Unexpected Uptakes Caused By Misunderstanding in 'Joey' TV Series.

iii Maranatha Christian University

ABSTRACT

Dalam Tugas Akhir ini saya menganalisis tentang keberadaan uptake yang tidak terduga sehingga menimbulkan kelucuan pada serial TV komedi situasi Joey.

Dalam penelitian ini, saya menggunakan pendekatan linguistic, yaitu pragmatik yang di dalamnya terdapat teori tindak tutur. Tindak tutur adalah melakukan tindakan atau perbuatan melalui ucapan atau kata-kata. Tindak tutur terdiri atas lokusi, ilokusi, perlokusi, dan kemungkinan adanya uptake. Uptake merupakan sebuah ungkapan atau jawaban yang ditimbulkan oleh sang mitra tutur dalam menanggapi ucapan sang penutur. Terdapat lima fungsi dari tindak tutur, yaitu, deklarasi, representatif, ekspresif, direktif, dan komisif.

Namun, tidak semua tipe tersebut digunakan dalam data yang dianalisa. Saya hanya menemukan dua tipe tindak tutur yang sering digunakan, yaitu, direktif dan ekspresif.

Dengan keberadaan uptake yang tidak terduga ini, penonton diajak untuk tertawa karena mereka dapat mendengarkan tanggapan-tanggapan yang tidak terduga sehingga menimbulkan kesalahpahaman yang membuat suasana menjadi lucu.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... i

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... ii

ABSTRACT ... iii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Background of the Study ... 1

Statement of the Problem ... 4

Purpose of the Study ... 4

Method of Research ... 4

Organization of the Thesis ... 4

CHAPTER TWO: THEORY OF SPEECH ACTS... 6

CHAPTER THREE: UNEXPECTED UPTAKES CAUSED BY MISUNDERSTANDING IN JOEY TV SERIES ... 10

CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION ... 24

BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 28

29

APPENDIX

Data 1

Lauren : You have to get her out of there! Joey : But what happen if I can‟t?

Lauren : Well, I‟d have to check, but I‟m pretty sure you‟ll be fired. Wait a minute. Yep!

Joey : Oh wait! I know someone who can help us. (Calling Bobby)

Bobby : (While eating) Hello!

Joey : Hey, Bobby! It‟s Joey, listen. I got myself into a situation. It‟s bad.

Bobby : Okay. Here‟s the game plan.

Flush the drugs, throw the gun in the river. We‟ll tell everyone it was exhaustion. Joey : No, no, no, no!

I need you to come down to the set. I‟ve been seeing my daughter on the show, and she locked herself in her dressing room, and now we can‟t do the scene with the bear.

Data 2

Anna : Hey, I‟m Anna.

Michael : Hi, I‟m Michael, nice to meet you.

Anna : You look so familiar, I swear I‟ve seen you on TV.

Michael : Yeah, you probably recognize me from the 1994 Scripps- Howard National Spelling Team.

(pause 3 seconds)

Sixth place. Went out on “engastrimythic”. Anna : Oh, you‟re smart. I like that.

I was thinking about getting a drink at the bar. (pause 3 seconds)

Michael : Uh, huh, well. Say hi to it for me.

30 Data 3

Joey : You‟re probably wondering why I‟m getting a gift basket.

Deliveryman : Not really.

Joey : I was nominated for a “Daytime Soap Award”….again. Deliveryman : That‟s great.

Joey : You‟re right, it is weird, you know? „Cause now I‟m in primetime, but I‟m nominated for my work on “Days of

Our Lives”. I‟m up for “The Best Death Scene”.

Deliveryman : Can I go?

Joey : I wish I could take you, but seating‟s limited.

Data 4

Joey : I cannot believe what happened to my house!

Michael : I know, let‟s just get the pictures for the insurance and get out.

Joey : Um… how should I pose? Michael : (pause)

I don‟t think you should be in the pictures at all. Data 5

Joey : Hey, where are you going? Michael : I have a date.

I‟m going on a hike in the canyon with a girl. Joey : Yeah!

Oh, hey, is it the big girl from apartment 12? Michael : It‟s actually someone I met on your set today. Joey : All right! Yeah!

Oh, hey, is it the big girl from the prop departm… Michael : It‟s not a big girl!

Data 6

Zach : Hey!

Joey : Hey, Zach. Oh, you know Candace. And this is Gloria, who you‟ll be surprised to find out is not Candace‟s sister. Zach : Why would I think that? She is so much older than her.

