The Form and Use of Swearing Words in the Movie the Wolf of the Wall Street
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DOI: 10.24843/JH.2018.v22.i02.p20
ISSN: 2302-920X
Jurnal Humanis, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Unud
Vol 22.2 Mei 2018: 416-424
The Form and Use of Swearing Words in the Movie the Wolf of the Wall Street
I Gusti Ngurah Mahadiputra
English Department, Faculty of Arts, Udayana University [gungmaha182@gmail.com]
Abstract
This paper is entitled “The Form and the Use of Swearing Words in the Wolf of the Wall Street Movie”. This study aims to identify the kinds of swearing words and explain the purpose of the use of swearing words in the movie. The data were collected directly from the movie subtitle as the data source. The data of swearing words were collected by notetaking technique, the dialogues containing swearing words were noted and then the best ones were chosen to be analyzed according to the theory. The data were analyzed by using the qualitative method, and analyzed based on the theory of classification of swearing words proposed by Hughes (1991) to identify the kinds of swearing words and theory of principle purpose of verbal obscenity proposed by Liedlich (1972) used to analyze the purpose of the use of swearing words. The finding shows that there are six kinds of swearing words found. The kinds of swearing words found in the movie are indicated from the genital term, excretory term, animal term, anatomical term, imbecilic term, and general term. All those words are used in the informal situation and mostly used by the character to express their feeling such as anger, happiness and their dissatisfaction with something. Besides, from seven principal purposes of verbal obscenity, there are six purposes of using swearing words found in this study; they are swearing words used to provide catharsis, to discredit, the term of endearment, to show personal identification, to create attention, and to insult. By using swearing words they can express their emotion and feel as well. Generally, swearing words are not allowed to be spoken in daily conversation but in this movie, all characters mostly used swearing words in their daily conversations.
Key words: Swear words, taboo words and verbal obscenity.
Abstrak
Penelitian yang berjudul “The Form and Use of Swearing Words in the Movie Wolf of the Wall Street Movie” bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi jenis-jenis dari kata umpatan dan menjelaskan tujuan dari penggunaan kata-kata umpatan dalam film tersebut. Data didalam penelitian ini langsung diambil dari subjudul film sebagai sumber data. Data dari kata umpatan tersebut dikumpulkan menggunakan teknik mencatat, dialog berisi kata-kata umpatan dicatat dan kemudian dipilih yang terbaik untuk dianalisis menurut teori tersebut. Datanya dianalisis dengan menggunakan metode kualitatif, dan dianalisis menggunakan teori yang pertama yang diusulkan oleh Hughes (1991) untuk mengidentifikasi jenis katakata umpatan dan teori yang kedua diusulkan oleh Liedlich (1972) yang digunakan untuk
menganalisis tujuan si pembicara dalam menggunakan kata-kata umpatan. Ada enam jenis kata umpatan yang ditemukan. Jenis kata umpatan yang ditemukan di film ini adalah indikasi dari istilah genital, istilah ekskretoris, istilah hewan, istilah anatomis, istilah imbecil, dan istilah umum. Semua kata-kata yang digunakan dalam situasi informal dan kebanyakan digunakan oleh karakter untuk mengekspresikan perasaan mereka seperti marah, bahagia dan mengungkapkan ketidakpuasan mereka terhadap sesuatu. Selain itu, dari tujuh tujuan utama kecabulan verbal, ada enam tujuan menggunakan kata-kata umpatan yang ditemukan dalam penelitian ini, seperti kata-kata umpatan digunakan untuk memberi katarsis, mendiskreditkan, memberi semangat, menunjukkan identifikasi pribadi, untuk menciptakan perhatian, dan untuk menghina. Dengan menggunakan kata umpatan mereka bisa mengekspresikan emosi dan perasaan mereka juga. Umumnya kata sumpah tidak diijinkan untuk diucapkan dalam percakapan sehari-hari tapi di film ini semua karakter banyak menggunakan kata sumpah dalam percakapan sehari-hari mereka.
Kata kunci: Kata umpatan, kata-kata tabu, dan kecabulan verbal.
Swearing words are part of taboo words that have a unique phenomenon. They are unique since they are not allowed to be spoken in a daily conversation, especially the formal one, because they can create shock, offensiveness, and social norm violation in the society, on the other hand, to some people those words are used as a way to express emotional feeling, as a means of enhancing group’s solidarity, even those words are used as their habit in everyday life. It is interesting because swearing words always develop and have been used since they were found for the first time until now.
