The Violations of Woman's Linguistic Features in 'Sex and The City' Season One and Season Two.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………...… i

TABLE OF CONTENTS .………..… ii

ABSTRACT ……….….. iii

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

Statement of the Problem ………... 3

Purpose of the Study ………...…………. 4

Methods of Research ……… 4

Organization of the Thesis ……… 4

CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ……... 6

CHAPTER THREE: THE VIOLATIONS OF WOMEN’S LINGUISTIC FEATURES IN SEX AND THE CITY SEASON ONE AND SEASON TWO………. 11

CHAPTER FOUR : CONCLUSION ………... 24

BIBLIOGRAPHY ………... 28

ABSTRACT

Tujuan dari penulisan tugas akhir ini adalah untuk mencari pelanggaran yang terjadi pada sebuah film serial yang berjudul Sex and the City. Data yang saya ambil adalah percakapan pada film tersebut. Analisa ini mengandung pelanggaran terhadap fitur-fitur Robin Lakoff yaitu Women’s Language.

Dasar teori yang saya gunakan adalah Sosiolinguistik. Sosiolinguistik adalah ilmu yang mempelajari bagaimana cara berbahasa, sikap linguistik dan faktor-faktor dalam perbedaan bahasa di dalam kehidupan sosial yang berbeda. Ilmu ini menekankan bahwa adanya perbedaan antara interaksi wanita dan pria dalam berbahasa dan penggunaanya dalam sebuah percakapan.

Saya menganalisa penggunaan Women’s Language di dalam setiap percakapan. Saya juga menganalisa bagaimana pelanggaran yang terjadi terhadap fitur-fitur Women’s Language. Lalu saya mencari penyebab terjadinya pelanggaran terhadap penggunaan fitur-fitur Women’s Language.

Saya menemukan bahwa pelanggaran yang terjadi pada percakapan tersebut karena adanya perbedaan karakteristik pada perempuan di era yang berbeda. Perbedaan mengenai kurangnya kepercayaan diri pada setiap perempuan juga menjadi alasan terbentuknya pelanggaran dalam fitur-fitur Robin Lakoff tersebut.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

In the past, it was common knowledge that women had different responsibilities in domestic affairs or in their homes. It was unusual for women to have a job outside their homes. Women usually worked at home to take care of their children, cleaned their houses and did other housework. They had to spend much time at home and that influenced their language. Yet, now women have different responsibilities. Many women nowadays have jobs to get a better life. Men sometimes are also pleased if their wives get a job. It makes women have the same responsibilities as their husbands or as other men. They have responsibilities not only at home but also with their work or job. This means that the kind of language they use is also different. They are influenced by their setting, public life, friends, surroundings, their personalities and also men.

Generally, women do not have a job like speaking in a small group in a private place after they have finished working at home. But it is also usual for working women. Women like having a savings-club in their houses. Yet now, women like doing their savings-club in public, for example, café, restaurant or

night club. So, it makes women different in using register of language. They tend to use strong swear words, non superpolite forms, incorrect grammar, and also use language like men do. They could possibly talk about something taboo in a public place, or somewhere else.

This language phenomenon is interesting to be analyzed. Therefore, I take an interest in learning something about the phenomenon called women’s language. It makes me choose to discuss a topic about the violations of women’s linguistic features. I find many data in a film series, Sex and the City. I take two seasons of this film series to analyze as the data. Therefore, the title of my thesis is “The Violations of Women’s Linguistic Features in Sex and the City Season One and Season Two”. Many theories prove that women should be more polite and careful in their utterances to indicate her being feminine. Yet, I find that some women violate these theories. In reality, such an assumption does not seem to be purely correct. It is often found that women also use rude words or sentences that do not sound polite, or in fact are rude to be heard.