31 Data 7

Joey : Hey, guys! Listen, um… I‟m gonna need the apartment for myself tonight, OK!

Jimmy : Oh, yeah…yeah…no problem.

Hey, Jojo! I got a little announcement to make.

Gina : Things between me and Jimmy are being good and there comes time whenever relationship when you‟re ready to take it to the next level.

Joey : Oh my God! Are you guys….

Jimmy : That‟s right, Jo. We‟re getting matching tattoos!

Data 8

Gina : What are you doing?

Joey : You said you wanted me to fight for her?

Okay, I‟m fighting for her.

Look, Ron‟s had five years to prove they should be

together. All I want is my one week. And if I have to be crafty, okay, then I will.

Gina : Then why‟d you give him the phone and let him call her? Joey : „cause I suck at crafts!

Okay, we can‟t let them talk, what do I do?

Gina : The phone cord!

Joey : Gina, I‟m not gonna strangle him with the phone cord! Oh, okay, I get it.

Data 9

Joey : Hey, Paul. How‟s the soap world treating you? Paul : Soap world, huh!

You think you‟re a big man now because you‟ve moved on to primetime?

Joey : I hadn‟t really thought about it, but yeah, I do a little bit. Good to see you buddy!

Data 10

Mariska : Hey, you‟re Joey Tribianni right? I‟m Mariska. Joey : Oh, nice to meet you

This is my sister, Gina. Mariska : Hey, nice dress! Gina : Oh yeah? Nice face!

Joey : Gina, … She was complimenting you. Gina : Oh, I‟m sorry.

32 Uh, thank you dear.

Data 11

Mariska : Hey, there‟s my good luck charm.

Joey : Hey, Mariska, can I talk to you for a second?

Paul : Whoa, chief. I‟m in the middle of a conversation here. Do you think I should just walk away because you‟re on a big- time show?

Joey : That‟d be great. Thanks buddy.

Data 12

Joey : I think he‟s really gonna jump. Zach : Man, look we got to do something!

Joey : I‟m worried. I pray to God he lands on his head.

Zach : What?

Data 13

Joey : Hey, I guess you saw the show. Look, I didn‟t mean for it to go that way.

It got out of control. Celeste, I‟m so sorry.

Celeste : Once again, things work out for you. Here you go. Joey : Why are you giving me this?

Celeste : Because the tape doesn‟t matter. The story‟s out.

My most painful memory has been reduced to some lame joke.

Joey : Celeste, It was a bunch of big jokes.

Data 14

Alex : If I can make you feel any better, I had the similar situation with my parents.

Joey : 3 seconds!

Data 15

Michael : Everybody, I think it‟s time for the best man to make his speech.

Jimmy : Oh, It‟s OK.

First I‟d like to toast the best man.

33

1 Maranatha Christian University

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Communication is an important aspect of our life. Communication is a process that allows people to exchange information by several methods, in this case, language. Communication is the process when a message is given or received through talking, writing, or making gestures. It can be verbal, such as speaking and singing. It can also include tone of voice, and nonverbal aspects, such as body language, sign language, touch, eye contact, or the use of writing. It is the act of passing on information and the process by which meanings are exchanged so as to produce understanding.

Kent Bach, a professor of Philosophy at San Francisco State University, says that there are many things we can do with words, such as making requests, asking questions, giving orders, making promises, giving thanks, offering apologies. Usually more than one act is performed in a Speech Act. The acts are distinguished by different elements of the speaker's intention, in which there is the act of saying something, what the speaker intends by saying those utterances (such as requesting or promising) and, finally, how the speaker tries to make an effect

2 Maranatha Christian University on the listener (Bach). In general, Speech Acts are acts of communication. “To communicate is to express a certain attitude, and the type of Speech Acts being performed corresponds to the type of attitude being expressed” (Bach).

Misunderstandings sometimes happen in conversation. They happen because the listener does not fully receive or understand what the speaker means. "Different people have different ways of telling each other how they feel about one another, ways that are perhaps so fundamentally different that misunderstanding is almost inevitable" (Villard & Whipple 162). Unexpected uptakes in a conversation can change the atmosphere in which the conversation takes place. What is more, it can make the listener confused.

In attempting to express themselves, people not only use utterances, but those utterances are also used to carry out actions. A Speech Act is performing action using an utterance. For example, when the boss says “You’re fired!” this boss’ utterance is more than just a statement. The utterance shows that someone’s career is about to be ended. As Yule states in Pragmatics, “An utterance may indicate apology, complaint, compliment, invitation, promise or threat” (Yule 47).

