4. Money Ball
Money Ball was an American sport movie drama that was released in
2011. It was directed by Bennett Miller. The movie was based on Michael
Lewis‟ (2003) non-fiction book with the same name. The film was starred by
Athletics baseball team in 2002 with their general manager, Billy Bean. The
film correlated to jargon since it was sport-themed film which contained
baseball jargons and baseball technical terms.
Oakland Athletics was an American baseball team which played in
MLB (Major League Baseball) west division. Oakland faced internal
problems and financial crisis. Billy Bean (Brad Pitt) was the General
Manager of the team. He was on the bewildering situation because of the
departure of his stars Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, and Jason Isringhausen.
In another hand, Beane was building a competitive team for season 2002.
Unfortunately, he was also bewildered by Oakland's financial policy. He
faced a reality that his team, with low financial, could not compete with the
other rich teams. They cannot buy talented players with their money.
At the time, Beane met Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), a young Yale
economics graduated with radical ideas about players' value. He analyzed the
stamina, ability statistics and players‟ records to get the value. He gave
suggestion and consideration to Bean in recruiting new players with less
money. Finally, with a big consideration, they decided to buy some
low-rating players. Slow but sure, Bean tried to build his team.
One day, in a game against Kansas City Royal, Beane did not come to
the ballpark. He was on the way to back home. He decided to follow the
match from a radio in a gym. When he heard how well the game was going
on the radio, he decided to back to the ballpark. Beane arrived in the fourth
Oakland had a chance to play on the playoff (in post-season). Unfortunately,
the team loosed in a game against Minnesota Twins in the postseason. At the
time, Bean was disappointed.
He also contacted by the owner of the Boston Red Sox, who realized
that the sabermetric model was the future of baseball, and they offered him a
job as their general manager. Beane rejected it, despite an offer of a $12.5
million salary would make him as the highest-paid general manager in sport
history. He stayed in Oakland, while two years later the Red Sox Boston won
the 2004 World Series by using the model which was pioneered by the
Oakland Athletics.
5. Related studies
This research was inspired by some related studies which were
conducted before. The studies were conducted by students of English
Education Department of Yogyakarta State University. They investigated
sociolinguistics, especially language variety. The analysis of the related
studies had some similarities. Meanwhile, they had different subject. The
objectives in the related studies were also similar to this research, but they
had different table of analysis and the object of the research.
The first related study was entitled An Analysis of Military Jargon on a
Video Game: Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare by Aditya Eko Sigit
Wicaksono. This research analyzed the forms, functions, and the meaning of
jargon in the video game. In collecting the data, the researcher played the
about military war. The second related study was Analysis of Computer
Jargon in Macbook Users’ Guide by Laila Putri. This research also analyzed
the functions and forms of jargon in Macbook Users‟ Guide. Its researcher
also described the meaning and identified the type of meaning in terms of
word-relation of jargon in Macbook Users‟ Guide associated with IT.
B. Conceptual Framework
This research is aimed to investigate the functions and the figuration of jargon
in the film Money Ball. Sociolinguistics conducts this research since the study
concerns with language and society. To describe and answer the problems,
researcher uses Yule‟s explanation of word-formation processes. The
word-formation processes are linked to the figuration of jargon. There are ten processes
of word-formation.
First is coinage. It is a process which allows us to mention something by the
name of its brand or name of its inventor, such as Aspirin, Nylon, Vaselin, Teflon,
Volt, Fahrenheit and Jeans. Second is borrowing. It is a process of adopting word
from other languages, such as croissant (France), dope (Ducth), lilac (Persian),
piano (Italian), pretzel (German), sofa (Arabic), and yoghurt (Turkish). Third is
compounding. Compounding is a process of joining two separated words to
produce a single form without any reductions, for example, fast (adjective) and
food (noun) become fastfood. Fourth is blending. It is a combination of two
separated forms to produce a new single term. It is accomplished by taking only
the beginning part of one word and join it with the last part of another word, for
Fifth is clipping. It occurs when a word (more than one syllable) or phrase is
reduced to a shorter form, for example, facsimile is reduced to fax. Sixth is
backformation. It happens when a type of word (usually a noun) is reduced to a
shorter form followed by the change of the type of word (usually a verb), for
example donate is backformation from donation. Seventh is conversion. It can
change the class of word and produces a new term of word without any reduction.