It is generally known that women’s language is different from that of men. I take two seasons of Sex and the City for my analysis because there are so many violations that I can obtain from the series. Also, I can look for the development of their use of language, to notice if it changes or not. The central characters of the movie are Carrie Bradshaw, Samantha Jones, Charlotte York and Miranda Hobbes. Sometimes they use the rude words because they have to deal with certain situations and make more interruptions than men. This does not match with their image as metropolitan women. Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte are career women. They have been influenced by their surroundings. Carrie is a writer and

she writes about Sex and the City. Sex is something taboo to be discussed but she treats it as something usual to write about to the public in New York. Samantha is a public relations officer in a café. She relates with the people who come in the café. Charlotte is also a career woman. She collects art objects. She meets a lot of clients and other people in doing her job. And the last one is Miranda. She is an aggressive woman, and she is influenced by her surroundings in using language, as she is a lawyer. In addition, I discuss not only these central characters but also people surrounding them.

The significance of my topic is to prove that the theories of women’s linguistic features are not always applicable in women’s conversation nowadays because I find out that women often violate these linguistic features in their conversation. Accordingly, I hope I can find out the reason why these women violate such women’s linguistic features by doing this analysis.

The approach I use is Sociolinguistics. Sociolinguistics studies the relation between linguistic form and social and psychological context; language and gender; discourse strategies (e.g. indirectness and politeness); discourse genres. I choose this approach because, in analyzing my data, I have to know how these women engage in conversations and build relationships with the speakers.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

1. Which utterances show the violation of women’s language in Sex and the City?

2. What type of features are violated by the main characters in the Sex and the City?

3. What are the factors that make the main characters violate the features?

1.3 Purpose of the Study

1. To find the utterances of violation of women’s language in Sex and the City.

2. To know what features are violated by women.

3. To find out the factors that make the main characters violate the features.

1.4 Methods of Research

There are several steps that I take in gathering data for my methods of research. First, I consult a number of books related to women’s language. The primary text used is Janet Holmes, An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Secondly, I apply the theory of women’s language and its violation by means of the film series Sex and the City. In particular, I watch the television series and find some conversations that violate women’s language. Then I write down the conversations and relate them to the theories. After that, I analyze the reasons why the central characters use language in such a way.

1.5 Organization of the Thesis

This thesis is divided into four chapters. The first chapter, Introduction, includes Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Purpose of the Study, Methods of Research and Organization of the Thesis. In the second chapter, I present the Theoretical Framework, which is the explanation about the sociolinguistics study and the approaches that I use in the thesis. In the third

chapter, I discuss the analysis of the data that I obtain. I analyze the reason why women and men use such language. Then in the fourth chapter, I conclude the result of my analysis and compare them to the theories that I choose.

CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION

Women nowadays are influenced in using language that is usual to be spoken by men or by their surroundings. It is because women now more often socialize with others than staying in their homes. As metropolitan women, like the four characters in Sex and the City, they prefer being outside than being inside their homes. They spend much time in the mall, café, office, parks, and also on the road. Therefore, it makes them change their attitudes, so, automatically their language is changed as well. Each character in Sex and the City uses different violations, for example: superpolite forms, precise color terms, lexical hedges or fillers, tag question, empty adjectives, avoidance of strong swear words and hypercorrect grammar. But sometimes they make the same violations.

According to Lakoff, women tend to use Lexical Hedges, Tag Question, Rising Intonation, Intensifiers, Emphatic Stress, Empty Adjectives, Precise Color Terms, Hypercorrect Grammar and Avoidance of Strong Swear Words. In reality, this is not absolutely true. There are many women now who do not follow Lakoff’s features. Lakoff also said that women have lack of confidence. This is possible, but based on my analysis, the central characters, who reflect the modern

American women, are very confident about themselves. They are confident because they feel they are not hanging on the men. They can be independent of men. It is proved because they sometimes do not have a relationship with men. They can stay in an apartment alone and do the men’s work by themselves. Their attitudes automatically influence their language. If they act like a man, they will speak like a man.

