Contrasting Speech Styles Used By The Main Female Characters in 'Miss Congeniality' and 'G.I.Jane'.
ABSTRACT
Untuk skripsi ini saya memilih dua buah film yang berjudul G.I. Jane dan
Miss Congeniality sebagai sumber data penelitian saya karena kedua film tersebut
memiliki persamaan pada tokoh utama wanitanya. Saya membahas bahasa kedua
tokoh utama wanita tersebut, khususnya bahasa yang menyimpang dari teori yang
dikemukakan oleh Robin Lakoff (1975) mengenai bahasa yang biasanya dipakai
oleh kaum wanita.
Bertolak dari hal tersebut, saya menganalisis ujaran-ujaran kedua tokoh
utama wanita dalam kedua film tersebut yang menyimpang dari teori Lakoff. Saya
juga menjelaskan alasan yang menjadi penyebab adanya penyimpangan tersebut
dengan menggunakan pendekatan Sosiolinguistik, khususnya teori faktor sosial
yang dikemukakan oleh Janet Holmes.
Dari hasil penelitian saya, dapat disimpulkan bahwa bahasa yang
digunakan oleh kedua tokoh utama Miss Congeniality dan G.I. Jane berbeda
dengan bahasa wanita pada umumnya karena terpengaruh oleh bahasa yang
digunakan oleh para pria di lingkungan kerja mereka. Oleh sebab itu, mereka
sering melakukan penyimpangan dari teori Lakoff. Begitu pula dengan teori faktor
sosial. Tidak semua faktor sosial dapat menjadi alasan kedua tokoh utama wanita
i
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
melakukan penyimpangan bahasa. Faktor yang paling dominan adalah faktor
lawan bicara.
Hasil penelitian ini dapat berguna bagi para pembelajar bahasa Inggris
yang perlu menguasai bukan hanya bentuk bahasa tetapi juga penggunaan bahasa
yang bervariasi dan sesuai dengan lingkungan atau konteks pembicaraannya.
ii
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE ......................................................................................................
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..............................................................................
ii
ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................
iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study .....................................................................
Statement of the Problem ....................................................................
Purpose of the Study ............................................................................
Methods of Research ...........................................................................
Organization of the Thesis ..................................................................
1
4
4
4
5
CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ..............................
6
CHAPTER THREE: CONTRASTING SPEECH STYLES
USED BY THE MAIN FEMALE CHARACTERS IN
MISS CONGENIALITY AND G.I. JANE ......................................
14
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION ............................................................
40
BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................................................................
46
APPENDICES ...............................................................................................
48
iii
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
APPENDICES
Lakoff's theory:
1. Lexical hedges or fillers
2. Tag questions
3. Rising intonation on declaratives
4. ‘Empty’ adjectives
5. Precise colour terms
6. Intensifiers
7. ‘Hypercorrect’ grammar
8. ‘Superpolite’ forms
9. Avoidance of strong swear words
10. Emphatic stress
3 conform
± deviate
influenced
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Miss Congeniality
No.
Utterance
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Moe and Larry in the house.
No disc yet.
He's not gonna die like this.
Bean-eating bastards!
Do not need assistance.
Aside, please.
Step aside.
Hey Mike, give me a pint.
Yeah. Hit me bigtime, baby.
Yeah, I'm gonna get chip-faced. Wanna
join me?
You might want to call the network and
pageant people. Set up a meeting.
Because you’ll probably need their
cooperation….
O, come on. Cut it off. Let’s, let’s get back
to work.
Okay, very funny.
I don’t even own a dress. I don’t even own
a brush.
Asshole.
Jesus Christ!
Dear Jesus, please forgive me...for not
praying before I had a bite of my bagel
and schemer.
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
1
2
3
Lakoff's theory
4 5 6 7
±
±
Social Factor
10 Participant Setting Topic Function
±
±
±
3
±
±
±
±
±
8
9
± ±
± ±
±
±
±
±
3
3
±
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
No.
Utterance
18
That would be harsher punishment for
parole violators, Stan. (pause) And, world
peace.
And thank you, Stan.
I have a really strong feeling something
will happen to these girls.
You need to stay for me, please.
Well, I would have to say, I used to be one
of them.
And then I came here...and I realized
that...these women are smart, terrific
people...who are just trying to make a
difference in the world.
And for me, this experience has been one
of the most rewarding...and liberating
experiences of my life.