Noun can be used as verb, for example, word “bottle” that is used as verb in “we
bottled the home-brew last night”. Eighth is acronym. It‟s a new word which is
formed by the initial letter of set of mother words, for example, NASA, NATO, and
UNICEF. Acronym also can be pronounced by each letter, such as CD from
CompactDisk. This kind of acronym is called abbreviation. Ninth is derivation. It
happens when the meaning of word changes if affixes are added in the beginning
or in the end of that word. Finally, unhappy, and foolish are the common
examples of derivation. The last one is multiple processes. It is possible to trace
the operation of more than one process in the creation of word. Word “snowball”
in problems with the project have snowballed has change through multiple
processes of compounding and derivation. Word snowball above is no longer used
as noun, but as a verb.
The researcher also uses Allan and Burridge explanation to classify the
functions of jargon. There are two function of jargon. The first is to serve as a
technical/specialist language for precise and economical communication. The
do not use jargon. In this research, the researcher constructs a conceptual
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHOD
A. Type of Study
This research was conducted by using descriptive qualitative method.
The qualitative method served descriptive data. According to Vanderstoep and
Johnston (2009: 7), a qualitative research is used to produce narrative or textual
description of the phenomena under the study. This method emphasizes on
process and description which are not examined or measured in term of quantity.
Sugiyono (2012: 24) says that qualitative method is used to understand the deep
meaning which cannot be described in quantitative method. In this research, a
qualitative design was used to describe the word formation processes of jargon
and the functions of jargon in Money Ball.
Moreover, to support the research, the researcher also used a
quantitative analysis. The quantitative analysis was used to count the percentage
of occurrences of the data. It is used to ensure that the data measurement is
precise.
B. Research Instrument
In this research,the primary instrument was the researcher itself.
Sugiyono (2012: 222) describes that in a qualitative research, the key instrument
is the researcher itself. He also says that a researcher acts as the human
of the data, the process of collecting the data, analyzing the data, interpreting the
data, and making the conclusion. Furthermore, to support data analysis, the
researcher also used a secondary instrument. The secondary instrument was a data
sheet which was used to collect the data from the dialogues of Money Ball.
C. Form, Context and Source of Data
According to Bogdan and Taylor in Moleong (2001: 3) qualitative
research is a research which produces descriptive data including written and
spoken words and behavior. The data of this research were in the form of words
and phrases which were taken from the film Money Ball. The context of the data
was the dialogues/conversations performed by the characters in the movie. The
data were taken from the movie, entitled Money Ball.
According to Denscombe (2007: 289), the data of qualitative research
can be taken from fieldwork notes, interview transcript, texts, photographs, etc.
The source of the data was taken from the transcript of the film. The transcript
was taken from
http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=MoneyBall
D. Techniques of Data Collection
Vanderstoep and Johnston (2009: 189) state that there are several
techniques in collecting data, such as interview, ethnographic observation,
analysis of documents, and visual analysis. The steps of collecting the data were:
1. watching the film Money Ball as the primary source of data,
2. retrieving the script as the secondary source of data from
3. checking the accuracy between the film and the script,
4. re-watching the film to find the relevant data,
5. collecting the data which reflected sport jargon, and
6. classifying the data which were in accordance with the objectives of this
study into the data sheet.
E. Techniques of Data Analysis
Steinbeck in Sugiyono (2012: 244) states that data analysis is an an
important aspect to the qualitative research process. It is a recognition, study and
understanding of the research concept. In a qualitative research, the data can be
obtained from various sources. The data are arranged systematically. Bogdan in
Sugiyono (2012: 244) states that data analysis is the process of systematically
searching and arranging accumulated data to increase the researcher‟s
understanding. The steps of the data analysis were mentioned in the following.
1. First, the researcher collected the data. After that, the collected data
would be transferred systematically into a categorization process which
was drawn to a table. The table was used to categorize the word
formation processes and the functions of jargon. The format of the data
Table 1. The example of Data Sheet ofA Sociolinguistics Analysis of Baseball Jargon in Money Ball Movie
No Code Dialogue Functions Word Formation Processes Explanation
F1 F2 Co Br Com Bl
Cl-F1 : It is the function of jargon as a technical or specialist language for precise and economical communication.
F2 : It is the function of jargon which is used to promote in-
2. Second, the data were classified in the data sheet based on the
classification of the two objectives of the study through the characters
3. Third, jargons which were uttered by the characters in the film were
described in order to answer the formulation of the problem.
4. Fourth, the trustworthiness of the data was checked during the process of
data analysis.
5. Finally, the conclusion of the research was made based on the result of
the research.
