Empty Adjectives Kurt Hummel’s Language Features
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his speech. There are some color terms Kurt actually used in his utterances like white, and black as can be seen in excerpt [34] and [35].
[34] KURT: Mercedes is [black]; I’m gay. We make culture. [35] KURT: Their school statue is a giant bronze of great [white] shark
eating a seal pup. However, those colors are classified into general language. It can be found easily
both in men and women’s language. So, the researcher did not classify those colors into precise color terms as women’s language features.
The researcher believes that the feature is not found in Kurt’s utterances. In the Glee Television Series Season 1, even though Kurt talks about fashion in his
speech, the researcher finds that he never relates it to color terms. Also, the topics he usually discussed with his addressee mostly had a relation with music and songs,
which has no relation with color. On the whole, Kurt uses nine out of ten women’s language features in his
speech in Glee Television Series Season 1. In this research, gender is seen as a construction rather than a fixed category. Therefore, even though Kurt Hummel
physically is seen as a man, the way he behaves in the series index or are associated with femininity. It is reflected by the way he uses lexical hedges or fillers, tag
questions, raising intonation on declaratives, ‘empty’ adjectives, intensifiers, ‘hypercorrect’ grammar, ‘superpolite’ forms, avoidance of strong swear words, and
emphatic stress. However, the way Kurt uses women’s language features is not only influenced by gender but also by other factors such as, age, audience, social
relations, topic discussion and power Milroy Milroy, 2012. For example, in some utterances, Kurt uses ‘superpolite’ forms and ‘hypercorrect’ grammar by
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considering who and how old his addressee is, and how close their relationship is. The researcher did not find any precise color terms since it is influenced by the topic
discussion that Kurt and his addressee discuss. In the series, Kurt is seen as a gay person that makes him powerless since gay community is the minority in society.
Kurt’s identity as a man associated with femininity influences his use of language. Although he is a man, he uses women’s language features because he tends not to
be certain with his utterances. This research confirms Holmes 2013 that states the use of hedging and boosting devices are not only influenced by gender but also by
power. People who are powerless in society usually use a relatively high number of these devices p. 305.
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