For my thesis, I choose the topic about the occurrence of humour due to

unexpected uptakes in Joey TV series. I choose this topic because Joey TV Series

is comedy, in which many unexpected uptakes occur. Unexpected uptakes that occur in conversation can result in good humor, especially in comedy situations. The audience laughs because of the confusion which is caused by unexpected uptakes.

I observe these unexpected uptakes using the theory of Speech Acts, which belongs to pragmatics. The theories I use are taken from Pragmatics by George

3 Maranatha Christian University Yule, in particular about Speech Acts, and An Introduction to Linguistics by Janet Holmes.

In this thesis, I want to know the significance of the theory of Speech Acts in locution, illocution, uptake, and perlocution in reference to the situation or atmosphere which is shown in the movie. I also want to know what type of Speech Acts is used, why the hearer gives an unexpected uptake, and the effect of that unexpected uptake. The speaker’s locution and illocution can be misinterpreted by the listener which causes a different uptake, which leads to a different perlocution. This is caused by the different opinion or beliefs between the speaker and the listener. In comedy situations, different uptakes or unexpected uptakes which are made by the listener can lead to funny situations.

Illocutionary and perlocutionary acts have two levels of success. As an illocutionary act, a request, for example, is considered a success if a listener is able to do what the speaker intends, but as a perlocutionary act it succeeds only if he/she actually does it. According to Michael Devitt and Richard Hanley, “You can express your desire without getting realization from the listener, but your utterance is the performance of an act of both types.” (Devit)

By reading this thesis, the readers will know what type of Speech Acts are frequently used that can cause unexpected uptakes to happen. Other researchers could use this writing as a reference for comparison with their research so they can expand their research by finding more types of Speech Acts that are used that can cause unexpected uptakes.

4 Maranatha Christian University 1.2 Statement of the Problem

1. What is the illocution of the speaker’s utterance? 2. Why does the hearer give an unexpected uptake? 3. What is the effect of the unexpected uptake?

1.3 Purpose of the Study

In this thesis I would like to show:

1. The illocution of the speaker’s utterance.

2. The reason why the hearer gives an unexpected uptake. 3. The effect of the unexpected uptake.

1.4 Method of Research

I take the following steps for this study. First, I watched Joey (TV series) seasons 1 and 2. Second, I collected some data which contains Speech Acts from the dialogues. Third, I chose significant data which are suitable to analyze. Fourth, I analyzed the data based on the theory. Fifth, I wrote the thesis.

1.5 Organization of Thesis

This thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter one is the Introduction. It contains Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Purpose of the Study, Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two provides a theoretical framework of the study. The data analysis is presented in Chapter Three. Chapter Four, is the conclusion to what has been analyzed and

5 Maranatha Christian University discussed in the previous chapter. At the end of the thesis is the Bibliography, in which the sources are listed, and also the Appendices, in which the whole data are presented.

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CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION

In this chapter, I would like to present my conclusion based on the findings. Having analyzed the data, I notice that there are many factors which can create humor in a TV series, especially Speech Acts, because there are so many examples of communication which involve conversation containing Speech Acts. Speech Acts makes communication more interesting to be analyzed.

In my data analysis, I focus on misunderstanding in conversation. Misunderstanding can occur because of the intention or the meaning which is contained in the speaker’s utterance is not fully recognized by the listener or can be considered as the failure of the speaker’s illocutionary act. Moreover, the misunderstanding can lead to the occurrence of an unexpected uptake. The different opinions between the speaker and the listener is the most obvious factor that leads to misunderstanding. Different opinions can be caused by different characteristics, gender, age, level of education, interpretation and social status. However, lack of information can also lead to misunderstanding.

From the data I have analyzed, I found that there are two types of Speech Act that are generally used, which are directive Speech Act and expressive

25 Maranatha Christian University Speech Acts. Among the fifteen data I have collected, there are ten data that contains directive Speech Act and five data that contains expressive Speech Act. In my data, I see that these two types of Speech Act are easier to lead the listener

to misunderstand the speaker’s meaning in their utterance. The purpose of

directive Speech Act in the data is to give an order or command via the speaker’s utterance; however, the listener does not really understand the meaning. The purpose of expressive Speech Act is to state the feeling of the speaker via his or her utterance; moreover, the listener does not really understand the meaning or shares a different feeling. As a result, the listener gives an uptake which is unexpected by the speaker, although an uptake does not always occur, because the listener also can be silent, or do something beyond the speaker’s assumption.