F. Data Trustworthiness
In qualitative research, Sugiyono (2012: 268) says that the validity of
data depends on the correlation between the report and actual phenomenon. The
data are valid if the report and actual phenomena are same. Sugiyono (2012: 270)
states that the validity of the data in a qualitative research includes credibility,
transferability, dependability, and confirmability. In line with Sugiyono, Moelong
(2002: 173-5) states that credibility, transferability, dependability and
confirmability are the criteria to check the validity of the data.
In this research, to deal with credibility of the data, the researcher
presented deep and detail information of the data so that the data could be
considered credible. To check the dependability, the researcher read and re-read
the data, examined the process of data collection and data analysis by matching
the research questions with the results of data collection. In conformability, the
researcher checked whether the data findings and the interpretation were truly
based on the obtained data or not. The researcher used triangulation technique to
achieve the conformability by consulting the data to two supervisors. This data
student is a student of English Language and Literature study program majoring in
linguistics in order to minimize the subjectivity of the data. The second student is
a student of Communication Study from Faculty of Social Science of Yogyakarta
State University. The second student is also an athlete of baseball who played in
CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter consists of two sections. The first section is research findings.
It presents the word formation processes of jargon which are obtained from the
Money Ball‟s characters. The findings are presented in a table analysis. The table
analysis consists of frequencies of word formation processes and functions of
jargon. The second section contains brief explanations of the research findings. In
this section the findings are deeply discussed by presenting some examples of the
data.
A. Research Findings
The findings are presented in the form of a table. The table shows the
frequency and percentage of jargon‟s occurrence. In accordance with the
findings, the first objective of this research is to analyze the word formation
processes of jargon. The forms of jargon are presented in the table. The
second objective is to describe the functions of sport jargon. It is also
presented in the table. The following table presents the findings of the forms
Table 2. The Frequency and Percentage of Word Formation Processes and Functions of Baseball Jargon in Money Ball movie
No
F1 : To serve as a technical or specialist language for precise and economical communication
Table 2 shows that there are total 77 sport jargons which were taken from
the movie. It also shows the frequency and percentage of sport jargon.
According to the table, there are 10 forms of jargon. However, there are only
six forms which are identified. They are compounding, clipping and ellipsis,
multiple processes, conversion, derivation and acronym and abreviation. The
table also shows the frequency and percentage of jargon‟s functions.
In the word formation processes of jargon, compounding becomes the
most prominent form with 32.46%. It means that compounding occurs 25
times out of 77. The second prominent is clipping-ellipsis with the percentage
of 23.37%. Clipping and ellipsis occur 18 times in this research. The third
rank is multiple processes with 19.48% of percentage or 15 times occur in
this research. The fourth is derivation with the percentage is 11.68% or 9
times out of 77. The fifth rank is acronym-abreviation with the percentage is
9.09% or 7 times out of 77. The last rank is conversion. It has percentage
3.89% with 3 items. Meanwhile, coinage, borrowing, blending and
backformation are not found in the research. They do not have the number of
frequency and percentage.
The table also shows that 70 items have function as technical or specialist
language for precise and economical communication. Whereas, 7 items of the
data are used to promote in-group solidarity and to exclude out-groupers who
do not use the jargon. Since baseball jargons are used as technical language,
the first function becomes the most prominent function in this research. The
communication, including the commentators and announcers. Sport
commentators or announcers perform jargon rapidly to describe activities or
moments that happen in the game. The data which are identified as second
function show the closeness, relationship and sentiment of the characters.
They use technical terms to show their solidarity rather than to exclude the
out-groupers.
B. Discussion
In this section, the researcher describes, explains and answers the
questions based on the research findings and the formulation of problems in
chapter one. The explanation is also based on the related theories which are
previously described in chapter two. This section is divided into two parts.
The first is analysis of jargon‟s forms and the second part is analysis of
jargon‟s functions. The explanations in this section also serve the example of
the data.
a. Word Formation Processes of Jargon
The first objective deals with word formation processes. There are 10
processes. They are coinage, borrowing, compounding, blending, clipping,
backformation, conversion, acronym and abbreviation, derivation and
multiple processes. Yet, the researcher only can find six processes in this
a. Compounding
As displayed in Table 2, compounding is the most prominent form of jargon
performed in film Money Ball. Compounding is a process of combining two
or more words to produce a single word with a new meaning without any
reduction. Sport terms are often produced in this process. In this research,
there are 25 out of 77 items which are classified as compounding. The
findings show that the percentage of this form is 32.46%. This percentage is
the highest among all percentages. Baseball jargons in term of compounding
are often used by the characters. They are easily found in the movie.
Compounding occurs in the dialogue below.
Billy : Can he hit?
