Common features of english Taboo words - USD Repository

  

COMMON FEATURES OF

ENGLISH TABOO WORDS

  A Thesis Presented to the Graduate Program in English Language Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

  

Magister Humaniora (M.Hum)

  in English Language Studies

  

by

Shirley Maya Argasetya

Student Number: 046332010

THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES

  

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

2009

  

A THESIS

COMMON FEATURES OF

ENGLISH TABOO WORDS

by

Shirley Maya Argasetya

  

Students Number: 046332010

Approved by

Prof. Dr. Soepomo Poedjosoedarmo Advisor Yogyakarta, September 28, 2009

  

A THESIS

COMMON FEATURES OF

ENGLISH TABOO WORDS

by

Shirley Maya Argasetya

  

Students Number: 046332010

was Defended before the Thesis Committee

and Declared Acceptable

Thesis Committee

  

Chairperson : Drs. F.X. Mukarto, M.S., Ph.D. ...…………………….

Secretary : Dr. B.B. Dwijatmoko, M.A. ...…………………….

Member : Dr. J. Bismoko …...………………….

Member : Prof. Dr. Soepomo Poedjosoedarmo …...………………….

  Yogyakarta, September 28, 2009 The Graduate Program Director Sanata Dharma University Prof. Dr. A. Supratiknya

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

  This is to certify that all the ideas, phrases, and sentences, unless otherwise stated, are the ideas, phrases, and sentences of the thesis writer. The writer understands the full consequences including degree cancellation if she took somebody else’s ideas, phrases, or sentences without a proper references.

  Yogyakarta, August 22, 2009 Shirley Maya Argasetya

  

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN

PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

  Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma : Nama : Shirley Maya Argasetya Nomor Mahasiswa : 046332010

  Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul :

  

Common Features of English Taboo Words

  beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, me- ngalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.

  Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal : 28 September, 2009 Yang menyatakan ( Shirley Maya Argasetya ) ฀

  

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I would like to thank Jesus, for the spirit, the love, the strength and the live He gives, for His unconditional support for enabling me to complete this thesis.

  I would like to give my great honor and respect to Prof. Dr. Soepomo Poedjosoedarmo. This thesis would not have been completed without his guidance, assistance, support and suggestion. My deep gratitude goes to Dr.

  B.B.Dwijatmoko, M.A., who always motivated and supported me to finish this thesis. My great appreciation goes to all of the English lecturers at the Graduate Program of Sanata Dharma University.

  The same appreciation goes to those who work in the secretariat, especially to Mbak Lely in the secretariat, those who work in the computer laboratory and in the library. Lastly, I am grateful to my friends in the English Language Studies for the friendship they have given to me.

  My great thanks goes to my big family and the great angel of Mikael Dylan Shantpillar, for giving me the new world I have not visited before. I love you.

  Yogyakarta, August 20, 2009 Shirley Maya Argasetya

  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ………………………………………………………… i

APPROVAL PAGE …………………………………………………. ii

THESIS DEFENSE APPROVAL PAGE…………………………… iii

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ………………………………... iv

STATEMENT FOR PUBLICATION ……………………………… v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………………………………………… vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………… vii

LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………… ix

LIST OF TABOO WORDS ANALYSIS ………………………… x

ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………. xi

ABSTRAK …………………………………………………………… xiii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ………………………..................

  43 3.3 Data Analysis …………………………………………………….

  40 2.3 Theoretical Framework………………………………………….

  41 CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ………………….

  42

  3.1 Research Data ……………………………………………………

  42

  3.2 Data Collection …………..………………………………………

  49 CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION …………………..

  2.1.4.2 The Effect of Taboo Words……………………

  51 4.1 Some Examples of Taboo Words………………………………...

  51 4.2 Motivation to Use Taboo Words……….…….…………………..

  62

  4.2.1 Solidarity…………………… …….….. …………………

  63

  4.2.2 Anger……………….…………….………………………

  68 4.2.3 Superiority………………………………………………..

  36 2.2 Review of Related Research…………………………………….

  33

  1 1.1 Background …………………………………………………......

  2.1 Theoretical Review ………………………………………………

  1 1.2 Problem Limitation …………………………………………......

  13

  1.3 Problem Formulation ……………………………………………

  13 1.4 Research Objectives ……………………………………………..

  14 1.5 Research Benefits …………………………………………….….

  14 CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE ………………………

  16

  16

  27 2.1.4.1 Function………………………………………..