I would make them suffer so much, they'd
wish they were never born.
I kind of hoped it wouldn't.
But now that it has...I just want to say
that...I'm
very,
very
honored.
And...moved. And...truly touched. And...I
really do want world peace.
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
1
2
3
Lakoff's theory
4 5 6 7
8
9
Social Factor
10 Participant Setting Topic Function
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
G.I. Jane
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Utterance
Thank you, Sir. I'm glad we could
get involved and do some good.
Ma'am, may I ask what this is
regarding?
Sir, I'm not looking for any special
treatment.
Sergeant Pyro, I don't wanna use
any steps.
I wanna go through like the rest of the
guys.
Permission to speak frankly, Sir?
(Salem nods) It's you, Sir. It started
the moment I came here.
The shape doesn’t bother me, Sir. Just
the goddamn sweet stench.
Just treat me the same. No better, no
worse.
Listen, you moron. I'm here to stay. If
you don't wanna be in my life, you've
got two choices, move out or ring out.
That's it. End of file.
Suck my dick!
Hooyah, Master Chief.
1
2
3
3
±
Lakoff's theory
4 5 6 7 8
3
9
Social Factor
10 Participant Setting Topic Function
3
3
±
±
±
±
±
±
± ±
±
±
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
People are not always aware that language and gender are related although
it is known that language is used by both males and females to communicate.
Gender is defined as “the condition of being male and female” (Hornby, 1989:
490).
Studies have been done in linguistics to show the relationship between
language and gender which reveal different variations of language used by men
and women; it can, therefore, be concluded that language use may reflect the
user's gender. Concerning language and gender, Jim Vandergriff presents the
following information: (1) since early 1582, women have been assumed to speak
differently from men; (2) beginning in the early 1970s, the idea of 'Women's
American English' is seriously investigated by Robin Lakoff, Anne Bodine, Ruth
Brend, and Nancy Conklin; and (3) many researchers, Lakoff and Kramer, for
example, have already asserted the existence of women's language, but none of
them offer concrete evidence to support their claims (n.d.: par. 1, 4).
1
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Andrea D. Sims explains the connection between gender and language,
adding that “Gendered language in industrial societies was not taken as a serious
topic of study until the 1960s” (2004: par. 4). The topic, according to Sims, has
been known since the publication of Robin Lakoff's Language and Woman's Place
in 1975 (2004: par. 4). Later, Lakoff presents her theory of typical feminine
speech style, for instance, the use of lexical hedges or fillers, tag question,
avoidance of strong swearwords, and so on. (qtd. in Holmes, 1994: 286).
In reality, people's utterances may not always conform to the normal
gendered speech styles. Men may speak with feminine style and women may use
masculine speech styles in their utterances. These deviations can be caused by
social factors, which include participants, setting, function, and topic (Holmes,
1994: 8).
I have paid special attention to some utterances that show deviation from
conventional women's language, because, for me, regular utterances are not
challenging enough to investigate. Then I compare these deviations with the
confirmed conventional women's language. As a result, I analyze the contrasting
style of language which is used by the main female characters found in the films
Miss Congeniality and G.I. Jane. The analysis includes the reasons for such
deviation.
I use films as the data sources because they can provide the information I
need to conduct this study. In my opinion, a film can give sufficient description of
the events, character, setting, plot, or other elements of it. Therefore, I do not need
to imagine all those elements because the film provides them for the viewers. In
addition, watching a film, which takes less time than reading a novel, enables me
2
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
to get the intonation of the utterances in it and thus makes me understand the story
better.
However, in collecting the data, I found some difficulties when making the
transcript of the utterances. I could not catch some words in the films, so I tried to
find the scripts from the Internet. So, the subtitles and the scripts from the Internet
complement each other.
I take the films Miss Congeniality and G.I. Jane because they provide the
examples of language that I wish to analyze. In addition, the two films have two
similarities regarding the main female characters' professions. They are both
governmental officers and they are both surrounded by males in their jobs. I
suspect that their jobs and professional environment have some influence on them,
including their speech style.
Considering that women's language deviation has been influenced by some
social factors, the linguistic area to which the study belongs is Sociolinguistics,
which is defined as “…the study of language in its social context” (Coates, 1993:
4). Another author, Holmes also states that “Sociolinguistics is concerned with the
relationship between language and the context in which it is used” (1994: 1). This
sociolinguistic study will use an approach that is related to the characteristics of
women's language, which will be presented in detail in Chapter Two.