According to Jay (1992) swearing is the use of taboo language with the purpose of expressing the speaker’s emotional state and communicating that information to the listener. Further, Jay (2009) states that taboo words can also be used for achieving a variety of personal and interpersonal outcome that could be negative, inconsequential, or positive in term of their impacts to others. In expressing it, they usually use verbal
obscenity. According to Liedlich (1973) verbal obscenities are the obscene words which are uttered or used by the speakers and they are known as a type of swearing which uses indecent words and those words should not be used in the society.
Nowadays, many movies produced are using swearing words, whether or not they are related to their need in certain context of situation. One of the reasons why a moviemaker uses taboo words is that in a fiction, they support the plot and conflict of the whole story and they are essential for the story.
As applied in our daily conversation, swearing words are also being used in many movies. Many movies use swearing words in the dialogue, for example, in The Wolf of The Wall Street movie. The Wolf of The Wall Street movie is used as a data source because there are many swearing words uttered by some characters. Through this movie people can see that swearing words can be used for any reasons, depending on the situational context. This study is entitled “The Form and Use of Swearing Words in The Wolf
of Movie The Worlf of The Wall Street”. It is mainly focused on the existence of swearing words in the English Language. This study is aimed to find out the use of swear words in The Wolf of the Wall Street movie.
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a) What types of swearing words were applied in the movie The Wolf of The Wall Street?
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b) What are the purposes of the use of swearing words used by the characters in the movie The Wolf of The Wall Street?
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a) To identify the kinds of swearing words were found inthemovie.
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b) To explain the purposes of the use of swearing words inthemovie.
In conducting research, an appropriate methodology plays a very significant role. There were three points to be discussed in this section. The research method, method and technique of collecting data, and method and technique of analyzing data.
The data source of this study was taken from the movie entitled “The Wolf of the Wall Street”. The movie is a 2013 American biographicalblack comedycrime film directed by Martin Scorsese.The data were chosen because the movie contains a lot of non-standard and informal English words such as the use of swear words.
In collecting the data
documentation method were applied. There are 5 steps taken in collecting the data,
First, in order to get some information about the theory of classification of swearing words, the principal purpose of verbal obscenity, context of situation, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, library research were applied. Second step, online research was applied to collect the data from indexmovie.xyz entitled the wolf of the wall street. Third step, downloading, the writer opened the website of indexmovie.xyz and looked for the movie used in this study and then downloaded the movie. Fourth step was observing, the writer watched the movie seriously, listened and read carefully to the conversation of all the characters in order to find out the kinds of swearing words appearing in the movie. The last step was note-taking, the data of swearing words were collected by note-taking, the dialogues containing swearing words were noted and then analyzed according to the theory. Swearing words found in the movie were gathered into some groups and the category of each group based on its characteristic was determined.
The data were analyzed by using the qualitative method. The data were analyzed based on the theory of the classification of swearing words proposed by Hughes (1991) to find out how many swearing words used in the movie and then the types of swear words were classified. Theory of principle purpose of verbal obscenity proposed by Liedlich (1973) to classify the purposes of swearing words that the writer found after classifying the types of swear words. The following of the classification and the purposes of swear words, the brief explanation were included and for the
purposes of using swearing words their function, goal and the meaning were discussed.
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5. Result and discussion
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5.1 The classification of swearing words
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In this analysis, there are six kinds of swear found in the movie.
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5.1.1 Genital Term
“Cunt”
In this case, Jordan said the word ‘cunt’. In the formal situation, the word ‘cunt’ is replaced with ‘vagina’. It is a term for the woman sex organ and refers to human female genital. In the informal situation, it is usually used by a man to describe a woman. According to Oxford Advanced, Learner’s Dictionary the word cunt is woman’s vagina and outer sexual organ and it is a very offensive word used to insult somebody and to show anger or dislike. In this case, the word ‘cunt’ was interpreted to describe a woman (slut), it was used by the speaker in the informal situation and it has a negative connotation. This word is considered an offensive word because it makes the listener feel hurt. In this data, the word ‘cunt’ was found as a genital term because the term comes from genital that refers to sex organ of a human being to reproduction system for the next generation.
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5.1.2 Excretory Term
“Shit”
In this case, Jordan said the word ‘shit’. The word ‘shit’ comes from vernacular word of English that means feces. In the informal situation, the word ‘shit’ is often used by the speaker to
express the speaker’s emotion. According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, the word ‘shit’ is a swearing word that many people find offensive and is used to show that you are angry or annoyed. In this case, the word ‘shit’ is used to describe a surprise, it is used by the listener in the informal situation and the meaning of word shit refers to the word ‘really’ and it is not the literal meaning of shit. In this data, the word ‘shit’ was found as an excretory term because the term of excretory comes from excreting that means to eliminate and separate the solid waste matter of bowels from our body through the anus.