Based on my analysis, I prove that a career woman is possible to be impolite. It is proved when I analyze the four characters in Sex and the City. Sex and the City gives a description of women in metropolitan city. Many women nowadays in this film series are career women. Like the each character in Sex and the City, they have jobs and spend much time outside the house. Therefore, their language is influenced by their surroundings. This causes them to violate the women’s linguistic features of Robin Lakoff. Carrie violates the superpolite forms. Charlotte violates the precise color terms. Miranda violates the superpolite forms and avoidance of the strong swear words. Samantha violates the avoidance of strong swear words, lexical hedges or fillers, tag question and the empty adjectives. Samantha and Miranda like using strong swear words when they feel anger. They are emotional women who get angry quickly. And if we analyze the characters of them, we will see that they are more masculine than the other two friends. And it is also the factor why they use more violations than others.

All the violations discussed above prove that Robin Lakoff’s theories are not always applicable. Lakoff published her theories in 1975 and the change of era since then also makes change in the way of using language. It is proved when I analyze the women’s characters of Sex and the City. The self-confidence of

women has also changed. They can become more confident because they can do things without men. They sometimes act like a man. They show their disappointment by using swear words. They also have much of humor when they speak in public. They say something directly without using superpolite forms. Usually, women will use more superpolite forms although the time is not in a polite situation. But based on the analysis, superpolite forms are seldom to be told by the characters even it is on the polite situation. The activities of men are able to be done by women. It shows that women can be tough like a man. They also feel they can do anything like a man. If we relate this with the era, the change of era sometimes also changes women’s attitudes and increases their level of confidence. After I analyze the data, I come to the conclusion. I conclude that not all women use the women’s linguistic features of Robin Lakoff. They sometimes violate the features. The reasons are: Women nowadays are more confident. They can go outside alone without men. More of them tend to have jobs now as career women than taking care of children and doing some house works. It is proved in the character of Miranda, who feels she has lost her friends when she has a baby. The attitudes of women have also influenced their language. Women also become more independent. They can do anything they like without men. Sometimes they can utter rough words if men have annoyed them. In these ways, women want to show that they are independent.

I, as the writer of “The Violations of Women’s Linguistic Features in Sex and the City Season One and Season Two”, want to give some advice for the other writers who want to write on the same topic or on a topic related to ideas of women’s linguistic features. First, you must find the data which are used by

women nowadays. As I said before, the change of era also changes women’s attitudes. And the attitudes of women also influence their language. Lakoff did the observations of women’s language in the 1970s. By doing research based on modern life, you will know the differences between women in the 1970s and women nowadays. It will make it easy to find the violations of women’s linguistic features. Automatically, you will get the data for being analyzed. Second, you must know the character of women who are observed, to make easy for you to know the reasons why the characteristics violate the women’s linguistic features. Therefore, the violations of women’s linguistic features are interesting to be learned.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

References:

Holmes, Janet. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. London: Longman, 1992.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Spain: Longman, 2001.

Internet Website:

Putlearningfirst.com: 23 Sexism. Ed. Susan Githens. 1998. 3 April 2006. <http://www.putlearningfirst.com//>

Soc.hawaii.edu: Book Review. Leon. 2002. 3 April 2006. < http://www.soc.hawaii.edu//>

chapter, I discuss the analysis of the data that I obtain. I analyze the reason why women and men use such language. Then in the fourth chapter, I conclude the result of my analysis and compare them to the theories that I choose.

CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION

Women nowadays are influenced in using language that is usual to be spoken by men or by their surroundings. It is because women now more often socialize with others than staying in their homes. As metropolitan women, like the four characters in Sex and the City, they prefer being outside than being inside their homes. They spend much time in the mall, café, office, parks, and also on the road. Therefore, it makes them change their attitudes, so, automatically their language is changed as well. Each character in Sex and the City uses different violations, for example: superpolite forms, precise color terms, lexical hedges or fillers, tag question, empty adjectives, avoidance of strong swear words and hypercorrect grammar. But sometimes they make the same violations.