  2.1.1 The Importance of Style, Register in Utterances and Semantic Features………………………………………………….

  20

  2.1.2 Interrelation Between Language and Society……………

  23

  2.1.3 Attitudes Behind the Tabooness of Word…….…………

  25

  2.1.4 The Characteristics and Meaning of Taboo Words………

  71

  4.2.3.1 Power……………………………………………

  72 4.2.3.2 Stereotype……………………………………….

  73 4.2.3.3 Racial Term……………………………………….

  74

  4.2.3.4 Sexist………………………………………………

  75

  4.2.3.5 Homophobic………………………………………

  75 4.2.3.6 Humiliation………………………………………..

  77 4.2.4 Self-Identity………………………………………………….

  80 CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS………………..

  84 5.1 Conclusion ………………………………………………………..

  84 5.2 Suggestions ……………………………………………………..

  86 BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………….

  89 APPENDICES Appendix 1: Meaning Of Taboo Words Used In Table 2………………..

  92 Appendix 2: Classification of Taboo Words…………………………….. 100

  LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 Categorization Table: a sample…………………………

  50 Table 4.2 Examples of Taboo Words in Sentence…………………

  52

  

LIST OF TABOO WORDS ANALYSIS

(1) bag …………….

  77 (32) faggot …………….

  66 (25) shit …………….

  66 (26) queer …………….

  68 (27) fuck …………….

  69 (28) sod …………….

  70 (29) nigger …………….

  74 (30) dog …………….

  77 (31) bitch …………….

  78 (33) mongol …………….

  65 (23) bullock …………….

  79 (34) moron …………….

  79 (35) retard …………….

  79 (36) vegetable…………….

  79 (37) dick …………….

  82 (38) knocker …………….

  82 (39) tit …………….

  82 (40) chopper …………….

  82 (41) pecker …………….

  65 (24) nigger …………….

  64 (22) bubba …………….

  4 (2) piss …………….

  19 (11) bastard …………….

  7 (3) lay …………….

  7 (4) chink …………….

  9 (5) bubba …………….

  10 (6) pig …………….

  11 (7) gook …………….

  11 (8) fatso …………….

  12 (9) hooter …………….

  19 (10) shit …………….

  37 (12) chopper …………….

  62 (21) bastard …………….

  44 (13) cock …………….

  45 (14) abo …………….

  45 (15) moron …………….

  46 (16) bubbby …………….

  46 (17) chit …………….

  46 (18) ass …………….

  47 (19) bollock …………….

  48 (20) pillock …………….

  82

  

ABSTRACT

Shirley Maya Argasetya. 2009. Common Features of English Taboo Words.

  

Yogyakarta: English Language Studies. Graduate Program. Sanata Dharma

University.

  This thesis is focused on the sociolinguistic study limited to the 221 forms of taboo words. The kind of study is a qualitative research with detail of the samples taken from three dictionaries as the corpus-based lexicography. This research also used internet as the additional support.

  This study is aimed at answering two questions. The first question is how taboo words can be classified according to the degree of offensiveness and their semantic features and the second question is what motivate the use of taboo words. To answer these questions, the writer started with some of the most common taboo words in English, such as fuck, shit, ass, and expands those words by searching in the internet and looking for the words in the dictionaries. The writer also tried to find the synonym of each of the taboo words in the dictionaries. Then, the writer analyzed the context of the words, based on their meanings in the dictionaries and their usage in the sentences, as cited in the appendices section.

  The writer searched and collected the taboo words found in the internet and dictionaries. All the data found then were checked in the dictionaries to get valid descriptions of them. By doing this process there are 221 words classified as taboo words in this thesis, taken from Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary,

  

Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and Concise Oxford Dictionary.

  Those 221 taboo words functions as the source data in this thesis.

  To answer the first question the writer analyzed the words one by one, including their meaning and their usage. The taboo words in this research reveal that there are five degrees of offensiveness attaching to those taboo words. Whether one word is taboo or not is determined by this degree of offensiveness, which are vulgar, disparaging, offensive, derogatory and obscene. The forms of taboo words are classified into 13 classifications. They are racial slurs, terms of

  

address , swearword, sexual connotation, excrement, mental or physic defect,

homophobic , occupation, parts of the body, physic, object, class of people,

negative quality . The most common classification of taboo words are those related

to sexual connotation, racial terms and parts of the body.

