CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of the Study Slang is unconventional words or phrases that
are used to express either something new
or something old in a new way. Maurer(2003) stated that “slang creates based on such forms as metaphor,
simile, folk etymology, distortion of sounds
in words, generalization, specialization, clipping, the use of acronyms, elevation and degeneration, metonymy,
synecdoche, hyperbole, and borrowings from
foreign languages” (p. 3).While in Webster’s Dictionary (2004) slang is also described
as a currently widely used and understoodlanguage, consisting of new meanings attributed to existing words or of
wholly words, generally accepted as lying
outside standard polite usage. (p.1208 ).
Slang changes over time and disappears
quickly. Aswhat Goodword (2006) stated
that slang refers to a simple and ungrammatical language, which is commonly used nowadays, especially by
teenagers. Itcan be said that slang is only
used by teenagers in their community in informal situation, not to speak to the older people or in a formal situation. (p.
2) For example, teenagers may use the sentence
Catch ya later , What’s up, and
pigheadedto speak with their friends, but if they speak to their teacher it is better to speak see you later, What happen, and obstinate.
Yusroh (2002) investigated
Javanese slang used in Kepanjen, Malang.
Malang slang is known as back
slang, the users pronounce the word from back, for example: Malang is pronounced as ngalam,
andmas (means: brother) pronounced
assam. She stated that the users of Javanese slang in Kepanjen are not only teenagers but also adult, old people,
and sometimes children.
Nurjannah (2003) investigated
word formation processes of slang used by Arjosari-Tidar (AT) drivers in Tidar Station.
She concluded that there are six kinds
of word formation processes of slang: (1) Back slang, for instance: sepi (means:quiet ) becomesisep and pulang (means:
go home)becamesngalup.
(2) Creating new words, for
example: ebes that meansorang tua (parents)and ojir, which meansuang (money).(3)
Metathesis,such as tomor, meansmotor (motorcycle) and racapanthat meanspacaran
(dating). (4) Using the existing wordswith
a different meaning, such as panas, the original meaning ishotbut it express to say emotion. (5) Clipping, for
examplepolisi (means: police)becomes polis.
(6) Borrowing from other languages,for instance asrop, which is taken from the Arabicasrob that meansdrink.
Ulfa (2004) who conducted Study
of Slang Language used by Announcer of
Malangkucecwara FM (MFM) ABM Malang, found the reason for using slang is to make the listeners feel familiar and
intimatewith the listeners. Besides, using Indonesian slang makes the announcers more
relax.
Faruq (2004) examined Indonesian
slang, which is commonly used by Indonesian
teenagers in expressing their feeling, for example: makan gengsi (obstinate), udah (finish), PDKT (aprroach),
naksir(love).
From several previous studies
above, we obtain a conclusion that the researches
of Yusroh’s (2002) and Nurjannah’s (2003) study reveal the same result, it is back slang.Ulfa (2004) concluded
that slang is used to make listeners feel
intimate and relax, whereas Faruq (2004) listed slang and style of word used by teenagers in newspaper.
Study on slang used inSave the
Last Dance has several differences from previous
studies. The previous studies analyzed Javanese and Indonesian Slang, whereas this study describes English Slang.
Besides, the previous studies used society,
magazine, and announcer of radio as the object, while this study uses a film. Film is not only a motion picture where
we can enjoy the visualization of written
material into a complete moving image on screen, but also deals with several concerns of art such as, plot,
characters, setting, story, acting, and so on which indicate how film exists in human life.
In analyzing magazine, we just can look
at written expression and on the radio, we just can hear the announcers’ speech. While in the film, we can look at the
characters’ speech and hear their conversation. Slang
spreads quickly because it is used in severaltelevision programs, especially teenager’s programs such as music
and movie. One of teenager’s movies,
which used several slang terms, is Save the Last Dance. It is a romanticdrama
film, which is contextualized in teenagers’ life, social condition, racial, politic, and violence. It is stared by Julia
Stiles, Sean Patrick Thomas, Kerry Washington,
and Bianca Lawson.
This film won several awards. In
2001, it wonMTV Movie Award for the best male and female performances, and best dance
sequence. It also won 2001 Teen Choice
Awardfor Choice Actress and Choice Breakout Performance.Besides, it won 2001 Young Hollywood Awardsin the category
of Standout Performance – Male. In 2002,
it was nominated for theBlack Reel Awardsin the category Theatrical - Best Supporting Actress and the
Golden Reel Awardsin the category Best
Sound Editing - Music, Musical Feature Film. This film is continued by its sequence Save the Last Dance 2 that was
released in October 2006. It tells about Sara, a 17 years old high school student, who
wantsto be a professional ballerina, but
she has to delay her plans when her mother was died in a car accident and she is forced to move to her father's black
Chicago neighborhood. One day, she meets a young black man who shares her love for
dancing. He helps her realize her dream
to attend a prestigious dance school.
The first reason of choosing this
film as an objectof study is because it expresses
teenagers’ life that often use slang in their conversation. Another reason is because this is a story about negro-black
community, the place where slang comes
from. This film also describes a story of teenagers’ community and criminal classes that become certain reason of
using slang. Therefore, we can also know
the different reason of using slang. Based on the explanation above, the researcher is interested to conduct A Study on
Slang used inSave the Last Dance film.
1.2. Research Problems This research is conducted to answer the
following questions: 1. what are slang expression used in Save the
Last Dance Film? 2. what are the linguistic processes of forming
slang used inSave the Last Dance
Film? 1.3.Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the research are: 1. to describe slang expressions and their
meaning used in Save the Last DanceFilm 2. to
explain the linguistic processes of forming slang used inSave the Last Dance Film? 1.4.Significance of the Study This study is expected to enrich the study of
Sociolinguistics, especially slang.
Besides, this research is expected to make acontribution to the next researchers who are interested in the study on
slang. For the teacher or lecturer, the
result of this study is expected to improve their knowledge about slang. While for the students, may this research can help
them in learning slang and the processes
of forming it.
1.5.Scope and Limitation This study is conducted in sociolinguistic
study, which deals with slang. There are
many kinds of slang because every region has its own slang, such as Indonesian slang, Dutch Slang, France slang,
English slang. This study is limited on
English slang, particularly English slang used in Save the Last Dance Film.
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