However, I cannot find any other type of Speech Acts that causes misunderstanding besides directive and expressive Speech Acts in my data. The other types of Speech Acts, such as declaration, representative, and commisive also occur in the movie, but they do not create misunderstanding; accordingly, I did not use them in my analysis. In my opinion, those other types of Speech Act can possibly create misunderstanding in different situations.

According to the data, directive Speech Act is usually in the form of an invitation, asking for someone’s help, hoping that someone will do something, and giving advice. Expressive Speech Act is in the form of expression, such as likes, dislikes, hates, and compliments.

In my opinion, based on the data, the hearer gives an unexpected uptake because he or she has a different opinion than the speaker has. This unexpected uptake in the conversation can cause confusion, anger, or an unpleasant situation

26 Maranatha Christian University in a common situation, but in a comedy situation it causes humor. Unexpected uptake can be accidentally or deliberately spoken by the listener as a reply to the speaker’s utterance.

I believe that the occurrence of unexpected uptakes in comedy situations is a very important factor. The anger or confusion caused by an unexpected uptake gives the effect of a funny situation. The funny situations that provoke the audience to laugh are the director’s main goal in comedy situations. I think that the occurrence of unexpected uptakes in comedy situations gives the audience an idea about the character’s foolishness, which makes them think that the character is silly or stupid. Therefore, I personally think that the use of unexpected uptake to produce humor is important in comedy situations and it is one of the story writer’s ways of bringing humor.

In writing this thesis, I spent a lot of time observing the data, as there are 44 episodes in total, of 20 minutes per episode. From the observation, I notice that there are various situations when unexpected uptakes occur; there are serious, tense, sad, happy, and regular situations. Moreover, the unexpected uptakes can change the situation dramatically, for example, from a serious and tense situation to become a funny situation for the audience. However, the situation in the movie does not change. It still has the original serious and tense situation, as can be found in data one, or even becomes tenser, as in data 9. By the use of changing the situation, the story will not be monotonous, which would make the audience bored. This changing of situation is important in comedy situations in which the primary objective is to entertain the audience by producing humor.

27 Maranatha Christian University Finally, I draw a conclusion that Speech Acts is very interesting and it is not hard to understand, as all people experience Speech Acts in their daily conversation, although they often do not realize it. By reading this thesis I hope that the readers will know and understand what Speech Acts is, and be aware that understanding Speech Acts is not difficult.

After working on this thesis about Speech Acts, I now feel more critical about other people’s utterances, in which I need the speaker to specify their meaning in their utterances in order not to cause misunderstanding.

For further research, writers can use this writing as a reference to be compared with their research, and I suggest that researchers choose a comedy situation TV Series that has more seasons as there will be more data to be observed; therefore, researchers could possibly find other types of Speech Acts that are used to make a funny situation. Besides comedy situations, a researcher could analyze other genres, such as horror, tragedy, romance; therefore, they could observe Speech Acts that are used to convey horrific, tragic, or romantic situations.

28 Maranatha Christian University

BIBLIOGRAPHY

References

Austin, J. L. How to Do Things With Words. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1962.

Holmes, Janet. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Pearson Education Limited, 2001.

Villard, K. L. & Whipple, L. J. Beginnings in Relational Communication. New York: Wiley, 1976.

Yule, George. Pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Electronic Publications

Devitt, Michael, and Richard Hanley (eds). The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Language. Blackwell Publishing, 2006. 3 March 2008 <http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~kbach/Spch.Prag.htm>.

Bach, Kent. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Routledge, 1998. 3 March 2008 <http://online.sfsu.edu/~kbach/spchacts.html>.

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discussed in the previous chapter. At the end of the thesis is the Bibliography, in which the sources are listed, and also the Appendices, in which the whole data are presented.

24 Maranatha Christian University

CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION

In this chapter, I would like to present my conclusion based on the findings. Having analyzed the data, I notice that there are many factors which can create humor in a TV series, especially Speech Acts, because there are so many examples of communication which involve conversation containing Speech Acts. Speech Acts makes communication more interesting to be analyzed.

In my data analysis, I focus on misunderstanding in conversation. Misunderstanding can occur because of the intention or the meaning which is

contained in the speaker’s utterance is not fully recognized by the listener or can be considered as the failure of the speaker’s illocutionary act. Moreover, the

misunderstanding can lead to the occurrence of an unexpected uptake. The different opinions between the speaker and the listener is the most obvious factor that leads to misunderstanding. Different opinions can be caused by different characteristics, gender, age, level of education, interpretation and social status. However, lack of information can also lead to misunderstanding.