  The second question is about the motivation encouraging the use of taboo words. To answer this question the writer analyzed the context of taboo words in the sentences. Based on the research finding, there are five characteristics of English Taboo Words, which encourage the use of taboo words in communication. They are solidarity or intimacy, anger, superiority, humiliation and self-identity. In superiority there are factors of stereotype and power. These factors may encourage the spread of superiority in taboo words. These five characteristics often overlap with one another, one characteristic contains another one. Thus, it is difficult to make a clear and fixed border between one characteristic to another characteristic.

  ABSTRAK

Shirley Maya Argasetya. 2009. Common Features of English Taboo Words.

  

Yogyakarta: Kajian Bahasa Inggeris, Program Pasca Sarjana, Universitas

Sanata Dharma.

  Tesis ini menekankan pada studi sosiolinguistik, dengan meneliti sebanyak 221 kata-kata tabu bahasa Inggris. Jenis studi dalam penelitian ini adalah penelitian kualitatif dengan menggunakan data yang diambil dari tiga kamus, sebagai corpus-based lexicography.

  Studi ini bertujuan untuk menjawab dua pertanyaan. Pertanyaan pertama adalah bagaimana kata-kata tabu dapat digolongkan sesuai dengan tingkat penghinaan dan ciri-ciri semantic kata-kata tersebut, dan pertanyaan kedua ialah apa yang memotivasi penggunaan kata-kata tabu bahasa Inggris. Untuk menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan ini, penulis memulai dengan sejumlah kata-kata tabu yang paling sering ditemui dalam bahasa Inggris, misalnya fuck, shit, ass, dan memperbanyak kata-kata tabu dengan menelusuri internet dan mencari di dalam kamus. Penulis juga berusaha mencari sinonim kata-kata tabu yang sudah ditemui sebelumnya di dalam kamus. Kemudian, penulis menganalisa konteks kata tabu, berdasarkan arti yang terdapat di dalam kamus dan penggunaan kata-kata tersebut dalam contoh kalimat yang ada di dalam bagian lampiran pada tesis ini.

  Penulis berusaha mencari dan mengumpulkan kata-kata tabu dengan menelusuri internet dan kamus. Semua kata yang didapat kemudian diperiksa artinya di dalam kamus, untuk mendapatkan deskripsi valid pada kata-kata tersebut. Dengan melalui proses ini didapatkan 221 kata yang digolongkan sebagai kata-kata tabu di dalam tesis ini, yang diperoleh dari Merriam-Webster’s

  

Collegiate Dictionary , Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and Concise

Oxford Dictionary . 221 kata tabu tersebut berfungsi sebagai data sumber di dalam

  tesis ini.

  Untuk menjawab pertanyaan pertama penulis menganalisa data satu persatu, termasuk makna dan penggunaan kata-kata tersebut. Kata-kata tabu dalam penelitian ini menampakkan adanya lima tingkat penghinaan yang melekat pada kata-kata tabu. Tabu atau tidaknya suatu kata ditentukan oleh tingkat penghinaan ini, yaitu kata-kata yang bersifat vulgar, meremehkan, menyakitkan hati, menghina, cabul. Bentuk-bentuk kata-kata tabu dapat digolongkan ke dalam 13 klasifikasi. Antara lain penghinaan yang menyangkut faktor rasial, julukan atau panggilan, kata makian, konotasi seksual, kotoran tubuh, kelemahan mental atau fisik, homofobia, pekerjaan, bagian tubuh, fisik, objek, golongan, sifat-sifat negatif. Bentuk klasifikasi terbanyak yang paling sering digunakan dalam kata tabu adalah kata tabu yang berkaitan dengan konotasi seksual, julukan yang berbau rasial dan angggota tubuh.

  Pertanyaan kedua mengenai motivasi yang mendorong penggunaan kata- kata tabu. Untuk menjawab pertanyaan ini penulis menganalisa konteks penggunaan kata-kata tabu di dalam kalimat. Berdasarkan penemuan penelitian, terdapat lima karakteristik dalam kata-kata tabu bahasa Inggris, yang mendorong penggunaan kata tabu dalam komunikasi. Karakteristik tersebut antara lain solidaritas atau keakraban, kemarahan, superioritas, penghinaan, identitas diri. Stereotipe dan kekuasaan, mendorong tumbuhnya superioritas dalam kata tabu. Kelima karakteristik tersebut seringkali saling tumpang tindih, satu karakteristik mengandung karakteristik lainnya. Sehingga, sulit diambil batas yang pasti dan jelas antara satu karakteristik dengan karakteristik lainnya.