It is expected that the result of this study can help people in understanding
the two films, Miss Congeniality and G.I. Jane better and can also help English
learners in realizing the different practice of language use by different speakers in
different contexts.
3
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Statement of the Problem
In this thesis, the problems are formulated in the following questions:
1. What utterances of the main female characters in Miss Congeniality and
G.I. Jane show deviation from conventional women's language?
2. What are the reasons for such deviation?
Purpose of the Study
The purposes of this thesis are:
1. To find the utterances of the main female characters in Miss Congeniality
and G.I. Jane that show deviation from conventional women's language.
2. To explain the reasons for such deviation.
Methods of Research
In writing my thesis, I start by collecting the data, consisting of the main
female characters' utterances that show deviation of women's language, taken
from two films, Miss Congeniality and G.I. Jane. To analyze the data, I follow the
following procedure: (1) I watch the films several times to understand the stories
and the language well; (2) I search for the transcripts in the Internet; (3) I
complete the data, based on the subtitles and the scripts of these films; (4) I select
the utterances that deviate from the theory of women's language; (5) I classify the
selected deviated utterances in relation to Lakoff's theory; (6) then I try to reveal
the reasons for the deviation; and (7) finally, I draw some conclusions and write
the thesis.
4
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Organization of the Thesis
The thesis consists of four chapters. It starts with the Introduction, which
contains the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose
of the Study, the Methods of Research and the Organization of the Thesis. In
Chapter Two, the Theoretical Framework, I explain the sociolinguistic theories
which are used to analyze the data. The third chapter presents the analysis of the
deviation from women's language in Miss Congeniality and G.I. Jane. Finally, in
Chapter Four, I draw some conclusions from the result of the analysis. At the end
of the thesis, is the Bibliography, a list of the references that I use in this thesis,
and the Appendices, which consist of the synopses of Miss Congeniality and G.I.
Jane as well as the tabulated data of this study.
5
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
In this chapter, I will draw some conclusion based on my findings in the
previous chapter. By using sociolinguistic approach, I realize that observing the
way people use language in different contexts can give information about how
language works, the relationship between the speaker and the listener, and how
they indicate their social identity through their language, including their gender,
profession, and educational status.
From the two films, I find that men and women obviously have different
ways of talking. What is more, the major female characters in both films show
some deviations from the conventional women's language. They use some
masculine speech styles in their speech.
While analyzing the films, I find some similarities between the two films.
Both of the main female characters are governmental officers who are surrounded
by male colleagues. The nature of their duties requires them to speak briefly,
clearly, and effectively. This influences their speech style and it results in the
deviation of what Hart calls 'women's language'. The analysis shows that the main
39
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
female characters deviate from feminine speech styles more frequently than
conforming them.
Both characters, Gracie Hart and Jordan O'Neil, do not often use 'empty'
adjectives but prefer to use ordinary adjectives which they use in daily
conversation. Although the 'empty' adjectives may have the same meaning as the
ordinary ones, sometimes they have a slightly different meaning and may yield
different connotation. Moreover, they hardly use the emphatic stress, and
especially not on the adjectives. They mainly stress the nouns or the verbs, not the
adjectives. Due to the fact that they rarely stress any words, they also rarely use
intensifiers which are used to strengthen the meaning of the word; thus, I do not
find any deviation of the use of intensifiers. In addition, I find that O'Neil even
does not use emphatic stress and intensifier in her utterances.
In both of the main female characters' utterances, I find that they seldom
use 'superpolite' forms which appear in the form of indirect requests or
euphemisms. On the contrary, they mostly prefer using direct requests and never
use any euphemisms. As a consequence, I conclude that the nature of their
professions requires them to speak briefly, clearly, effectively, and straight to the
point. What is more, their speech is also influenced by their professional
environment which is dominated by male colleagues who are used to using slang
or colloquial expressions. The use of slang can be seen from chip-faced or
hooyah.
Out of Lakoff's ten special features of feminine speech styles, I find that
the main female characters do not use the precise color terms nor tag questions.
They mostly sound assertive and confident. That is why I believe they do not need
40
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
to use the tag questions to request for confirmation of their statements and seldom
use lexical hedges. Their self-confidence is also expressed in their use of falling
intonation.