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5.1.3 Animal Term
“Bitch”
In this case, Jordan said the word ‘bitch’. In the formal situation, the word ‘bitch’ is a female dog, in the informal situation the word bitch is commonly used to pejorative a woman. According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, the word ‘bitch’ is a female dog and it is an offensive way of referring to a woman, especially an unpleasant one. In this case, the word ‘bitch’ was interpreted to describe a woman (slut), it was used by the speaker in the informal situation and it has a negative connotation. This word is considered an offensive word because it makes the listener fell hurt. In this data, the word ‘bitch’ was found as an Animal Term because this term is related to the name of the animal. It is also related to behavior of the animal.
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5.1.4 Anatomical Term
“Ass”
In this case, Jean said the word ‘ass’ is classified into a swearing word. In
the formal situation, the word ‘ass’ is replaced with ‘anus’ when it refers to the human body. The anus is a more acceptable word for ass. However, in the informal situation, ‘ass’ is usually used by the speaker to express the speaker’s emotion. According to Oxford Advanced, Learner’s Dictionary the word ‘ass’ is the part of the body that you sit on; your bottom and it replaced a stupid person. In this case, the word ‘ass’ was represented to Jordan and it describes what the speaker tells the hearer to go to Swiss. It was used by the speaker in the informal situation and it is not the literal meaning of 'ass'. In this data, the word ‘ass’ was found as an Anatomical Term because it is related to the human anatomy. The words which belong to this term are generally considered taboo words which are not allowed to be used or uttered in a conversation especially in the formal situation.
In this case, Brad said the word ‘idiot’. In the formal situation, the word ‘idiot’ is replaced with a more acceptable word such as a person perceived to be lacking intelligence or intellectually disabled. However, in the informal situation, “idiot” is usually used by the speaker to express the speaker’s emotion, such as to attack someone verbally. According to Oxford Advanced, Learner’s Dictionary the word ‘idiot’ is replaced to stupid person and it is a person with very low intelligence who cannot think or behave normally. In which, in this case, the word ‘idiot’ describe the behavior of Donny that driving a car inconsiderate. It used by the speaker in the informal situation and it has a negative connotation.
This word is considered as an offensive word because it makes the listener fell hurt. In this data, the word ‘idiot’ was found as an Imbecilic Term because It is often linked to some kinds of disability such as mental or physical disabilities.
In this case, Jordan said the word ‘fuck’. The word ‘fuck’ literally means having a sex and it is not allowed and avoided to be spoken or used in the formal and polite situation because that word is considered offensive. In the informal situation, that word is mainly used by the speaker to express the speaker’s emotion. According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary the word ‘fucking’ is a swearing word that many people find offensive that is used to emphasize a comment or an angry statement.In this case, the word ‘fuck’ was described as being annoyed because of the behavior of Naomi and it refers to the word 'tarnation'. It is used by the speaker in the informal situation and it has a negative connotation. This word is considered an offensive word because the speaker is really annoyed with the listener because of her behavior. In this data, the word ‘fuck’ was found as a general term because, in the informal situation, those words are mainly used by the speaker to express speaker’s emotion.
In this analysis, there are six purposes of using swearing words found in the movie.
In this case, the word ‘cunt’ is uttered by Jordan in response to the information
that his wife gave to him which is the information that Naomi wanted to divorce and take the custody child when he got a case with FBI. According to this particular context, the word ‘cunt’ was used by the speaker to convey the expression of his anger and disappointed feeling because of the decision of his wife. Therefore, the function of the word ‘cunt’ is classified into Provide Catharsis according to Liedlich (1973) when someone has a problem, usually, he/she will use obscene words or swear words as a medicine for his/her frustration which is unbearable to exclaim. When somebody is angry, disappointed, or hurt, he will show his feeling. If a swearing word is used by the speaker to provide catharsis, it means that the speaker is hurt, upset, disappointed, or annoyed by somebody or the speaker wants somebody to be hurt. It was clear that the purpose of the word ‘cunt’ in the conversation is classified into Provide Catharsis.