COMMON FEATURES OF ENGLISH TABOO WORDS

  

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

  Language and culture are two sides of one coin. With that so close relationship, both of them affect each other and, in certain forms, the existence of them is inseparable. Culture shapes the mind frame of society, their daily activities, how they view the world around them, other people and their environment. From such a culture, the society or the individual living in that culture domain adds color or pattern to the style of language used by them.

  Talking activity shows what we want to say and what we want to say is lied in our mind. Then, what is in our mind, mostly, is infuenced by our culture.

  As said by Lehtonen (2000: 5), cultural symbols are omnipresent precisely for the reason that they are essential for our survival. Culture is the survival kit of humankind. Being biologically defective, humans must resort to their reflective resources for survival. Then, language and its meanings indeed mark the terrain of human beings, interpreting the reality and producing identities. They are an essential part of our common history, the making of us and our societies.

  Therefore, there is an expression saying that ‘people’s language reflects their culture.’ It means that from the type of language people spoken we may see, whether directly or indirectly, how they view the world around them, where they come from, what are their background, what status they have or they prefer in the society, to name just a few. As explained by Blot ( 2003:3), whenever we open our mouths to speak we provide those who hear us, chosen interlocutors and mere bystanders alike, with a wealth of data, a congeries of linguistic clues others use to position us within a specific social stratum. Our particular uses of language may situate us geographically, physically (by sex or age), ethnically, nationally, and, especially in stratified societies, according to class or caste.

  Language as one of the media in society to communicate, utter ideas, emotions and make relationship with other people, contains cultural values living and developing in the environment where the language is used. Language, it can be said, is a result or a product of culture, however, language also affects the existence and the continuity of that culture.

  As explained by Deborrah Tannen in Language and Culture (Fasold, 2006: 347), these cultural influences affect the words, expressions, intonation patterns, turn-taking habits, and other linguistic aspects of how speakers say what they mean. At the same time that these ways of speaking communicate ideas, they also communicate what the speakers think they are doing in a particular conversation, the relationship the speakers have or want to have with the person the speakers are speaking to, and what kind of person the speakers are. Each society has its own culture with its own uniqueness. The way of its citizen views the world cannot be separated from the culture underlying. As a language spoken by certain people based on geographic area, language is a product of society and, on the other side, it also determines the culture of society. Thus, the feature, the context and the emotion indicated by a word, a phrase or a sentence relate to the culture where they live.

  The language that lives and exists among the society has various functions, purposes and forms which are delivered by a variety of speakers, listened by a variety of hearers and uttered in various situation, environment and many other factors. There are some purposes underlying the coming out of language from someone’s mouth, thereby, often, not only one sentence, even just one word may have meanings which sometimes go a bit further from the basic meaning of that word.

  Thus, as a result, the use of those words may also appear in a different situation to the hearers, according to what effects appear or what purposes the speakers know dealing with those words. As stated by Lyons (Lyons, :249), language can be used by speakers to ask questions, issue commands and make promises; to threaten, insult and cajole.

  There are styles of language and they are formed based on the purpose, situation, context, mood and style of the speaker, whether it is formal or relax, polite or intimate, the relation between the speaker and the hearer, and some other factors involved. It is from this context that many language styles are formed such as jargon, slang and style in polite conversation, including words that are considered as taboo. Taboo words are those that are to be avoided entirely, or at least to be avoided in the “mixed company” or the “polite company.” Taboo language is not limited to obscenity – sacred language can also be taboo, that is, language to be avoided outside the context of sacred rituals. In many societies the language of religious or magical rites can only be used by certain members of the society, like priests or shamans (Montagu, 2001: 306). Thus, it should be kept in mind that what counts as taboo language is something defined by culture, and not by anything inherent in the language itself.

  A taboo word is one type of word that can be said marginal, typically spoken to express someone’s feeling about something. It relates to the sensitiveness of society toward certain subjects. Thus, this situation supports what is explained by Fromkin (1974: 289), in line with how words considered as taboo may picture, in part, the culture in one society.

  In all societies certain acts or behaviors are frowned on, forbidden, or considered taboo. The words or expressions referring to these taboo acts are then also avoided or considered “dirty.” Language itself cannot be obscene or clean; the rejection of specific words or linguistic expressions only reflects the culture of a given society.