Keough : He's got a beautiful swing. The ball explodes off
his bat. He throws the club head at the ball, and when he connects, he drives it, it pops off the bat. You can hear it all over the ballpark.
(JM16/F1/Com) The dialogue above happens when Billy and all Oakland Athletics' staff
managers are meeting in a room. They are discussing about buying some
players. They give their arguments about players who deserve to replace
Giambi and Isringhausen position. Keough, one of the staffs, suggests team to
buy Geronimo. He says that Geronimo has all that are needed by the club and
he believes that Geronimo can crowd the ballpark. The word “ballpark” is
another term of “stadium”. The word actually consists of two words. They are
“ball” and “park”. Both have their own meaning. Separately, they have
different meaning from the word “ballpark”. According to Oxford Dictionary,
and sports. Ball is also classified as a round object or a thing that has been
formed into a round shape. Whereas, park is an area of public land in a town
or a city where people go to walk, play and relax. American people use term
ballpark or park to refer to a piece of land for playing sport, especially
baseball. Ballpark is uncommonly used in Britain and other countries except
America. In Indonesia, people prefer to use term “stadium”.
Compounding happens when two words are joined without any reduction
to produce a new single word with new meaning. The words can be in same
class (noun with noun) or different class (noun with verb or adverb). The
word “ball” is joined with the word “park” and produce word “ballpark”. Ball
and park are classified as noun. Yet, they can be joined through this process.
The following datum is also explained as the example of compounding.
Billy : Okay good. What‟s the problem?
Grady : The problem is we have to replace three key players in our lineup.
(JM19/F1/Com) The dialogue still occurs in the meeting. Billy asks everybody in the room,
who do not understand the problem, about resolving the problem. The
dialogue above contains the term of compounding. The word “lineup” is a
compound word from word “line” and “up”. They have different meaning.
One cannot get the meaning clearly if they are understood separately. Lineup
is a term that is usually used to refer to the players who are brought by coach
in a match. On the other hand, separately the word “line” means a long thin
mark on the ground that is used to show the limit or border of something.
functions. It can be an adverb, preposition, adjective, verb or noun.
Functionally, word “up” is often used in phrasal verb.
The word “lineup” is often used in sport to refer to players in a team. A
baseball lineup usually consists of 15 until 18 players. 9 players are the
starting and the others are reliever or substitution players. Based on the
position, starting players are divided into three. They are infielder, outfielder
and battery. However, infielder is also divided into first baseman, second
baseman, third baseman and shortstop. Outfielder is divided into left fielder,
center fielder and right fielder. Then battery is pitcher and catcher. Each team
must announce the Batting Order. Player who plays at bat for the first until
ninth is listed in the Batting Order. The list cannot be changed during the
match. If a player in the batting order unfortunately has injured during the
match, he can be replaced by substitution player. However, the substitution
player plays for hitting and running only, appropriated to the injured player‟s
position. A substitution player who plays for hitting is called pinch hitter.
Then, who plays for running is called pinch runner. A pinch hitter is
responsible for hitting and running to first base. After he successfully reaches
first base, he must be replaced by the original batter (based to the batting
order list). The starting pitcher also can be changed by relieve pitcher. His
duty is the same as the starting pitcher.
In sport, jargons in term of compounding are easily found. Another example
Billy : What‟s the problem Barry?
Barry : We need 38 homeruns, 27 RBIs and 47 doubles to replace...
(JM20/F1/Com) Billy does not get the answer. Then he asks Barry. Barry says that the team
needs 38 homeruns. The word “homerun” has ambiguous meaning if it is not
used in baseball. It consists of “home” (noun) and “run” (verb). The word
“homerun” cannot be understood separately. Home is a place which we live
in. Whereas, run is an activity of using our legs. If they are joined without any
reduction, the meaning automatically change.
In sport, especially baseball, homerun refers to a chance for running back
to home-base without any obstruction. If the batter hits the ball strongly
toward tribune or outside of the park, which cannot be caught by outfielders,
he and the runners at first, second and third base are allowed to run to
home-base without any obstruction. The higher point for a homerun is 4. It happens
when the batter successfully hits for a homerun and all bases are loaded by
runners. The batter and the three runners, who run back to home-base, are
valued 4 points.
Compounding dominates the findings of this research since the research‟s
theme relates to sport. In sport, the process of joining word often happens.
Technical terms which are produced by compounding process help us to
describe the action or activity in sport. The first word which is joined usually
indicates the adjective. It gives certain information to the second one. The
common technical terms, such as baseman, curveball, fastball and home-base