In my discussion, I deliberately avoid to discuss the use of 'hypercorrect'
grammar, because there is no clear information about what it actually is. I have
tried to search in many sources, but they have different interpretations and
examples. Therefore, I decide not to discuss 'hypercorrect' grammar.
I also find that the main female characters cannot avoid the use of
swearwords when they get annoyed, angry, or surprised. However, the choice of
swearwords can be different, depending on the situation. This can be seen from
Hart's swearwords. When she is still a female FBI agent, she uses bastards or
asshole, but when, when she becomes a beauty pageant contestant, she changes
her swearword into Jesus Christ, an expression which she uses when she is
surprised.
Besides these similarities, the two films also have some differences. At the
beginning of Miss Congeniality, the main female character, Gracie Hart, deviates
from Lakoff's theory about the special features of feminine speech style. Then she
changes her speech style in order to work undercover as a beauty pageant
contestant and catch a terrorist. Besides the fact that the nature of her duties means
that she is required to speak clearly and briefly, Hart lives in an environment
which does not consider her as being a woman. Even her attitude is more like that
of a man's. That is why she has a different speech style and is used to speaking
spontaneously, especially when she is in a hurry or is facing a critical situation.
41
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Different from Miss Congeniality, at the beginning of G.I. Jane the main
female character, Jordan O'Neil, a topographic analyst, has speech style that
conform to Lakoff's feminine speech styles and conventional women's language.
She uses the deviated style of women's language after she becomes the first
female soldier to counter the male soldiers' prejudice that women are both
physically and mentally weaker than men. She even uses very strong swearwords,
such as suck my dick, and gains new respect from the male soldiers by using such
language.
In analyzing the reason for the two female characters' use of certain speech
styles, I use Holmes' four social factors, which consist of participants, setting,
topic, and function. These social factors normally play important roles in a
person's language choice. After analyzing the films, I find that there are two most
dominant social factors in the female leading characters' language choice. They
are participant and function.
In these two films, the participant factor affects most of the speaker's
speech style. Hart and O'Neil use different speech styles when they talk to their
superior than when they talk to their friends. Yet, they change their speech style
when they talk to everybody by time their relationship getting closer. Function, in
addition, is also the most influential factor in the characters' language choice. I
believe that both women want to show something through their utterances.
Setting plays quite an important role in their language choice as well. It
can be seen from Hart, who uses the 'superpolite' form when she talks in front of
many viewers on the stage when she is working undercover as Miss New Jersey in
42
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
the beauty pageant. O'Neil also speaks with the 'superpolite' form when she talks
to Harper, her boyfriend, at the office.
However, topic does not affect too much why the female main characters
choose the certain speech styles.
In my opinion, Lakoff's theory about the special features in 'women's
language' can express women's speech style in general. However, on the grounds
that their professions are commonly done by men and that they are surrounded by
men, the speech styles of the main female characters in both films are strongly
influenced.
In my opinion, it is not only the social factors mentioned by Holmes which
affect a speaker's language choice. I believe that the speaker's psychological state
plays a very significant role in his or her language choice, such as feeling nervous,
angry, or upset. This is what I often find in the films. I relate this with one of
Holmes' four social factors, namely function.
43
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
BIBLIOGRAPHY
References
Coates, Jennifer. 1993. Women, Men and Language. Essex: Longman Group UK
Limited.
Holmes, Janet. 1994. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Essex: Longman Group
UK Limited.
Hornby, A.S. 1989. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Internet Websites
Assumption of Command: Hooah!. 23 Mar 2005. Assumption of Command. 13
June 2006 .
Cut. 13 June 2006 .
Exploring Language: How Intonation Works. 7 Mar 2002. English Online. 1 Apr
2006 .
Hypercorrection. 13 Apr 2006. Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. 15 Apr 2006
.
Language Defines Gender. 2006. Planet Papers. 23 Mar 2006
.
44
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Moore, Andrew. Language and Gender. 20 Apr 2005
.
Rollo, Julia Bogdan. KudoZ Term Question. 13 June 2006
.
Rosenberg, Sarah. Face. 17 Mar 2006
.
Sims, Andrea D. Language and Gender. 23 Mar 2006
.
Sociolinguistics. 1 Apr 2006 .
Thibault, Linda, Ouellet, Marise. Tonal Distinctions between and Pretonic
Lengthening in Quebec French, 1 Apr 2006
.
Trudgill, Peter. 1974. Sociolinguistics: An Introduction. Middlesex: Penguin
Books Ltd.