  This explanation pictures how the value contained in the use of a language is closely determined by the culture exists in certain society. Culture affects how a speaker sees the world and how s/he thinks about it. It is the culture that determines whether one word is a taboo word or not, or how taboo a word is.

  Besides, the curse words and insults the speakers use reflect how they think about society around them (Akmajian, 2001:94).

  For example, the word ‘bag’ has two meanings. The first meaning of this word is: (1) bag (1.a) a round or roundish body or mass: as (a) a spherical or ovoid body used in a game or sport *a tennis ball*; (b) EARTH, GLOBE; (c) a spherical or conical projectile; also projectiles used in firearms; (d) a roundish protuberant anatomical structure (as near the tip of a human finger or toe or at the base of a thumb), especially : the part of the sole of the human foot between the toes and arch on which the main weight of the body rests in normal walking (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary). The word bag used in the meaning (1) neither hurts the feeling of any of the hearers nor appeals to any triggered emotions. This word is widely used in the society. On the contrary, let us pay attention to the word bag in the second meaning below:

  (1.b) often vulgar: TESTIS; (b) plural (1) often vulgar: NONSENSE — often used interjectionally (2) often vulgar: NERVE 3 (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary) The word bag in the meaning (2) is used within a different intonation which is different from the first meaning. It is used by the speaker in a non-formal situation, with the speaker’s intention, for example, to insult, abuse, humiliate and degrade someone’s dignity. This word has different meanings as mentioned in the meaning (1) and the meaning (2) that may result in humiliation on the part of the hearers, they may feel hurt, offended or angry. The example above is included in one of the use of the words considered taboo in society, it is also a form of swear words. As Montagu (2001: 56) described obviously, swearing constitutes a learned-form of behavior, a culturally conditioned response to the experience of certain conditions.

  The use of a taboo word is certainly limited and not promoted almost in every normal conversation, especially in the formal situation, in academic or in every day’s life. As stated by Keith Allan (2006: 27), the inappropriate use of it in normal conversations will deal with any other formal or informal sanctions. It gives the immediate impact for the hearer. Being able to violate a taboo has shock value and displays the semblance of power, which is often effective.

  The same thing is also explained by Battistella (2005: 75) what is evident from the various objections to coarse language and epithets is the idea that certain words are not used in polite speech – that public language should be suitable for all possible groups of listeners, from one’s children and grandparents to worldly adults and working folks. Language falling outside this range is often characterized as impolite, inappropriate, disruptive, disrespectful, immoral, injurious, or dangerous, and as such is constrained by etiquette, workplace rules, and law.

  Thus, the speaker of a taboo word can be treated as a rude person or uneducated, or intends to insult for something or someone. Therefore, the use of taboo words is only acceptable in a very limited circumstances and conditions and the prevention of taboo words spoken openly links to the unwritten code in society. Allan (2001: 160) explains, taboo terms such as those for body parts connected with sexual reproduction and defecation, along with those for the correlative effluvia, are classified as such because of a belief, be it ever so vague, that their form reflects the essential nature of the taboo topics they denote. This is exactly why the terms themselves are often said to be unpleasant or ugly- sounding, why they are miscalled ‘dirty words.’ It is the result of the powerful hold that naturalist belief have upon the community.

  (2) piss Main Entry : a. piss (verb) intransitive verb - sometimes vulgar : URINATE transitive verb - sometimes vulgar : to urinate in or on Main Entry : b (noun)

  Most societies consider that actions related to coition, certain parts of the body whose function to excrete the waste of digestion system, as things that are improper to be shown or said publicly. Thus, those actions or parts of the body become something taboo in society’s eyes and minds. Moreover, that tabooness widens to the saying of those words, and finally those words become taboo words. For example, the meaning of piss in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary:

• . sometimes vulgar : URINE
• . sometimes vulgar : an act of urinating — often used with take Then, as written in the dictionary above, piss becomes a taboo word because that word shows the meaning of discarding urine. This action is not an activity that is proper to be done publicly, this action is a taboo action that is prohibited if done publicly, it is a private thing. To do it publicly means to do an action against the rule in the society. Thus, this word, in effect, becomes a taboo word, improper to be said publicly. So does the word lay in the meaning (3.a):

  (3) lay (3.a) put down, especially gently or carefully meanwhile in the meaning (3.b), (3.b) have sexual intercourse with (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary)

  The word lay in the meaning (3.a) is a normal activity undertaken in daily life, thus, it turns to be a taboo word in the meaning (3.b), because it refers to a sexual activity. As indicated by the word piss above, a sexual activity is not an activity normally done publicly, without any borders. Breaking this rule means breaking the norm or rule already stated in the society.

