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establish, prolong to discontinue communication and to confirm whether the contact is still there as in Hello?, 5 the aesthetic function as in Smurf
which puts the focus on the message for its own sake Jakobson, 1960, p. 356.
2.1.4.2 The Characteristics of Slang
A way of distinguishing slang’s characteristics from other types of vocabulary lies in the effects of its use. Three general effects of slang mentioned
by Eble 1996 are: 1 slang changes the level of discourse in the direction of informality. Informality means slang cannot be used while someone is talking to
someone who has a higher social status and greater responsibility. Slang can be used in neither academic essays nor legal documents because slang is in a
colloquial form. 2 Slang identifies members of a group. In addition, slang refers to the group’s identification. It means that the use of slang signals whether
someone belongs to a group or not. Generally, slang is often considered as a group’s language that if someone belongs to a particular group, he or she will be
able to understand the slang as a signal of membership. 3 Slang opposes the established authority. Usually, slang opposes the established authority. It means
that the slang can be a verbal expression of this fundamental opposition, showing a range of attitudes from slight irreverence to downright subversiveness.
2.1.4.3 The Communicative Functions of Slang
Coleman 2012 and Partridge first published in 1933 propose some reasons why of the use of slangs. People are using slang in order to: 1 express
their individuality, 2 express themselves more vividly than can be easily done in
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Standard English 3 express emotion, 4 create humor, 5 identify themselves as the member of a group which might be a social group, but also an age group or
interest group, 6 test whether someone is a member of a group, 8 identify the hierarchies within the group, 8 express shared attitudes and values and thus to
create a temporary group membership, 9 imply or refer back to shared experience, 10 deny or distance emotion, 11 communicate with deliberate
ambiguity so that the hearer can choose their own interpretation. In addition, slang is used to 12 identify someone as not being a member
of the group, 13 try to win entry to the in-group, 14 exclude someone from membership of the group, 15 appear cool to people outside the group, 16 reject
someone else’s values or attitudes, 17 shock or offend, 18 rebel, 19 irritate, 20 communicate secretly, so that one hearer understands and another doesn’t,
21 make the conversation easier usually quicker. Other reasons of the slang use are 22 it has become a habit of mannerism, 23 everyone else uses it, 24 there
is no word that has the same meaning in the Standard English, and 25 although there is a synonym in the Standard English, the slang-user does not know it, and
26 fit in with the people around them. In addition, there are five communicative functions of language as
proposed by Leech 1981. Those communicative functions are 1 informational, 2 expressive, 3 directive, 4 aesthetic, and 5 phatic. The informational
function is regarded as the most fundamental function of a language since it is used to deliver a message or particular information to the receiver of a the
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language. Furthermore, the expressive function is used in order to express someone’s feeling and attitudes; the most common instances are swearing words
and exclamations. The directive function is used as a tool to influence other people’s manner and behaviors; usually it is in the term of requests or commands.
The aesthetic function focuses on the use of a sensible and artistic effect in language which could be found in a poetry or literary work. The phatic function
relies on the language as a tool to keep the communication lines open, and to keep a social relationship.
2.1.5 Freedom Writers Movie Synopsis
Released by Broadway in 1999, the Freedom Writers movie is a true story telling about an English teacher namely Erin Gruwell and her first teaching
assignment in Long Beach, California. Students in the classroom came from
different backgrounds and continents such as America, Asia and Africa. She
works with students and other teachers deemed unteachable. The story is set two years after the events of the 1992 of Los Angeles riots. Gruwell quickly learned
that her students had more things to worry about than homework; her students went home to gunfire, gangs, drugs, and a host of the other difficult situations.
The students were convinced that they had nothing to learn from a white woman who had never experienced the violence, discrimination, and hatred that became a
part of their lives.