Vandergriff, Jim. Is There a Women's Language?. 11 Mar 2006
Untuk skripsi ini saya memilih dua buah film yang berjudul G.I. Jane dan
Miss Congeniality sebagai sumber data penelitian saya karena kedua film tersebut
memiliki persamaan pada tokoh utama wanitanya. Saya membahas bahasa kedua
tokoh utama wanita tersebut, khususnya bahasa yang menyimpang dari teori yang
dikemukakan oleh Robin Lakoff (1975) mengenai bahasa yang biasanya dipakai
oleh kaum wanita.
Bertolak dari hal tersebut, saya menganalisis ujaran-ujaran kedua tokoh
utama wanita dalam kedua film tersebut yang menyimpang dari teori Lakoff. Saya
juga menjelaskan alasan yang menjadi penyebab adanya penyimpangan tersebut
dengan menggunakan pendekatan Sosiolinguistik, khususnya teori faktor sosial
yang dikemukakan oleh Janet Holmes.
Dari hasil penelitian saya, dapat disimpulkan bahwa bahasa yang
digunakan oleh kedua tokoh utama Miss Congeniality dan G.I. Jane berbeda
dengan bahasa wanita pada umumnya karena terpengaruh oleh bahasa yang
digunakan oleh para pria di lingkungan kerja mereka. Oleh sebab itu, mereka
sering melakukan penyimpangan dari teori Lakoff. Begitu pula dengan teori faktor
sosial. Tidak semua faktor sosial dapat menjadi alasan kedua tokoh utama wanita
i
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
melakukan penyimpangan bahasa. Faktor yang paling dominan adalah faktor
lawan bicara.
Hasil penelitian ini dapat berguna bagi para pembelajar bahasa Inggris
yang perlu menguasai bukan hanya bentuk bahasa tetapi juga penggunaan bahasa
yang bervariasi dan sesuai dengan lingkungan atau konteks pembicaraannya.
ii
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE ......................................................................................................
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..............................................................................
ii
ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................
iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study .....................................................................
Statement of the Problem ....................................................................
Purpose of the Study ............................................................................
Methods of Research ...........................................................................
Organization of the Thesis ..................................................................
1
4
4
4
5
CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ..............................
6
CHAPTER THREE: CONTRASTING SPEECH STYLES
USED BY THE MAIN FEMALE CHARACTERS IN
MISS CONGENIALITY AND G.I. JANE ......................................
14
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION ............................................................
40
BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................................................................
46
APPENDICES ...............................................................................................
48
iii
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
APPENDICES
Lakoff's theory:
1. Lexical hedges or fillers
2. Tag questions
3. Rising intonation on declaratives
4. ‘Empty’ adjectives
5. Precise colour terms
6. Intensifiers
7. ‘Hypercorrect’ grammar
8. ‘Superpolite’ forms
9. Avoidance of strong swear words
10. Emphatic stress
3 conform
± deviate
influenced
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Miss Congeniality
No.
Utterance
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Moe and Larry in the house.
No disc yet.
He's not gonna die like this.
Bean-eating bastards!
Do not need assistance.
Aside, please.
Step aside.
Hey Mike, give me a pint.
Yeah. Hit me bigtime, baby.
Yeah, I'm gonna get chip-faced. Wanna
join me?
You might want to call the network and
pageant people. Set up a meeting.
Because you’ll probably need their
cooperation….
O, come on. Cut it off. Let’s, let’s get back
to work.
Okay, very funny.
I don’t even own a dress. I don’t even own
a brush.
Asshole.
Jesus Christ!
Dear Jesus, please forgive me...for not
praying before I had a bite of my bagel
and schemer.
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
1
2
3
Lakoff's theory
4 5 6 7
±
±
Social Factor
10 Participant Setting Topic Function
±
±
±
3
±
±
±
±
±
8
9
± ±
± ±
±
±
±
±
3
3
±
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
No.
Utterance
18
That would be harsher punishment for
parole violators, Stan. (pause) And, world
peace.
And thank you, Stan.
I have a really strong feeling something
will happen to these girls.
You need to stay for me, please.
Well, I would have to say, I used to be one
of them.
And then I came here...and I realized
that...these women are smart, terrific
people...who are just trying to make a
difference in the world.
And for me, this experience has been one
of the most rewarding...and liberating
experiences of my life.
I would make them suffer so much, they'd
wish they were never born.
I kind of hoped it wouldn't.