  Therefore, a word cannot be considered as bad or good, polite or impolite, however, the values underlying way of thinking and the view of the hearer, and the speaker, should be also considered. Showing indifferent attitude to this fact may cause the improper using of certain terms, in the sense that the speaker may use certain words, accidentally or on purpose, that actually are improper to be used in the situation faced by the speaker. The choice between alternative expressions depends entirely on the context, the meaning of the word and their associations vary continuously in response to different situational factors; for example, the relationship between speakers and their audience, the setting, the subject matter and so on – change on one factor and the language may change to suit (Schmid, 1998: 71).

  It should be kept in mind that language is neither good nor evil, but its use may be. A person who views women or blacks or Hispanics as inferior will consider their special speech characteristics inferior. Furthermore, when society itself institutionalizes such attitudes, the language reflects that bias. When everyone in society is truly created equal and treated as such, there will be little concern for the asymmetries that exist in language (Fromkin, 1974: 287). From Fromkin’s explanation about how a language may reflect the view of that language user, it may be understood that behind the meaning of a taboo word and the use of that word in society, there are things that encourage someone to use taboo words in the conversation he or she involved.

  For example, when someone says or denotes the word “chink” to other people who have physical features which belong to a Chinese descendant individual, the speaker does not only say the word “chink” without any intention or tendencies.

  (4) chink Function : noun or adjective usually offensive: CHINESE

  (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary) Behind that pronunciation, there is a feeling of superiority felt by the speaker to the intended hearer. Besides, an intention of signalizing one self may also occur from the use of certain taboo words by someone, as indicated by the example above.

  A taboo word is a part of language and a product of society. Because the term of taboo usually relates to something unacceptable or intolerable in society, the taboo words relate to the value in the society. As stated by Crystal (1995: 172), taboo language is items which people avoid using in polite society, either because they believe them harmful or feel them embarrassing or offensive…or because society is sensitive to them. On the other side, the prohibiting factor lied in the use of a taboo word, unsurprisingly, can reveal the important factor of a taboo word for certain people. In some aspects, the use of a taboo word might be related to the freedom of speech and one of the unique ways to show up oneself.

  Thus, it obviously clears, to understand, though not ever using it, a taboo word according to its contexts, people should rely on the certain values in society.

  Regardless of the differentiation of values in each society, what is considered a taboo word in one society might be different from a taboo word in another society since every society has its own uniqueness, rules, which in certain extent is different from one another. Similarly, the emotion behind the use of a taboo word, the contexts denoted by the speaker while saying the taboo word and the feature constructing the taboo word also contain the possibility of differentiation in each society. Nevertheless, the prominent emphasis on a taboo word is basically on the external factor or the unacceptable factor. How such a word is not allowed to be spoken depends on certain contexts. Yet, the internal structure of the word itself is sometimes forgotten.

  However, a word considered taboo does not only relate to sexual activity or parts of the body, but also, as mentioned in the previous paragraphs, the society’s view that underlies whether one word taboo. How the society views a class, belief, occupation, even a place, can make one word becomes taboo. Take an example from the meaning of bubba, as the following:

  (5) bubba (5.a) a form of address to a brother. (5.b) an uneducated conservative white male of the southern US.

  (Concise Oxford Dictionary) In the meaning (5.a), this word is not considered taboo, as long as it is spoken by a member of one group to the other member of that group, in this situation, this word becomes a signal of intimacy. However, the word turns to be a taboo word, in the meaning (5.b), if it is spoken by an educated person to an uneducated person who comes from southern America. The word categorized as an intimacy calling to a friend may turn to be a word that is considered an insulting tendency by the speaker. Take a look at the word ‘pig’, which has three different meanings.

  (6) pig (6.a) an omnivorous domesticated hoofed mammal with sparse bristly hair and a flat snout, kept for its meat. [Sus domesticus.]

  ฀ a wild animal related to this; a hog. [Family Suidae. (6.b) informal a greedy, dirty, or unpleasant person. Brit. informal an unpleasant or difficult task. (6.c) informal, derogatory a police officer.