According to Lakoff, women tend to use Lexical Hedges, Tag Question, Rising Intonation, Intensifiers, Emphatic Stress, Empty Adjectives, Precise Color Terms, Hypercorrect Grammar and Avoidance of Strong Swear Words. In reality, this is not absolutely true. There are many women now who do not follow Lakoff’s features. Lakoff also said that women have lack of confidence. This is

American women, are very confident about themselves. They are confident because they feel they are not hanging on the men. They can be independent of men. It is proved because they sometimes do not have a relationship with men. They can stay in an apartment alone and do the men’s work by themselves. Their attitudes automatically influence their language. If they act like a man, they will speak like a man.

Based on my analysis, I prove that a career woman is possible to be impolite. It is proved when I analyze the four characters in Sex and the City. Sex and the City gives a description of women in metropolitan city. Many women nowadays in this film series are career women. Like the each character in Sex and the City, they have jobs and spend much time outside the house. Therefore, their language is influenced by their surroundings. This causes them to violate the women’s linguistic features of Robin Lakoff. Carrie violates the superpolite forms. Charlotte violates the precise color terms. Miranda violates the superpolite forms and avoidance of the strong swear words. Samantha violates the avoidance of strong swear words, lexical hedges or fillers, tag question and the empty adjectives. Samantha and Miranda like using strong swear words when they feel anger. They are emotional women who get angry quickly. And if we analyze the characters of them, we will see that they are more masculine than the other two friends. And it is also the factor why they use more violations than others.

All the violations discussed above prove that Robin Lakoff’s theories are not always applicable. Lakoff published her theories in 1975 and the change of era since then also makes change in the way of using language. It is proved when I analyze the women’s characters of Sex and the City. The self-confidence of

women has also changed. They can become more confident because they can do things without men. They sometimes act like a man. They show their disappointment by using swear words. They also have much of humor when they speak in public. They say something directly without using superpolite forms. Usually, women will use more superpolite forms although the time is not in a polite situation. But based on the analysis, superpolite forms are seldom to be told by the characters even it is on the polite situation. The activities of men are able to be done by women. It shows that women can be tough like a man. They also feel they can do anything like a man. If we relate this with the era, the change of era sometimes also changes women’s attitudes and increases their level of confidence. After I analyze the data, I come to the conclusion. I conclude that not all women use the women’s linguistic features of Robin Lakoff. They sometimes violate the features. The reasons are: Women nowadays are more confident. They can go outside alone without men. More of them tend to have jobs now as career women than taking care of children and doing some house works. It is proved in the character of Miranda, who feels she has lost her friends when she has a baby. The attitudes of women have also influenced their language. Women also become more independent. They can do anything they like without men. Sometimes they can utter rough words if men have annoyed them. In these ways, women want to show that they are independent.

I, as the writer of “The Violations of Women’s Linguistic Features in Sex and the City Season One and Season Two”, want to give some advice for the other writers who want to write on the same topic or on a topic related to ideas of women’s linguistic features. First, you must find the data which are used by

women nowadays. As I said before, the change of era also changes women’s attitudes. And the attitudes of women also influence their language. Lakoff did the observations of women’s language in the 1970s. By doing research based on modern life, you will know the differences between women in the 1970s and women nowadays. It will make it easy to find the violations of women’s linguistic features. Automatically, you will get the data for being analyzed. Second, you must know the character of women who are observed, to make easy for you to know the reasons why the characteristics violate the women’s linguistic features. Therefore, the violations of women’s linguistic features are interesting to be learned.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

References:

Holmes, Janet. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. London: Longman, 1992.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Spain: Longman, 2001.

Internet Website:

Putlearningfirst.com: 23 Sexism. Ed. Susan Githens. 1998. 3 April 2006. <http://www.putlearningfirst.com//>

Soc.hawaii.edu: Book Review. Leon. 2002. 3 April 2006. < http://www.soc.hawaii.edu//>