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The last evidence can be found in the episode 20. When Kurt’s father asked Finn and his mother to move to his house, Finn did not look happy. Then, Kurt
facilitates Finn to express his feeling. Kurt applies a tag question right? to ask Finn about what he wants to say. From all the tag questions that Kurt uses, the researcher
assumes that Kurt needs to get another person’s legitimation or confirmation to make him convinced.
The same with raising intonation in declaratives, a tag question is also a feature used usually by women. The use of those features by women indicate that
they are in doubt with what they are saying. Looking at their position in society that is inferior to men, they are also afraid that they will not be listened to by their
society. Therefore, they use both raising intonation and tag questions to hide their insecurity and hesitancy. Kurt applies tag questions because he is hesitant with his
statement. He tries to hide it by using tag questions in the end of his sentences. The tag question is in the form of yes-no questions and enforces his addressee to listen
and give legitimation to him. So, the addressee will be more convinced with his statement.
8. Empty Adjectives
Empty adjectives are one feature that is used by women more often than men since women have a tendency in conveying their emotional reaction.
According to Lakoff 1975, p. 11, “There is, for instance, a group of adjectives which have, besides their specific and literal meanings, another use, that of
indicating the speaker’s approbation or admiration for something.” Kurt Hummel PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
40
in the Glee Television Series 1 uses four empty adjectives. They are sweet, magical, lovely
, and fascinating. The researcher provides the evidence of Kurt’s utterances in using those
adjectives in the excerpts below.
[27] MERCEDES: Damn, Kurt, this car is fly. KURT:
My dad got it for my [sweet] 16 after I swore to stop wearing
formfitting sweaters that stop at the knee.
[28] KURT: I hit it, the high F. The [magical] note I need for “Defying
Gravity”. I hit it. It means I’m going to win.
[29] KURT: That’s why I asked you about the swatches. And don’t sweat that old chair. I have a [lovely] chaise picked up.
[30] BURT: No, it’s about how the 80s were a tough time for a lot of people,
and, y’know, the American dream isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. KURT:
Hmm. [Fascinating.] Hey why don’t we go grab a couple
burgers, and, uh, you can tell me more about it? From the excerpts, it can be seen that Kurt uses some adjectives usually used
by women. The researcher believes that Kurt uses those adjectives to show his approbation or admiration toward something. Those adjectives also used to
emphasize his utterance. As seen in the excerpt [27], he approbates his 16
th
birthday in front of his friends. For him, his 16
th
birthday was really special and unforgettable. Therefore, he uses an empty adjective to show his emotion feeling.
In excerpt [28], Kurt admires a note from Defying Gravity’s song by using the word magical
. The researcher assumes that Kurt knows that it is the highest note in the song and believes when he can hit the note he will win over his rival. From the
excerpt [29], the researcher assumes that Kurt really likes his chair and did not want the chair to become dirty. So, Kurt uses the empty adjective lovely to show his
emotional reaction. The word fascinating is the last adjective he uses. He uses it to PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
41
show his approbation toward his father’s speech. He also uses it to emphasize his utterance so his father knows that Kurt has interest in the discussion.
In brief, Kurt uses empty adjectives that are usually used by women to show his approbation and admiration toward something. He also uses them to emphasize
the utterance of his speech.
9. Avoidance of Strong Swear Words
Eckert 2003 suggests that “swearing is a kind of interjection that can express extreme statements.” He also states that by swearing, people show their
expression of very strong emotion. When it comes to men and women to use swear words, women are more careful and tend to avoid using them. These words such as
my dear , goodness, and my fudge are often found in women’s language as stated by
Lakoff 1975. On the contrary, these words such as damn and shit often appear in men’s language.
From all episodes in Glee Television Series Season 1, it is found that Kurt avoids to use strong swear words. In the episode 15, he avoids to use strong swear
words once and in the episode 20 twice. The evidences can be seen in the excerpts below.
[31] KURT sees SUE down the hallway
KURT: Oh, dear
.
[32] RACHEL: Which led me to Jocelle Fabrics. I asked them about red
Chantilly lace. They were sold out. MERCEDES:
Oh, sweet Jesus.
KURT: Oh, my.
[33] AZIMIO: I believe I will. to Karofsky Sir, would you like to go first? FINN:
You’re not hitting anyone.
KURT: Oh, my God.