  (Concise Oxford Dictionary) This word in the meaning (6.a) refers to one type of animal, and in the meaning (6.b) it refers to someone unpleasant or an occupation, however, it becomes a taboo word if it is spoken with insulting tone, referred to police officer, as in the meaning (6.c). Besides some factors above, one word may also be considered a taboo word by the society if that word relates to an ethnic background, or where someone comes from. For example the word ‘gook’.

  (7) gook n . a foreigner, especially a person of SE Asian descent.

  (Concise Oxford Dictionary) This word is considered a taboo word if it is spoken by someone whose background is not a descendant of South East Asian, to someone whose background is South East Asian.

  The characteristic or whether one word becomes taboo or not can be influenced by, among others, someone’s physical appearance, which is perhaps considered beyond the normal size, for example ‘fatso’.

  (8) fatso n. (pl. fatsoes) informal, derogatory a fat person.

  (Concise Oxford Dictionary)

  The same situation is also happened in a calling or name-calling to a man or a woman, based on their sexual orientation, such as bent (homosexual) and

  

dyke (lesbian). These two words become taboo words since they degrade the sex

orientation of someone.

  As a kind of word that exists in the society, taboo word can be found almost in every society. In addition, as a taboo word, almost every society has certain limitation for the use of a taboo word. Thus, usually if people want to speak about something or express their feelings of something mostly similar to the meaning and expression of a taboo word, they usually use other words to soften or weaken the taboo word itself. Euphemism is one kind of style people prefer to replace the use of taboo words. As explained by Fromkin (1974: 280), a euphemism is a word or phrase that replaces a taboo word or serves to avoid frightening or unpleasant subjects.

  According to the subject of this proposal thesis, that is taboo word, the writer aims to find out the common features of English taboo words and why a word becomes taboo and what is the contexts covering such taboo words. Based on that evidence, this paper aims to elaborate the internal structure and to examine English taboo words.

  1.2 Problem Limitation

  There are various writings, arguments, debates dealing with taboo words such as the sacred taboo, curse word, epithet, sexist, homophobic, the social context in taboo words, taboo words in certain societies, and so forth. The taboo word itself, for example, can be classified into taboo in terms of racism, name- calling and occupations. Therefore, the study of taboo words must be limited in certain borders, to avoid widened scopes of the problem.

  This research only focuses on the features of taboo words and their characteristics as cited in the table at the appendix section. To limit the scope of this research, the researcher here only studies 221 taboo words, and the taboo words studied in this thesis are those classified under the term of offensive, derogatory, vulgar, obscene and disparaging, as indicated by the dictionaries.

  1.3 Formulation

  1. How can taboo words be classified according to their offensiveness and semantic features?

  2. What motivate the use of taboo words? The answers of these two questions are based on the analysis of the taboo words cited in the table and their usage in sentence examples. Thus, the answer of the first question is based on the analysis of the features of those taboo words, such as racial term, sexist, homophobic, swearword. Furthermore, the answer of the second question is based on the analysis of the characteristics of the taboo words. These two questions have a close relationship with one another.

  1.4 Research Objective

  The purpose of this paper is to find out the features of taboo words and from those features the researcher tries to reveal the common characteristics of English taboo words, and to evaluate those characteristics and to determine the results between them in relation to their features and contexts.

  1.5 Research Benefit

  1. This thesis aims to provide a contribution in the understanding of a marginal word.

  2. For English learners and non-native English speakers, or media, advertising, it is hoped that they can avoid the use of improper words, to know the contexts of taboo words.

  3. It is useful for people to develop a better understanding so they do not use the word accidentally.

  4. This thesis aims to develop a better understanding in some parts of English culture.

  For the writer, the benefit of this research is to develop her understanding of various styles of language in the society and to improve her ability in mastering English language. It is also used to fulfill one of the requirements to obtain the Master Degree in the Graduate Program on English Language Studies of Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta.

CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE This chapter contains three sections. The first section is Theoretical Review, the

  second one is Review of Related Research, and the last section is about Theoretical Framework. The first section, Theoretical Review, discusses four general topics, which are register and semantic features, language, society and taboo words. Thus, this section is divided into four topics, which are register and semantic features, interrelation between language and society, attitudes behind the tabooness of words and the characteristics and meanings of taboo words, which then contains two subsections. These subsections are function and the effects of taboo words.