But now that it has...I just want to say
that...I'm
very,
very
honored.
And...moved. And...truly touched. And...I
really do want world peace.
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
1
2
3
Lakoff's theory
4 5 6 7
8
9
Social Factor
10 Participant Setting Topic Function
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
G.I. Jane
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Utterance
Thank you, Sir. I'm glad we could
get involved and do some good.
Ma'am, may I ask what this is
regarding?
Sir, I'm not looking for any special
treatment.
Sergeant Pyro, I don't wanna use
any steps.
I wanna go through like the rest of the
guys.
Permission to speak frankly, Sir?
(Salem nods) It's you, Sir. It started
the moment I came here.
The shape doesn’t bother me, Sir. Just
the goddamn sweet stench.
Just treat me the same. No better, no
worse.
Listen, you moron. I'm here to stay. If
you don't wanna be in my life, you've
got two choices, move out or ring out.
That's it. End of file.
Suck my dick!
Hooyah, Master Chief.
1
2
3
3
±
Lakoff's theory
4 5 6 7 8
3
9
Social Factor
10 Participant Setting Topic Function
3
3
±
±
±
±
±
±
± ±
±
±
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
People are not always aware that language and gender are related although
it is known that language is used by both males and females to communicate.
Gender is defined as “the condition of being male and female” (Hornby, 1989:
490).
Studies have been done in linguistics to show the relationship between
language and gender which reveal different variations of language used by men
and women; it can, therefore, be concluded that language use may reflect the
user's gender. Concerning language and gender, Jim Vandergriff presents the
following information: (1) since early 1582, women have been assumed to speak
differently from men; (2) beginning in the early 1970s, the idea of 'Women's
American English' is seriously investigated by Robin Lakoff, Anne Bodine, Ruth
Brend, and Nancy Conklin; and (3) many researchers, Lakoff and Kramer, for
example, have already asserted the existence of women's language, but none of
them offer concrete evidence to support their claims (n.d.: par. 1, 4).
1
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Andrea D. Sims explains the connection between gender and language,
adding that “Gendered language in industrial societies was not taken as a serious
topic of study until the 1960s” (2004: par. 4). The topic, according to Sims, has
been known since the publication of Robin Lakoff's Language and Woman's Place
in 1975 (2004: par. 4). Later, Lakoff presents her theory of typical feminine
speech style, for instance, the use of lexical hedges or fillers, tag question,
avoidance of strong swearwords, and so on. (qtd. in Holmes, 1994: 286).
In reality, people's utterances may not always conform to the normal
gendered speech styles. Men may speak with feminine style and women may use
masculine speech styles in their utterances. These deviations can be caused by
social factors, which include participants, setting, function, and topic (Holmes,
1994: 8).
I have paid special attention to some utterances that show deviation from
conventional women's language, because, for me, regular utterances are not
challenging enough to investigate. Then I compare these deviations with the
confirmed conventional women's language. As a result, I analyze the contrasting
style of language which is used by the main female characters found in the films
Miss Congeniality and G.I. Jane. The analysis includes the reasons for such
deviation.
I use films as the data sources because they can provide the information I
need to conduct this study. In my opinion, a film can give sufficient description of
the events, character, setting, plot, or other elements of it. Therefore, I do not need
to imagine all those elements because the film provides them for the viewers. In
addition, watching a film, which takes less time than reading a novel, enables me
2
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
to get the intonation of the utterances in it and thus makes me understand the story
better.
However, in collecting the data, I found some difficulties when making the
transcript of the utterances. I could not catch some words in the films, so I tried to
find the scripts from the Internet. So, the subtitles and the scripts from the Internet
complement each other.
I take the films Miss Congeniality and G.I. Jane because they provide the
examples of language that I wish to analyze. In addition, the two films have two
similarities regarding the main female characters' professions. They are both
governmental officers and they are both surrounded by males in their jobs. I
suspect that their jobs and professional environment have some influence on them,
including their speech style.
Considering that women's language deviation has been influenced by some
social factors, the linguistic area to which the study belongs is Sociolinguistics,
which is defined as “…the study of language in its social context” (Coates, 1993:
4). Another author, Holmes also states that “Sociolinguistics is concerned with the
relationship between language and the context in which it is used” (1994: 1). This
sociolinguistic study will use an approach that is related to the characteristics of
women's language, which will be presented in detail in Chapter Two.