In this case, the word ‘prick’ is uttered by Jordan because Rugrat was retted him. According to this particular context, the word ‘prick’ was used by the speaker to convey the expression of his anger and disappointed feeling because he considered that Rugrat was the bad guy. Therefore, the use of the word ‘prick’ is classified into doing discredit. According to Liedlich (1973) verbal obscenity could express a revolt against authority, irreverence for things sacred, and a profound contempt for society’s standards. People who used swearing words are not satisfied with the public image of a certain person, people, government, or institution. Therefore, swearing words are used by
them to express their dislike about many things such as to discredit person, people, institution, and others in the reality that they assume not to be suitable with public opinion. It was clear that the purpose of the word “prick” in the conversation is classified into to discredit.
In this case, the word “shit” is uttered by Jordan because Donnie said they stay in the same apartment. According to this particular context, the word “shit” was used by the speaker to convey the expression of his surprised feeling and it will make the relationship between them closer. It was proven after Jordan said the word ‘shit’ Donnie is not mad at him. Therefore, the use of the word “shit” is classified into a term of endearment according to Liedlich (1973). The term endearment is a condition when swearing words are used by the speaker to enhance the group’s cohesiveness or to create harmony. It usually happens when someone calls his friend by using swearing words. The use of those words are not viewed as bad things because the functions of those words is just to make the relationship closer. It was clear that the purpose of the word “shit” in the conversation classified into endearment.
In this case, the word ‘ass’ is uttered by Jean in response to the utterance of Jordan (talking loud to him). According to this particular context, the word ‘ass’ was used by the speaker to insult the hearer and express his emotional feeling, such as uncomfortable feeling because the hearer
talks loud on the phone. Therefore, the use of the word ‘ass’ is classified into To Insult
Hughes (1991) stated that many people use swearing words to insult others. Generally, those words are viewed as dirty words. It is caused by their application which has negative connotation. The use of those words should be avoided because to some people those words are considered taboo words and regarded as the obscene words. However, those words still appeared in the conversation. It was clear that the word 'ass' was classified into insult.
In this case, the word ‘asshole’ is uttered by Hanna to help Jordan so that Jordan doesn’t feel afraid of Fogel. According to this particular context, the word ‘asshole’ was used by Hanna to show that Fogel is not as horrible as imagined by Jordan. Therefore, the use of word ‘asshole’ is classified into showing personal identification. According to Liedlich (1973) even though the use of swearing words to socially condemn, it will make the speakers proud because they have the courage to say or yell those words what others would only express personally. For some people swearing words are often used in negative ways; however, for the certain groups those words are used to show their identification. The use of swearing words can be used to enhance the group’s solidarity and as the identity of particular groups. It was clear that the purpose of the word ‘asshole’ in the conversation is classified into Showing Personal Identification.
In this case, the word ‘fucking’ is uttered by Kimmie in response to the utterance of Jordan. According to this particular context, the word ‘fucking’ was used by the speaker to express her emotional feeling especially to emphasize the strong emotion of love to someone. By using the word ‘fucking’, she wants to attract people in the Stratton Oakmont and she also wants let everyone know that Jordan is a nice guy. Therefore, the use of the word ‘fucking’ is classified into creating attention. Liedlich (1973) stated that to gain attention by using a passionate and strong language whose connotation cause an immediate emotional response from the listener. Somebody who uses those words wants to be central attention among others. By saying those words he wants people to know his condition. People should know and understand swearing words because their application in a conversation is spoken consciously or unconsciously by the speaker. It was clear that the purpose of the word ‘fucking’ in the conversation is classified into creating attention.
From the previous discussion, it can be concluded that there are six kinds of swearing words found. The kinds of swearing words found in the movie are indicated by the genital term, excretory term, animal term, anatomical term, imbecilic term, and general term. The Swearing words of the genital term are the word ‘cunt’ and ‘prick’. The swearing words of the excretory term are the words ‘shit’ and ‘pisses’. The swearing word of the animal term is the word ‘bitch’. The
swearing words of the anatomical term are the word ‘ass’ and ‘asshole’. The swearing words of the imbecilic term are the words ‘idiot’ and ‘imbecile’. The swearing words of the general term are the words ‘fucking’ and ‘fuck’. All those words were used by the character in the informal situation.
From seven principal purposes in using swearing words, they are 6 purposes that contain in the movie such as the swearing words used to show personal identification, to provide catharsis, to discredit, the term of endearment, to create attention, and to insult. One of the purposes which cannot be found is to provoke violent confrontation because in the movie nobody used swearing words to provoke someone. By using those words they can express their emotion and feeling in a positive or negative way. Generally, swearing words are avoided to be spoken in daily conversation because most people think that swearing words are always used in negative ways, such as creating shock or offensiveness but in this movie some of the characters used swearing words in positive ways, such as expressing their happy feeling and making the relationship closer.
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