Hypercorrect Grammar Kurt Hummel’s Language Features
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[24] KURT: And loaded with empty calories. You know why they call them
slushes,
[don’t you?]
[25] KURT: Ever since you separated from your wife, you’ve spent a lot of
late nights watching reruns of Law and Order,
[haven’t you?]
[26] KURT: If you’re gonna say something, say it loud, [right?]
From the excerpts above, Kurt used the tag questions ‘right?’ twice, and ‘don’t you?’
, ‘haven’t you?’, and ‘can we?’ once. When Kurt has finished kicking the ball in the football player audition, he asked Fin about his kick. As can be seen
in the excerpt [22], Kurt asks that was cool, right?. The researcher assumes that Kurt actually knows that his kick is good. However, he facilitates other to agree
with what he has said, by using right as a tag question. Excerpts [23] and [24] are taken from episode 8. From excerpt [23], the
researcher believes that Kurt knows that Glee Club cannot let Finn be kicked from the football team. Therefore, he asks we can’t have that, can we? to ask for his
friends’ confirmation. Kurt also tries to ask confirmation from his teacher, Mr. Schue by applying a tag question as can be seen in the excerpt [24]. He needs
confirmation whether Mr. Schue knows why people named the drink slushes. In the excerpt [25] that is taken from episode 17, Kurt uses tag question as
softening function. It happened when Kurt was being interrogated by Mr. Schue about the G-list. In the middle of the interrogation, Kurt asked Mr. Schue whether
he spent his time to watch the rerun of one television program. When Kurt asks him, he applies tag question haven’t you? as can be seen in the excerpt [25]. The
tag question expresses that Kurt is softening his utterance because he is concern for Mr. Schue’s feeling as his addressee.
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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.