It is expected that the result of this study can help people in understanding
the two films, Miss Congeniality and G.I. Jane better and can also help English
learners in realizing the different practice of language use by different speakers in
different contexts.
3
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Statement of the Problem
In this thesis, the problems are formulated in the following questions:
1. What utterances of the main female characters in Miss Congeniality and
G.I. Jane show deviation from conventional women's language?
2. What are the reasons for such deviation?
Purpose of the Study
The purposes of this thesis are:
1. To find the utterances of the main female characters in Miss Congeniality
and G.I. Jane that show deviation from conventional women's language.
2. To explain the reasons for such deviation.
Methods of Research
In writing my thesis, I start by collecting the data, consisting of the main
female characters' utterances that show deviation of women's language, taken
from two films, Miss Congeniality and G.I. Jane. To analyze the data, I follow the
following procedure: (1) I watch the films several times to understand the stories
and the language well; (2) I search for the transcripts in the Internet; (3) I
complete the data, based on the subtitles and the scripts of these films; (4) I select
the utterances that deviate from the theory of women's language; (5) I classify the
selected deviated utterances in relation to Lakoff's theory; (6) then I try to reveal
the reasons for the deviation; and (7) finally, I draw some conclusions and write
the thesis.
4
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Organization of the Thesis
The thesis consists of four chapters. It starts with the Introduction, which
contains the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose
of the Study, the Methods of Research and the Organization of the Thesis. In
Chapter Two, the Theoretical Framework, I explain the sociolinguistic theories
which are used to analyze the data. The third chapter presents the analysis of the
deviation from women's language in Miss Congeniality and G.I. Jane. Finally, in
Chapter Four, I draw some conclusions from the result of the analysis. At the end
of the thesis, is the Bibliography, a list of the references that I use in this thesis,
and the Appendices, which consist of the synopses of Miss Congeniality and G.I.
Jane as well as the tabulated data of this study.
5
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
In this chapter, I will draw some conclusion based on my findings in the
previous chapter. By using sociolinguistic approach, I realize that observing the
way people use language in different contexts can give information about how
language works, the relationship between the speaker and the listener, and how
they indicate their social identity through their language, including their gender,
profession, and educational status.
From the two films, I find that men and women obviously have different
ways of talking. What is more, the major female characters in both films show
some deviations from the conventional women's language. They use some
masculine speech styles in their speech.
While analyzing the films, I find some similarities between the two films.
Both of the main female characters are governmental officers who are surrounded
by male colleagues. The nature of their duties requires them to speak briefly,
clearly, and effectively. This influences their speech style and it results in the
deviation of what Hart calls 'women's language'. The analysis shows that the main
39
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
female characters deviate from feminine speech styles more frequently than
conforming them.
Both characters, Gracie Hart and Jordan O'Neil, do not often use 'empty'
adjectives but prefer to use ordinary adjectives which they use in daily
conversation. Although the 'empty' adjectives may have the same meaning as the
ordinary ones, sometimes they have a slightly different meaning and may yield
different connotation. Moreover, they hardly use the emphatic stress, and
especially not on the adjectives. They mainly stress the nouns or the verbs, not the
adjectives. Due to the fact that they rarely stress any words, they also rarely use
intensifiers which are used to strengthen the meaning of the word; thus, I do not
find any deviation of the use of intensifiers. In addition, I find that O'Neil even
does not use emphatic stress and intensifier in her utterances.
In both of the main female characters' utterances, I find that they seldom
use 'superpolite' forms which appear in the form of indirect requests or
euphemisms. On the contrary, they mostly prefer using direct requests and never
use any euphemisms. As a consequence, I conclude that the nature of their
professions requires them to speak briefly, clearly, effectively, and straight to the
point. What is more, their speech is also influenced by their professional
environment which is dominated by male colleagues who are used to using slang
or colloquial expressions. The use of slang can be seen from chip-faced or
hooyah.
Out of Lakoff's ten special features of feminine speech styles, I find that
the main female characters do not use the precise color terms nor tag questions.
They mostly sound assertive and confident. That is why I believe they do not need
40
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
to use the tag questions to request for confirmation of their statements and seldom
use lexical hedges. Their self-confidence is also expressed in their use of falling
intonation.
In my discussion, I deliberately avoid to discuss the use of 'hypercorrect'
grammar, because there is no clear information about what it actually is. I have
tried to search in many sources, but they have different interpretations and
examples. Therefore, I decide not to discuss 'hypercorrect' grammar.