From the data I have analyzed, I found that there are two types of Speech Act that are generally used, which are directive Speech Act and expressive

25 Maranatha Christian University

Speech Acts. Among the fifteen data I have collected, there are ten data that contains directive Speech Act and five data that contains expressive Speech Act. In my data, I see that these two types of Speech Act are easier to lead the listener

to misunderstand the speaker’s meaning in their utterance. The purpose of

directive Speech Act in the data is to give an order or command via the speaker’s

utterance; however, the listener does not really understand the meaning. The purpose of expressive Speech Act is to state the feeling of the speaker via his or her utterance; moreover, the listener does not really understand the meaning or shares a different feeling. As a result, the listener gives an uptake which is unexpected by the speaker, although an uptake does not always occur, because the listener also can be silent, or do something beyond the speaker’s assumption.

However, I cannot find any other type of Speech Acts that causes misunderstanding besides directive and expressive Speech Acts in my data. The other types of Speech Acts, such as declaration, representative, and commisive also occur in the movie, but they do not create misunderstanding; accordingly, I did not use them in my analysis. In my opinion, those other types of Speech Act can possibly create misunderstanding in different situations.

According to the data, directive Speech Act is usually in the form of an

invitation, asking for someone’s help, hoping that someone will do something,

and giving advice. Expressive Speech Act is in the form of expression, such as likes, dislikes, hates, and compliments.

In my opinion, based on the data, the hearer gives an unexpected uptake because he or she has a different opinion than the speaker has. This unexpected uptake in the conversation can cause confusion, anger, or an unpleasant situation

26 Maranatha Christian University

in a common situation, but in a comedy situation it causes humor. Unexpected uptake can be accidentally or deliberately spoken by the listener as a reply to the

speaker’s utterance.

I believe that the occurrence of unexpected uptakes in comedy situations is a very important factor. The anger or confusion caused by an unexpected uptake gives the effect of a funny situation. The funny situations that provoke the

audience to laugh are the director’s main goal in comedy situations. I think that

the occurrence of unexpected uptakes in comedy situations gives the audience an

idea about the character’s foolishness, which makes them think that the character

is silly or stupid. Therefore, I personally think that the use of unexpected uptake to produce humor is important in comedy situations and it is one of the story writer’s ways of bringing humor.

In writing this thesis, I spent a lot of time observing the data, as there are 44 episodes in total, of 20 minutes per episode. From the observation, I notice that there are various situations when unexpected uptakes occur; there are serious, tense, sad, happy, and regular situations. Moreover, the unexpected uptakes can change the situation dramatically, for example, from a serious and tense situation to become a funny situation for the audience. However, the situation in the movie does not change. It still has the original serious and tense situation, as can be found in data one, or even becomes tenser, as in data 9. By the use of changing the situation, the story will not be monotonous, which would make the audience bored. This changing of situation is important in comedy situations in which the primary objective is to entertain the audience by producing humor.

27 Maranatha Christian University

Finally, I draw a conclusion that Speech Acts is very interesting and it is not hard to understand, as all people experience Speech Acts in their daily conversation, although they often do not realize it. By reading this thesis I hope that the readers will know and understand what Speech Acts is, and be aware that understanding Speech Acts is not difficult.

After working on this thesis about Speech Acts, I now feel more critical

about other people’s utterances, in which I need the speaker to specify their

meaning in their utterances in order not to cause misunderstanding.

For further research, writers can use this writing as a reference to be compared with their research, and I suggest that researchers choose a comedy situation TV Series that has more seasons as there will be more data to be observed; therefore, researchers could possibly find other types of Speech Acts that are used to make a funny situation. Besides comedy situations, a researcher could analyze other genres, such as horror, tragedy, romance; therefore, they could observe Speech Acts that are used to convey horrific, tragic, or romantic situations.

28 Maranatha Christian University

BIBLIOGRAPHY

References

Austin, J. L. How to Do Things With Words. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1962.

Holmes, Janet. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Pearson Education Limited, 2001.

Villard, K. L. & Whipple, L. J. Beginnings in Relational Communication. New York: Wiley, 1976.

Yule, George. Pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Electronic Publications

Devitt, Michael, and Richard Hanley (eds). The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Language. Blackwell Publishing, 2006. 3 March 2008 <http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~kbach/Spch.Prag.htm>.

Bach, Kent. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Routledge, 1998. 3 March 2008 <http://online.sfsu.edu/~kbach/spchacts.html>.