I also find that the main female characters cannot avoid the use of
swearwords when they get annoyed, angry, or surprised. However, the choice of
swearwords can be different, depending on the situation. This can be seen from
Hart's swearwords. When she is still a female FBI agent, she uses bastards or
asshole, but when, when she becomes a beauty pageant contestant, she changes
her swearword into Jesus Christ, an expression which she uses when she is
surprised.
Besides these similarities, the two films also have some differences. At the
beginning of Miss Congeniality, the main female character, Gracie Hart, deviates
from Lakoff's theory about the special features of feminine speech style. Then she
changes her speech style in order to work undercover as a beauty pageant
contestant and catch a terrorist. Besides the fact that the nature of her duties means
that she is required to speak clearly and briefly, Hart lives in an environment
which does not consider her as being a woman. Even her attitude is more like that
of a man's. That is why she has a different speech style and is used to speaking
spontaneously, especially when she is in a hurry or is facing a critical situation.
41
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Different from Miss Congeniality, at the beginning of G.I. Jane the main
female character, Jordan O'Neil, a topographic analyst, has speech style that
conform to Lakoff's feminine speech styles and conventional women's language.
She uses the deviated style of women's language after she becomes the first
female soldier to counter the male soldiers' prejudice that women are both
physically and mentally weaker than men. She even uses very strong swearwords,
such as suck my dick, and gains new respect from the male soldiers by using such
language.
In analyzing the reason for the two female characters' use of certain speech
styles, I use Holmes' four social factors, which consist of participants, setting,
topic, and function. These social factors normally play important roles in a
person's language choice. After analyzing the films, I find that there are two most
dominant social factors in the female leading characters' language choice. They
are participant and function.
In these two films, the participant factor affects most of the speaker's
speech style. Hart and O'Neil use different speech styles when they talk to their
superior than when they talk to their friends. Yet, they change their speech style
when they talk to everybody by time their relationship getting closer. Function, in
addition, is also the most influential factor in the characters' language choice. I
believe that both women want to show something through their utterances.
Setting plays quite an important role in their language choice as well. It
can be seen from Hart, who uses the 'superpolite' form when she talks in front of
many viewers on the stage when she is working undercover as Miss New Jersey in
42
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
the beauty pageant. O'Neil also speaks with the 'superpolite' form when she talks
to Harper, her boyfriend, at the office.
However, topic does not affect too much why the female main characters
choose the certain speech styles.
In my opinion, Lakoff's theory about the special features in 'women's
language' can express women's speech style in general. However, on the grounds
that their professions are commonly done by men and that they are surrounded by
men, the speech styles of the main female characters in both films are strongly
influenced.
In my opinion, it is not only the social factors mentioned by Holmes which
affect a speaker's language choice. I believe that the speaker's psychological state
plays a very significant role in his or her language choice, such as feeling nervous,
angry, or upset. This is what I often find in the films. I relate this with one of
Holmes' four social factors, namely function.
43
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
BIBLIOGRAPHY
References
Coates, Jennifer. 1993. Women, Men and Language. Essex: Longman Group UK
Limited.
Holmes, Janet. 1994. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Essex: Longman Group
UK Limited.
Hornby, A.S. 1989. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Internet Websites
Assumption of Command: Hooah!. 23 Mar 2005. Assumption of Command. 13
June 2006 .
Cut. 13 June 2006 .
Exploring Language: How Intonation Works. 7 Mar 2002. English Online. 1 Apr
2006 .
Hypercorrection. 13 Apr 2006. Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. 15 Apr 2006
.
Language Defines Gender. 2006. Planet Papers. 23 Mar 2006
.
44
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Moore, Andrew. Language and Gender. 20 Apr 2005
.
Rollo, Julia Bogdan. KudoZ Term Question. 13 June 2006
.
Rosenberg, Sarah. Face. 17 Mar 2006
.
Sims, Andrea D. Language and Gender. 23 Mar 2006
.
Sociolinguistics. 1 Apr 2006 .
Thibault, Linda, Ouellet, Marise. Tonal Distinctions between and Pretonic
Lengthening in Quebec French, 1 Apr 2006
.
Trudgill, Peter. 1974. Sociolinguistics: An Introduction. Middlesex: Penguin
Books Ltd.
Vandergriff, Jim. Is There a Women's Language?. 11 Mar 2006